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Spring Newsletter April-May 2018
Global opportunities for the Commonwealth
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At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in London, a potentially thorny issue was handled tactfully, respectfully, and with the correct conclusion. His Royal Highness Prince Charles has been selected as the next Head of the Commonwealth. Until now, this was by no means a certainty, as the position is not hereditary. I praise all involved in the efforts for a job well done. For the past three years, I’ve been honoured to have played a part of the global campaign to highlight Prince Charles’s outstanding value and commitment to the Commonwealth. And in my private discussions on this matter with leaders and politicians across the Commonwealth, I have been encouraged by the high esteem with which Prince Charles is held.
With the future Head of the Commonwealth now decided, we can look forward to a renewed partnership and fresh opportunities with our fellow nations. As Prince Charles said: “[to] not only revitalise the bonds between our countries, but [to] give the Commonwealth a renewed relevance to all citizens, finding practical solutions to their problems and giving life to their aspirations.”
In contrast to the EU, the Commonwealth is young and growing in economic power. Almost two thirds of citizens within the Commonwealth are under 30. The 2018 Commonwealth Trade Review predicted that trade between Commonwealth nations will be worth $700 billion by 2020. And within the UK, the value of our exports to fellow members is roughly double what it was 20 years ago, much of this from here in the South East, England’s biggest exporting region.
By encouraging free enterprise and open markets across the Commonwealth, we raise living standards for all. A firm commitment to free trade means stronger economies, more jobs, more choice, and lower prices for our citizens. While much has been done to promote free and open commerce, more can be done to cut red tape and reduce barriers to future trade. Within the Commonwealth, there are positive examples of this progress. The Trade Facilitation Programme will cut the average time needed to import goods by 47 per cent, and the time taken to export by as much as 91 per cent, a huge boost for our businesses.
For its cultural and geographical diversity, the Commonwealth is tough to match. It encompasses a quarter of the world’s nations and a third of its people. What is more, we mostly share a common language, practices, legal traditions and yes, a common leader in the Queen and in the future, HRH Prince Charles. With this unique cohesion and global scope, the Commonwealth could become the leading champion of promoting free trade and a rules-based international order, with Britain at the forefront.
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Cautious yet encouraging signs on Korean talks
Regular readers of my newsletters are no doubt well aware of my work as the European Parliament’s Chair of the Delegation for Relations with the Korean Peninsula. I have often mentioned the work my delegation has been doing to promote constructive dialogue between North and South, with our role being that of neutral intermediaries. It is encouraging to see that now in 2018, we are on the verge of cautious yet tangible progress being made, whereas only a year ago, there was virtually no inter-Korean communication and we were on a path towards war.
I warmly welcome the steps taken by President Moon’s policy. It is courageous to pursue the goal of the eventual denuclearisation of the Peninsula, working towards a peace treaty that has eluded this conflict for more than 64 years, with only an outdated armistice agreement for a guarantee. Furthermore, I salute President Trump’s recent acceptance of Korean Leader Kim Jung Un’s gracious invitation to talk; a promising display of diplomacy given that in more than 64 years, there has not been so much as a phone call, between the leaders of the two nations. Both leaders of the Korean Peninsula deserve praise for their recent meeting, which demonstrated political courage and their commitment to bring peace and stability to the peninsula.
I have spent the past three years as Chairman of the EP Delegation for Relations with the Korean Peninsula, with my colleagues, relentlessly advocating the case for dialogue without preconditions; preconditions which I knew would abort any successful talks even before they started. A dialogue which I hope would lead from the current armistice to a lasting peace treaty and an eventual verifiable denuclearised Korean Peninsula.We must recognise that, however short-sighted such a perspective might be, North Korea possesses a heightened awareness of the fates of denuclearised Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein and has radicalised its position on nuclear weapons, institutionalising them as the cornerstone of its defence and survival strategy.
So the talks must succeed, for if they fail, the future is unthinkable. To those who say ‘Oh we have been here before’ I say in return ‘what is our alternative?’ These are undeniably early days and the road ahead will not be without serious challenges, but they are also, for the first time in recent memory, days of quiet hope.
