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UNITED KINGDOM - UNIVERSITY OF BATH - Michael HINDLEY
2015-11-16 - 2015-11-18
The University of Bath invited Michael HINDLEY to take part in a panel discussion on Britain’s membership of the EU.
Mission report: VISIT TO BATH UNIVERSITY
I had already accepted an invitation to be a FMA guest lecturer at the University of Bath (17th-18th November 2015) when the additional request came for me to take part in a panel discussion on Britain’s membership of the EU. Readers will be well aware that Premier Cameron has offered an ‘in-out’ referendum which now will take place as early as summer 2016. Bath, a spa town in Roman times, did not host a university until the 1960s and the university’s stark concrete functionalist buildings seem planned to contrast with the stylish and elegant town centre dating from Regency times.
During my time as an MEP, a German colleague of me always joked, ‘every time there is a debate about next steps for the EU, in the UK the debate always starts with whether your country should be in the EU at all !’ 2015 has seen two seismic shocks threatening to bring down two pillars of EU integration. The Greek debt crisis and the mass infl ux of refugees have raised existential questions about the Euro and Schengen. By luck and good judgement the UK stayed out of both. And so whilst the EU debates the future shape of the EU, the UK is plunged into a debate about actual membership. ‘Grexit’ followed by ‘Brexit’? The original invitation was to address an under-graduate course entitled ‘Europe and Global Politics’. This subject suited me not only because of my previous activity as Vice-President of the EP’s REX Committee, but also because I am currently acting as an expert for the European Economic and Social Committee’s (EESC) preparing a report on the Commission’s ‘Trade for All’ communication. Interestingly, the communication is sub-titled ‘Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy’, implying perhaps that the Commission’s previous trade policies were not quite as ‘responsible’ as they should have been. Certainly on of the great clichés of the 1990s, namely that ‘a rising tide raises all boats’, has proven to be illusory. The Commission previous strategy, ‘Global Europe’, quite explicitly acknowledged that the benefi ts of liberalised trade had not been shared by all. The lunch time panel discussion was a lively affair. Two academics joined me on the panel, one specialising in ‘Euroscepticism’, a subject unlikely to exhaust research material in any immediate future, especially in the UK. Though the issue of a possible UK exit – ‘Brexit’ – usually generates more heat than light, this was not the case at Bath University. The questions were based on knowledge, a rare treat when debating the EU in Britain! When I studied Modern Languages at London University in the 1960s ‘foreign’ lecturers outside beyond temporary ‘assistants’ were rare. Now it is commonplace to fi nd international staff throughput a wide range of subjects. My visit was organised by a Spanish academic and the class tutor was a Lithuanian, a happy sign that integration is happening at one important level, that ofacademic exchange.

