Friday, 9 March 2007
Back to Britain
8.00 Arrive in office and pack letters into my suitcase. I am speaking in Godalming College this afternoon and in London this evening, so transport works out more sensible connecting to Surrey by train at Waterloo. I get the 9.56 Eurostar and work on my speech on slavery and child soldiers for the evening. College visit is good with interesting questions from the students. The evening is to celebrate 200 years since the abolition of slavery and to point out that there are still challenges to face of modern day slavery and human trafficking. I am the first speaker as I am a member of all the organisations involved: the British Group of Liberal International, the National Liberal Club and Anti-Slavery International. Sue Darling of Anti-Slavery follows, than Liz Lynne. It all fits together quite well.
Thursday, 8 March 2007
9.00 We have a meeting with the German Presidency and the Commission on Purchasing Price Parities to iron out the issue of who should pay for the collection of data. In the end it seems funding has already been happening, rather than it being needed for start up, so maintaining the status quo is reasonable. It has taken a long time to get the answer to this question which I posed at the first discussion in committee. We also take the opportunity to have a preliminary discussion on the set up of the statistics advisory board, which provides me with useful background information as to where the sensitivities lie.
11.00 We finalise letters about the campaign to save international train services at Ashford, then having a gap at last I take the opportunity to collect my curtains which I ordered weeks ago.
13.30 Back to the office and a long haul of signing the Ashford letters all afternoon. Carol and Dot get the first batch stuffed and ready to load into my case tomorrow morning. Dot has been collating information on Child Soldiers which I want to speak about tomorrow evening so we review that. Leave at 8.00pm
11.00 We finalise letters about the campaign to save international train services at Ashford, then having a gap at last I take the opportunity to collect my curtains which I ordered weeks ago.
13.30 Back to the office and a long haul of signing the Ashford letters all afternoon. Carol and Dot get the first batch stuffed and ready to load into my case tomorrow morning. Dot has been collating information on Child Soldiers which I want to speak about tomorrow evening so we review that. Leave at 8.00pm
Wednesday, 7 March 2007
Payments, and a meeting with Will Hutton
8.30 Arrive in office. This morning I am speaking at a seminar organised by Graham Bishop. We have booked the room for him, but they gave us the room that is used as overflow for the Group Room as the Group was expected to be away this week. So now we have a crisis as a different room has to be found.
10.00 With about 2 minutes to spare a new room is found so the seminar starts. I update as far as possible on the payments Directive, which is not really much as no agreement on capital has been reached. We do some exploring of who wants what and what if it all goes to a second reading, but it is really a waiting game now. We then move on to a discussion about the ECB and the proposed Target 2 clearing system.
13.30 Lunch with Hugh Saville from the Association of British Insurers. We discuss some possible ways of presenting a check list of improvements that have been/need to be put in place since the time of the Equitable Life problems and how they also key in to Solvency ll. We also discuss a possible fringe meeting for our Party Conference in September on planning and insurance.
15.30 Meeting with American Express about details of the latest payments proposals. Their points are valid but we have much bigger issues to resolve first.
20.00 Dinner with Will Hutton and other MEPs organised by the Centre. He was in Brux for the launch of his new book on China. The discussions on China continue through dinner. His basic premise is that China is not as strong as is made out, indeed it is really rather weak, so we should not be frightened to be open. I point out that we should be open and up for competition irrespective of whether they are weak or strong. Some Danish support for my view: easy to spot the liberals. Will admits he did not quite get the last 100 pages of the book right, so if I ever get the time to read it I can skip those!
10.00 With about 2 minutes to spare a new room is found so the seminar starts. I update as far as possible on the payments Directive, which is not really much as no agreement on capital has been reached. We do some exploring of who wants what and what if it all goes to a second reading, but it is really a waiting game now. We then move on to a discussion about the ECB and the proposed Target 2 clearing system.
13.30 Lunch with Hugh Saville from the Association of British Insurers. We discuss some possible ways of presenting a check list of improvements that have been/need to be put in place since the time of the Equitable Life problems and how they also key in to Solvency ll. We also discuss a possible fringe meeting for our Party Conference in September on planning and insurance.
15.30 Meeting with American Express about details of the latest payments proposals. Their points are valid but we have much bigger issues to resolve first.
20.00 Dinner with Will Hutton and other MEPs organised by the Centre. He was in Brux for the launch of his new book on China. The discussions on China continue through dinner. His basic premise is that China is not as strong as is made out, indeed it is really rather weak, so we should not be frightened to be open. I point out that we should be open and up for competition irrespective of whether they are weak or strong. Some Danish support for my view: easy to spot the liberals. Will admits he did not quite get the last 100 pages of the book right, so if I ever get the time to read it I can skip those!
Tuesday, 6 March 2007
IP and Women in Science
8.00 Arrive in the office and assemble my amendments on the innovation report ready to discuss them with Toine Manders at 9.00. He agrees to cosign all mine and we add in another that he suggests.
10.00 Gary and Mark arrive to inform me on the latest developments in Council on the Payments directive. Rest of the morning spent looking at the latest Presidency documents. It still all looks very stuck to me.
