Strasbourg in Brussels

With the Parliament almost through its so-called "exceptional" plenary in Brussels this week the news came through this afternoon from the Secretary General that there are further safety concerns down in Strasbourg to the extent that the session scheduled for the week of 22 September will now also take place in Brussels.

As I have said on a previous blog on this website the SNP has campaigned long and hard for the European Parliament to have its seat in Brussels and for the Strasbourg building to be ditched. This week's session in Brussels has shown how much more effective the EP is when it meets in Brussels - the Commission and the Council are just up the road. To be honest in all the fours years I have spent working in the European Parliament in Brussels I have never seen the Parliament quite like this. Everyone just seems much more relaxed and happy with staff not spending two days travelling back and forth to Strasbourg on a 5 hour train journey and trying to cram 5 days work into 3 days.

Being in Brussels is definitely more cost effective than the 200 million euros it costs the taxpayer each year for a wasted journey no one wants to make. This week the chamber in Brussels has shown it is more than capable of withstanding the pressure of a plenary session and with the necessary infrastructure put in place Brussels can well cope. If elected to represent the SNP and the people of Scotland in the European Parliament next year this is one issue I will continue to campaign for - to bring the EP back to Brussels.

As I have said before the EP is the only parliament in the world that cannot decide for itself where its seat should be. That decision rests with the Member State governments and it requires a unanimous decision of all the national governments in the Council of Ministers to agree. The French government remains against any such move to Brussels so it is ironic that the collapse of the ceiling should happen under their Presidency.

Campaigning against compulsory sheep EID

Our campaign against the Commission's plans for compulsory electronic identification of sheep (EID) continued today with the launch of a cross-party and cross-national written declaration. Over the past while we have been working together with 3 other MEPs - Mairead McGuinness (Fianna Gael), Jim Nicholson (Ulster Unionist), Neil Parish (Conservatives and chair of the Agriculture Committee) and Jill Evans (Plaid) in putting together the written declaration which calls on the Commission to halt its plans for compulsory EID.

With the publication of the written declaration this means we now have until 4 December to gather as much support as possible from other MEPs across the EU in backing our campaign. If the written declaration is adopted by a majority of MEPs it becomes the official policy of the EP and the declaration is forwarded to the Commission, the Council and to the governments and parliaments of the 27 EU Member States.

The written declaration follows a delegation Alyn invited from Scotland's National Sheep Association and the National Farmer's Union of Scotland to Brussels to present a 7,000 signatures petition to the EP's Petitions Committee. Next month the NSA and NFUS are back in Brussels this time to give evidence to the EP's Agriculture Committee on the implications of the Commission's sheep EID proposals on Scotland's sheep sector.

Below is the text of the written declaration on electronic sheep identification scheme.

0068/2008
Written declaration on the electronic identification system for sheep (EID)
The European Parliament,
– having regard to Rule 116 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas sheep and goat farming is important to the social, environmental and economic fabric of the EU,
B. whereas the sheep sector is in decline owing to lack of prosperity; whereas the next generation is reluctant to enter sheep production; and whereas, if this is left to continue, the skills base will be lost,
1. Calls on the Commission to recognise that batch recording and movement standstills of sheep are more cost-effective forms of protection from disease spread than EID and individual movement recording;
2. Calls on the Commission to recognise that producer incomes in the sheep sector are characteristically low and that the implementation of EID will result in a significant cost to a sector that can ill afford a further regulatory burden;
3. Calls on the Commission to make sheep EID voluntary but not mandatory;
4. Calls on the Commission to recognise that the implementation of EID and individual recording of sheep will affect the competitiveness of the EU sheep sector on the world market;
5. Calls on the Commission to recognise that there are significant practical problems that prevent the effective operation of EID in extensive livestock systems and within climatic conditions commonly experienced in northern Europe;
6. Instructs its President to forward this declaration, together with the names of the signatories, to the Council, the Commission and the parliaments and governments of the Member States.