2015 FMA Visit to Luxembourg
2015-11-11 - 2015-11-14
Dossier
Final report

The trip to the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU was done this year together with the Study day 2015. The trip took place from 12 to 14 November 2015. Meetings took place at the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Court of Auditors, the Chamber of Deputies and the Association of the Former Members of the Chamber of Deputies. An optional visit to Schengen was organised on Saturday 14 November. Mission report
During a study visit to Luxembourg City – Luxembourg holds the EU Council Presidency for the second half of 2015 – the delegation met a number of senior figures from the Court of Auditors.
We received a warm welcome from Henri Grethen, the Luxembourg Member of the court, who gave an extremely interesting presentation on how the institution works (the presentation is available at eca. europa.eu and is recommended reading for anyone with an interest in the court). For 2015, the court, which has 900 members of staff, has an operating budget of EUR 141.3 million. It performs audits on the European Development Fund, the EU’s 51 agencies and other bodies, loans and borrowings, including in connection with the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism, as well as the European Central Bank, focusing on the operational efficiency of the bank’s management.
Iliana Ivanova, the Bulgarian Member of the court, spoke about her regular contacts with Parliament’s specialised committees, political groups and individual rapporteurs. Given that some of our colleagues had sat on the Committee on Budgetary Control, a number of highly specific and detailed questions were asked during the discussion.
Fabrice Mercade stressed the importance of inter institutional relations. He said the court was keen to ensure that greater account was taken of its remarks, as its recommendations often went unheeded. The court would be moving to an interactive, paperless communication strategy and its spokesperson would start using social media to bring the court’s activities to the attention of a wider audience. Lazaros S. Lazarou’s presentation on the annual report for 2014 and beyond was of particular interest, as it was the first report to cover the multiannual plan for 2014-2020. The report stated that the primary focus would be on performance and that the lower-than-forecast rate of 4.4% (instead of 5.5%) had been achieved as a result of management assessment measures.
A large number of questions were asked by the 10 speakers, each of whom had a limited time slot. The topics addressed included the functioning of the court – in particular the arrangements for appointing auditors a phrase famously uttered by the father of modern science, Galileo Galilei. The exhibition focuses on the relationship between the visual arts and technology in creating a shared, collaborative space. In the same spirit, even the café, where we spent a pleasant few moments, is an integral part of the museum visit, being made up of two long tables nestled under a canopy designed by the Bouroullec brothers. MUDAM’s location on the Kirchberg plateau, a bustling hub of modern Europe, is perfect for exploring some of Luxembourg’s most interesting architecture just across the Court of Justice, where we spent a day to gain a better understanding of the EU’s legal set-up following last month’s reform. The CJEU, designed by Dominique Perrault, is an imposing, iconic building more than half a kilometre long and with around 124 000 m2 of floor space. It is located in Luxembourg’s business district and stands alongside offices and banks including Christophe Ingenhoven’s cutting-edge European Investment Bank building.
The CJEU, which has a wonderful display of art works, is arranged over several levels, with a height difference of 12 m between the square on which the original building was constructed and the 300m-long covered gallery that lies below. The gallery links the buildings and houses the café, the canteen, a spacious law library and a number of courtrooms. The two 24-storey, 107m-high tower blocks clad in golden anodised aluminium are particularly striking. The towers light up when the sun’s rays reach them in the morning and turn an intense golden colour at sunset. The President of the CJEU, Koen Lenaerts, reminded us of the Court’s key role in ensuring that Community law is applied uniformly in all the Member States, which is essential if the EU is to retain its credibility. Pieces of legislation adopted under the codecision procedure sometimes contain shortcomings that leave them open to different interpretations and it is the Court’s task to give a clear, transparent and unambiguous interpretation. The Court has an extremely busy research department which carries out research in all areas with reference to the national legal systems of the 28 Member States. A number of meetings with judges and staff, attendance at a hearing in the main courtroom and discussions on a number of important cases with Paschalis Paschalidis, legal secretary to the First Advocate-General, and Claudia Schmidt, legal secretary to Judge Egils Levits, helped us gain a clearer picture of how the CJEU goes about ensuring that the Lisbon Treaty is correctly interpreted and applied. The group discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the recently approved General Court reform during an informative round-table discussion with Court of Justice judges Alexander Arabadjiev, Francois Biltgen and Maria Berger, General Court judge Maryanna Kancheva, and Civil Service Tribunal judge Rofes i Pujol.
The CJEU reform consists in increasing the number of judges at the General Court and incorporating the Civil Service Tribunal into the General Court. The approval of the reform, and the resulting strengthening of the General Court, means that the CJEU will be able to continue to work efficiently on behalf of EU citizens in delivering high-quality judgments. The reform will help the CJEU to keep up with an increased caseload and to guarantee that judgments are handed down within a reasonable time as established in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Monica Baldi EPP-ED, Italy (1994-1999)

2015 Dinner Debate
2015-05-25 - 2015-05-26
The 2015 Dinner Debate took place on Tuesday 26 May in the European Parliament, Brussels.

Memorial Service 2015
2015-04-25 - 2015-04-26
The 2015 Memorial Service was held on Tuesday 26 May at 17:45 in the European Parliament, Brussels. Read the Final Oration by Former President of the European Parliament, Lord Henry Plumb and please find below the Brochure with the full list of deceased members and obituaries written by their former colleagues.

2015 Annual Lunch
2015-04-03 - 2015-04-04
The 2015 Annual Lunch took place at the European Parliament in Brussels on the 4th of April.

Annual Seminar 2014 "How to make progress towards an economic union and the future of the European social model"
2014-12-09 - 2014-12-10
The 2014 Annual Seminar took place on 10 December 2014 at the European Parliament in Brussels.

Welcome and introduction to the seminar, by Mr Enrique BARÓN CRESPO, President of the European Parliament Former Members Association.

Speech by Prof Ansgar Belke, University of Duisburg-Essen, Faculty for Economics and Business Administration.

Speech by Ms Elisa FERREIRA MEP, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.

Speech by Mr Kajus HAGELSTAM, Head of Unit “Economic Governance Team” of the European Parliament.

Speech by Mr Kajus HAGELSTAM, Head of Unit “Economic Governance Team” of the European Parliament.

Speech by Mr Christof-Sebastian KLITZ, Head of Brussels Office of the Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft.

