Impressive performance by rapporteur

8.30 The later start enables me to find the concierge and give her a spare key for the new lock to my flat. I then arrive at the office do the emails and go to Committee. I feel tired as the Industry innovation report inaccuracies have been buzzing in my head and I send out a few emails on the subject.


9.30. In Committee. We get to votes at 10, and it is just a single vote as all the 117 amendments can be taken en blok as we are in agreement. Must be a record. We all applaud the rapporteur for getting to grips with the problems and making it so simple for us. I do my two presentations and we also discuss the Russia report to which I have submitted an amendment. The PSE shadow rapporteur has decided he does not agree with me on one of my amendments on the PPP report, but the EPP shadow does. I will be seeing the Commission and Council on the same point next week, so I can wait to see what they say. At the moment I still prefer my line and obviously could get it through committee with EPP support.


12.45 The EPFSF (European Parliament Financial Services Forum) lunch. This is usually interesting and the topic today is competition sectoral enquiries into banking services.

14.15 I have a meeting with Gauzes, the EPP rapporteur on payments. This is really just to check out that he has no surprises up his sleeve for next week’s trilogue with the commission and council. He has been having a bit of a hard time since the last one and though I do not agree with everything he does he is trying very hard to be fair and responsible. We both agree that we have switched from being optimistic about reaching agreement with council to being pessimistic. Anyway, this will help keep the Parliament side together as much as possible.

14.30 This afternoon and evening, and indeed tomorrow morning, there are ECON interparliamentary debates with national parliament members. However as I have to meet an amendment deadline on the innovation strategy reports for both ECON and Industry of next Tuesday and we have a Party Conference this weekend and a trilogue next Tuesday I decide I have to get everything organised today. So spend the rest of the day on amendments and circulating them to other MEPs who may want to be alerted. Leave at 20.30.