Collapse of the European Parliament's ceiling in Strasbourg

Of course the best news today was the realisation that next week's Strasbourg session is in Brussels.

At the beginning of the month we were all notified by the Parliament's Secretary-General the grave news that part of the ceiling in the chamber in Strasbourg had collapsed. Despite best efforts to repair the damage the Strasbourg chamber will not be ready in time for next's first session back and while everyone is glad that no one was hurt when the ceiling collapsed there has been much rejoicing at the prospect at not having to head down the road for a trip that costs taxpayers millions of euros. I also now don't need to remember to pack Alyn's canteen and put it outside the office.

Ensuring Scotland's voice heard on reforming the EU's CAP

I’m now back in Brussels this week after our summer recess for what is likely to be an extremely busy time in the European Parliament as we head for the European elections next June. Already the first thing on my desk is to sort out our amendments to the report drafted by the Portuguese Socialist MEP Luis Capoulas Santos on the Common Agricultural Policy Health Check.

Before the summer we worked closely with the Scottish Government, Scotland’s NFU and other Scottish farming organisations to ensure Scotland’s farming and rural interests are central to the EP’s deliberations on this important issue. We submitted over 20 amendments which sought to strengthen Santos report not least by calling for example for all livestock payments to be decoupled as a way in which to simplify the single payment system for farmers and at the same time eliminate any distortions of competition which could prevent a level playing field for Scotland's farmers.

On the issue of modulation we sought the deletion of the Commission's proposals on progressive modulation which would seek to punish farms just because of their size. Modulation refers to the transfer of CAP funds from direct payments to farmers (pillar 1 of the CAP) to rural development measures (pillar 2 of the CAP)

While we want Member States to reduce voluntary modulation as compulsory modulation is raised to ensure Scotland's farmers are not placed at a major competitive disadvantage compared to their European counterparts, rural development money must not be lowered as a result. All modulated money should stay within the country that generated it so as to ensure there is maximum compensation for farmers whose income was reduced by modulation.

On cross compliance issues we want to see less administrative burdens being placed on farmers with greater emphasis on local decision-making via devolved governments and regional bodies. Our other amendments focused on issues such as abolishing payments for tobacco aid. Back in May the EP took the crazy decision to vote in favour of maintaining more than £200 million in EU subsidies for tobacco production. Given the amount of money the EU ploughs into public awareness campaigns about the dangers to public health from smoking this for me was a bad day for the Parliament and a bitter irony.

We'll be looking for as much support as possible for our amendments when the Agriculture Committee comes to vote on the draft Santos report on 7 October after which it will go to plenary for further debate and vote on 18 November.

Glenrothes by-election

I returned to Markinch this afternoon to help out doing whatever was asked of me. I spent a lot of time in the Glenrothes constituency during the Holyrood campaign last year working alongside Tricia Marwick MSP and her team. I have to say I had a fantastic experience in Tricia's campaign and enjoyed every minute of it. The sheer hard work that was put into that campaign to get Tricia elected as the constituency MSP for Central Fife and to get as many Councillors elected as we did to enable the SNP to take control of Fife Council was astounding and greatly impressed me. I learnt a great deal and was certainly made to feel extremely welcome.

During this time I also had the opportunity to campaign alongside our candidate (who was selected last night), Cllr Peter Grant who has worked diligently across his ward and as the leader of Fife Council.

It was great to be back campaigning in Markinch as I spent most of the afternoon with David from Edinburgh leafleting. Out on the streets this afternoon there was a good feeling with people coming over to say hello and asking about the campaign. The Central Fife team have certainly worked extremely hard since last year's election delivering for the people of Central Fife and continuing to build our credibility in the constituency.