Conclusions by Ms Marie-Claude VAYSSADE, Former MEP and FMA Member
Watch the video

Conclusions by Ms Marie-Claude VAYSSADE, Former MEP and FMA Member

Employment and social aspects of the 2020 strategy
Employment and Social situation in the EU EN only
Public employment services in the EU EN only
Implementation of 2014 European Semester
European Union pensions policy EN only
Cost of Non-Europe Report EN only
How far are EU Member States meeting their commitments EN only
Reforming the structure of the EU banking sector EN only

2014 Annual Dinner
2014-12-01 - 2014-12-02
The Annual Dinner of 2014 was organized on the 2th of December at the European Parliament with Mario Monti, former Italian Prime Minister, as a guest of honour.

Study Visit 2014 to Kosovo
2014-10-10 - 2014-10-19
Full report
Programme

You can read here the full report of the Study Visit to Serbia.

The Study Visit, held once a year, is a combination of political dialogue and cultural meetings (with Government representatives, NGOs, academic and media representatives). This year the delegation was made up of 15 former MEPs , one accompanying persons and a member ofSecretariat, and took place in Kosovo from 11 to 19 October. Members of the delegation had the chance to meet members of the various political groups, officials of the government and representatives of civil society. An interesting trip to the border between Serbia and Kosovo was also a highlight of the visit. A full report can be read in the Bulletin but you can find some additional documents here below (including a letter to VP Mogherini on our visit and a report by Peter Price).

Mission Report

During our study visit, the most widely discussed topic was the problem of what is generally regarded as widespread corruption that is undermining the democratic and economic development of the country, placing it just 105th on the transparency International corruption index. In a recent progress report, the Commission indicated that: ‘The implementation of the anti-corruption strategy and action plan fails to generate effective results due to weak political support’. significantly, the leaders of the five largest parties all assured us that they wholeheartedly endorsed effective measures to combat the problem. The fault always lay somewhere else. The opposition parties now seeking power were accusing the government parties of failure to act or, worse still, of active involvement in corruption. The civil engineering sector appeared to be a particularly attractive option for a minister with a keen eye for a little extra cash.

For example, over one billion euros had been channelled into the construction of a motorway costing less than half that amount. however, given the great symbolic value for most Albanians of the road link from Pristina to tirana, the government was in no mood to quibble. Following a visit from the transport Minister to Washington, the united states’ Ambassador succeeded in having the contract awarded to an American company in which he now holds a senior post. According to nGO and business representatives, no members of the political establishment, whether in government or opposition, see anything wrong with supplementing their meagre pay on the side. The head of the Foreign Investment Council, a highly successful Greek oil magnate, informed us that he was careful to steer clear of public procurement, since it was always tainted by corruption, adding that he had nevertheless managed to conclude some highly successful deals in Kosovo. When I asked how, he replied that he was able to talk business with clients on a strictly objective basis, adding that it was his word not his wallet that counted.

We were also informed by public officials that, while measures to combat corruption were an absolute priority under the rule of law, the problem was deeply ingrained in the Balkans as a whole and not limited to Kosovo. It is also proving hard to eradicate in a poor country where numerous laws have not yet taken effect and where the legal apparatus is still being assembled under the direction of euLeX.

A select delegation also met the leaders of the highly nationalistic Albanian Vetëvendosje (self-determination) party, including mayor of Pristina, who had adopted a hard line against corruption despite the risk to himself and been named bravest mayor in the world by the British Guardian newspaper. his party is in favour of the annexation of Kosovo by Albania and wishes to hold referendum to decide the matter. however, this would do little to help Kosovo in the anti-corruption stakes, given that Albania is even further behind on the index (116th)!

Kosovo still has a long way to go before being eligible for eu membership and must first of all put an end to the corruption blocking its road. It is by no means enough to have just one brave mayor. The entire political establishment needs to take a long hard look in the mirror.

Bob van den BOS, ELDR, The Netherlands (1999-2004)

2014 Dinner Debate
2014-04-07 - 2014-04-08
The 2014 Dinner Debate took place on Tuesday 8th April at the European Parliament in Brussels. Mr.Eduardo Barredo Capelot, Director for Social Statistics at Eurostat , was our Guest of Honour.

Memorial Service 2014
2014-04-07 - 2014-04-08
The 2014 Memorial Service was held on Tuesday 8 April 2014, at 5.45 pm, in room ASP 5G2, European Parliament, Brussels. Read the Final Oration by President Klaus Hansch and please find below the Brochure with the full list of deceased members and obituaries written by their former colleagues.

2014 Annual Lunch
2014-04-03 - 2014-04-04
The 2014 Annual Lunch took place at the European Parliament in Brussels.