12.30 Lunch debate on Women and Science. Quite interesting. One of the sponsors, L’Oreal obviously do a lot of research and have a platform that is useful for engaging with girls who are not instinctively drawn to science. I agree to be involved in their program. This is all quite reminiscent of years ago when I acted as a role model for a women in science for Bedfordshire County Council and went giving talks at schools.
15.00 Trialogue on PSD. The Presidency present their latest proposals. We will probably meet again next week in Strasbourg. Pervenche Beres attends as well as the rapporteur and shadows.
17.30 Just get in to the tail end of the Group meeting.
18.30 I have a meeting with Nicola Zingaretti on his report about criminal sanctions in IP. I explain the reasoning behind my amendment which makes the criminality contingent upon aggravated circumstances such as counterfeiting, piracy, organised crime or risk to health and safety. I think this covers the main reasons such procedures are needed and cuts out the risk from the normal way in which an invalid or suspect patent, design or trade mark is usually infringed (and no action normally taken) rather than expensive revocation proceedings being launched. Anyway, he understood so at least it gives him food for thought and it does not diverge from being a blanket approach across all IP which has some advantages in terms of legal base.
19.00 Shuffle the usual paperwork and emails then return to flat at about 8.00pm.
10.00 Gary and Mark arrive to inform me on the latest developments in Council on the Payments directive. Rest of the morning spent looking at the latest Presidency documents. It still all looks very stuck to me.
12.30 Lunch debate on Women and Science. Quite interesting. One of the sponsors, L’Oreal obviously do a lot of research and have a platform that is useful for engaging with girls who are not instinctively drawn to science. I agree to be involved in their program. This is all quite reminiscent of years ago when I acted as a role model for a women in science for Bedfordshire County Council and went giving talks at schools.
15.00 Trialogue on PSD. The Presidency present their latest proposals. We will probably meet again next week in Strasbourg. Pervenche Beres attends as well as the rapporteur and shadows.
17.30 Just get in to the tail end of the Group meeting.
18.30 I have a meeting with Nicola Zingaretti on his report about criminal sanctions in IP. I explain the reasoning behind my amendment which makes the criminality contingent upon aggravated circumstances such as counterfeiting, piracy, organised crime or risk to health and safety. I think this covers the main reasons such procedures are needed and cuts out the risk from the normal way in which an invalid or suspect patent, design or trade mark is usually infringed (and no action normally taken) rather than expensive revocation proceedings being launched. Anyway, he understood so at least it gives him food for thought and it does not diverge from being a blanket approach across all IP which has some advantages in terms of legal base.
19.00 Shuffle the usual paperwork and emails then return to flat at about 8.00pm.
Monday, 5 March 2007
Travelling
A late start today as there had been a meeting scheduled for London, which has been cancelled, but it leaves me with a 17.45 flight from London City Airport and the happy trundle through the east London river sights on the Docklands Light Railway, which I still quite enjoy. Get to the Parliament at 8.30 pm.
Thursday, 1 March 2007
Cluster Bomb Protest and FSA
9.15 The luxury of a late start! More email exchanges then at 10.15 I speak to a group of postgraduates from Reading University.
11.30 I join Liz Lynne outside the Parliament for photos about banning cluster bombs. It is running late so I go to get my Eurostar tickets and that takes ages, but it is still running late by the time I get back.
12.15 Back to the office for a discussion with Andrew Duff about Kashmir and what I will say in response to questions in my Whip’s report to Party Conference.
12.45 Start the process of getting away as I have to leave at 14.00 for an appointment in London. The chap who organises FSA visits pops in and we discuss the usefulness of FSA secondment to the Parliament. I say it is very useful and also explain how the FSA presentations are really good but sometimes they fall down on questions by being too ‘correct’ and unwilling to hazard personal thoughts. I say I think it would be useful for the FSA to explain some of the teething troubles that can arise in having to change mentality from ‘tick box’ supervision to the more hands on dynamic variety the FSA now uses. We are asking other supervisors and countries to move in that direction and this is a much more accessible way to explain it, or at least I think so.
14.00 Off to Eurostar.
11.30 I join Liz Lynne outside the Parliament for photos about banning cluster bombs. It is running late so I go to get my Eurostar tickets and that takes ages, but it is still running late by the time I get back.
12.15 Back to the office for a discussion with Andrew Duff about Kashmir and what I will say in response to questions in my Whip’s report to Party Conference.
12.45 Start the process of getting away as I have to leave at 14.00 for an appointment in London. The chap who organises FSA visits pops in and we discuss the usefulness of FSA secondment to the Parliament. I say it is very useful and also explain how the FSA presentations are really good but sometimes they fall down on questions by being too ‘correct’ and unwilling to hazard personal thoughts. I say I think it would be useful for the FSA to explain some of the teething troubles that can arise in having to change mentality from ‘tick box’ supervision to the more hands on dynamic variety the FSA now uses. We are asking other supervisors and countries to move in that direction and this is a much more accessible way to explain it, or at least I think so.
14.00 Off to Eurostar.
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