TV and an MP

No formal meetings today, but I aim to have some time in the Brux office to deal with active issues. I leave home at 10.15, which gives me time to finalise amendments and justifications on criminal sanctions for IP infringement. I decide to keep it simple, making criminality dependent upon ‘aggravating circumstances’ rather than just exempting patents, which is the line most others are taking. Horrible time at Heathrow with queues and arrive in office about 3.30 and deal with paperwork.

16.30 Have a visit from UKREP (Simon Jones) on Audio Visual Media. As suspected, the compromises agreed to put to plenary by the rapporteurs of the lead committee (Culture) are not to my or the UK liking. There is concern as to whether we can get one of the Political Groups to table better versions. I had already got my own ready on short news reporting and advertising time.

It is advertising time that is of concern to UKREP and they are basically hoping for the same as my amendment, but I agree to add in the word ‘scheduled’ before 30 minutes to make it absolutely clear that the 30 minutes is the program plus advertising time. I suspect it may only be British pedantry that needs this, but better safe than sorry as we will be the pedants when it comes to interpreting it for UK use.

We discuss the other tricky areas and how we have covered them. We do not know the chances of the EPP going against the Rapporteur for 30 minutes instead of 35, but various Brits and others like Hoppenstedt (the ECON Rapporteur) will be on the job. I am not confident whether I will win in ALDE either as Ignasi has been in on the deal in Culture. I explain that we are already lined up with others to do a 37 signatures job (which is how many MEPs have to sign to get an amendment to Plenary, the other alternative being a Political Group) to get it to plenary if needed, but that not as powerful as an amendment going in from a Group.

We are about finished when Simon is taken violently ill and we have to get the medics in and they take him away in a wheelchair. It looks like food poisoning, but quite a long time since he ate, so we are a bit worried in case it is anything else. (We find out next day he is OK and it was food poisoning)

18.00 Settle down to completing Audiovisual amendments and replying to emails. We also start work on checking the Strasbourg Agenda and allocating responsibilities. This is part of my Whip job. We already know that Audiovisual Media may require a separate UK line unless I win the day in Group, for which purpose we are already making sure we will all be there or have proxy votes lined up. Each MEP can cast a proxy in Group for one other from their national delegation. This is something that we have agreed to be more vigilant on since I became whip and it may be very important this week. There are also quite a few items on the Strasbourg Agenda coming from committees where we do not have a UK Lib Dem, so we will need to share out the checking between us and I make some provisional suggestions where I think there are already areas of overlap or interest ready for our meeting tomorrow. There are still a lot of blanks. I send out emails to interested parties explaining my amendments on Audiovisual media and criminal sanctions for IP.

19.30 Dinner with a few other Lib Dem MEPs and David Howarth MP who is over for a visit. Useful general discussions. I have a session with him tomorrow.