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| Ambitious Macron seeks to redraw the map of the European Union
President Macron of France has in the past modestly compared himself to the Roman God, Jupiter. But it seems his true inspiration is the former King of the Franks, Charlemagne. During the middle ages, Charlemagne united much of Europe under his rule, forging an empire that stretched from the mountain range of the Pyrenees all the way to the Baltic Sea. Now, in 2018, President Macron is boldly pushing forward with his own vision to become “Pater Europae” and create a pan-European super-state, one devoid of respect for national borders, traditions, or cultures.Emmanuel Macron, who sensationally overturned the traditional party political system in his own country, is seeking to do just that within the European Parliament. In a campaign leading all the way up to the May 2019 European elections, President Macron is advocating a complete sweeping aside of the national party link between MEPs and the voters. In its place would be newly created pan-European MEPs without an obligation to their nation or their party.
The ambitious plan has been met with little warmth from the two largest political groups within the European Parliament, the EPP and the S&D. These two conservative and socialist coalitions respectively, have long been the power brokers within the Parliament and are unlikely to wish to release their grip on the system any time soon. Moreover, Macron’s proposal has failed to muster much enthusiasm from the governments of the Member States, who would face losing control of their nation’s voting blocs within the European parliament.
A prototype proposal of Macron’s to redistribute some of Britain’s soon-to-be vacant MEP seats to his pan-European agenda was defeated earlier in February in a plenary vote, 368 to 274. It was roundly criticised then as a method that would only complicate the voting system further and make MEPs more detached from the citizens they claim to represent. Despite this early setback, it is evident that Macron and the Euro-federalist elements of the EU will continue to push these hegemonic ambitions. |
| Despite domestic issues, EU set to demand more taxpayers’ money
A further example of why President Macron’s dream of a harmonious EU super-state is likely to flounder is the not so small matter of the future EU budget. With the United Kingdom (the second-largest net contributor to the EU budget) due to leave in 2019 and the next EU Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) to cover EU spending from 2021-2027, one would have supposed all options would be on the table. Including what the ECR group has advocated for years, a slimmed-down EU that avoids spreading itself too thin on a plethora of vanity projects and statist mission creep.
Lamentably, early discussions do not look positive. The mere suggestion that; in lieu of continuing restricted domestic budgets of Member States, the EU should reduce its raid on the taxpayer’s purse; has mostly been ignored within Brussels. Indeed, proposals from the European Parliament’s budget committee envisage an increase of the maximum ceiling for Member States’ contributions to the EU budget, which would see many paying billions more per year.
And instead of focusing on value for money and concentrating on areas where the EU budget could potentially have added value: energy innovation, scientific and technological research, infrastructure projects; much of the increase in spending will be splurged on lofty projects designed to exhibit the EU as a great geopolitical power. To this end, they envisage an expansion of the EU’s diplomatic reach as well as the establishment of a centrally-commanded EU military. All of which expose a limitless desire to garb themselves in the vestiges of a super-state, seeking to influence global politics while all the while domestic issues fester.
There is still no clear vision or solution to the ongoing migrant crisis. And this continuing catastrophe has led to great fractures opening up within the collective harmony of the 28 Member States. Poland for example, while currently the largest net beneficiary of the EU budget, is now bitterly at odds with Brussels and Berlin on its handling of the migrant issue. It has been said that there is now an undesirable gulf between the politics of the EU and the money of the EU. How Poland chooses to approach these MFF negotiations remains to be seen.
Division within the remaining Member States may also come from President Macron’s proposal to establish a specific Eurozone budget. This could lead to the Eurozone 19 seizing more budgetary power and moving further away from the remaining non-euro members such as the disgruntled Poland and Hungary. The future harmony of the EU will be sorely tested by these upcoming budget negotiations. With Hungarian and Polish citizens unwilling to accept the EU’s attempts to impose a migrant quota upon them; and German citizens unwilling to further subsidise the poorer EU member-states, the atmosphere within the community could not be further from the fraternal commonwealth that Macron envisions.
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| | In other news: Asia Europe Political Forum
On May 18th, I will be speaking at the Asia Europe Political Forum in London on "Disaster Relief, combatting major diseases – the humanitarian response". The conference, organised by the ECR, will take place at the Royal Horseguards Hotel over the course of two days.
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| I will be back in touch with you again very soon. In the meantime you can check my website Best wishes, Nirj Deva MEP |
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