With the start of the autumn session in the EP looming I have to go back to Brussels on Monday. Our in-tray is full right now with a wealth of issues that we will be working on over the coming weeks and months - pesticides, CAP health check, animal by-products, food security, renewable energy targets and energy security, biofuels and climate change, etc. This is going to be an extremely hectic time as we approach the European elections and the end of the EP's current mandate. However, that won't stop me from coming back to Markinch and I'll certainly be there just as much as I can.

Seeing Scotland's offshore wind potential

When we return to Brussels at the end of this month one of the key issues we will have to deal with in the Parliament’s Energy Committee is the Commission’s proposed energy and climate change package. The Parliament’s Energy Committee is set to vote on the Commission’s proposals for promoting and increasing the use of renewable energy across the EU and we have been working closely with Scotland’s energy industry back home to ensure that Scotland’s distinctive approaches to energy challenges and opportunities are recognised in European policy.

Back in July 2006 we brought Europe’s Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs to Scotland to see for himself how we are pioneering green energy technology. The Commissioner went offshore to the Beatrice oil platform and then to Nigg to see the offshore wind turbines that were being built as part of the Downvind Beatrice wind farm demonstration project part funded by the EU and the UK and Scottish Governments. This project saw the development of Europe’s largest-scale offshore wind farm development. The two demonstrator wind turbines are adjacent to the Beatrice oil field.

I also had the opportunity to see the turbines when I was at Nigg with the Commissioner and when I was up North last week I managed to see the two Beatrice offshore wind turbines sitting out in the Moray Firth, 25km from shore.

Beatrice showed what was possible to achieve by taking the technologies and various methods and practices developed already for offshore oil and gas and applying them to deep water offshore wind farm development. The old and the new, the dirty and the clean industries working together.

Since then the team that worked to develop the Downvind project have gone on to become “Seaenergy renewables”, one of the newest companies in Scotland to focus specifically on offshore wind developments and to be at the forefront of the offshore wind industry not just in Europe but across the world.

I travelled up to Aberdeen yesterday to meet the team, whom I had first met back in 2006, and after being briefed we headed up and across to Buckie for me to be given a chance to go out in one of the boats that Sea energy is looking to use when it comes to doing any repairs on the wind turbines.

Below is the wind cat work boat I went out into the Moray Firth on (its the yellow one in the middle)– this is a series 7 wind cat, which can do a top speed of 28 knots and a cruising speed of 25 knots.

Aileen, Kay (Seaenergy renewables), Florian and Chris in our survival gear

The opportunity for Scotland to lead the way in offshore wind is immense. Many lessons have been learnt from the Beatrice Downvind project in terms of developing the technology and while many skills have been transferred from the oil and gas industry, the one thing that struck me was the need for skills from the fishing industry. If you have a deep water offshore wind farm development out in the middle of the sea they will need to be repaired and that requires people who have an understanding of the sea to be able to cope with difficult weather conditions out at sea along with people who have a head for heights to climb inside the turbine to do the necessary repairs. When we were out in the Moray Firth, the waters were fairly calm though the swell was fairly strong and the boat which can do a top speed of 25 knots was certainly bouncing along at 22 knots. In the distance I could see the Beatrice wind turbines but the strong swell was certainly doing nothing for my stomach and we returned to the harbour.

This is an industry waiting to take off and I was glad to have the opportunity to meet with the team who are working extremely hard to make this a reality and to experience for myself some of the issues that such an industry will have to address. Gaining a better insight in to the development of the offshore wind industry is something I greatly appreciate and look forward to taking this back with me to Brussels the week after next.

The Assynt Higland Games at Lochinver

I spent today across in Lochinver for the Assynt Highland Games. The Sutherland Branch had a stall there right next to the Strawberries and cream van, which was ideal and the weather was perfect.

This is me with the Chieftain of the Assynt Highland Games, Alex Dickson.

After watching some of the Highland Games, we headed to Culkein via Clachtoll where Rob went to visit one of his constituents before heading back to Evanton via Ullapool and dinner at the Ceilidh Place.