Robert Sturdy

ROBERT STURDY MEP CHRISTMAS 2009

Firstly, I would just like to say a big thank you to all those who turned out at the polls in June and voted for the Conservative Party.  It has always been a great honour to serve in the European Parliament and I must thank all those who kept their faith even after the expenses scandal in Westminster.  Politicians must demonstrate humility and sincerity to win back the trust of the voters, while at the same time moving forward.

2009 was the year that the European Parliament passed tough new rules governing the use of pesticides for European farmers.  The Parliament voted to support a compromise package negotiated between the Commission, the Council and MEPs, with 577 in favour, 61 against and just 11 abstentions.  For me, this was one of the most important issues in my 15 years as an MEP and the vote came as a massive disappointment, not only for me, but for East Anglia’s farmers, gardeners, grounds men, consumers and everyone else who contacted me expressing their considerable concerns regarding this Directive.  The proposals were watered down considerably from those originally proposed but the compromise still went too far, despite the active campaigning I led against it, including a letter of protest to 10 Downing Street with Shadow Agriculture Minister, Jim Paice.

The issue of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) was also a large part of my workload this year.  EPAs are agreements between the EU and ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) countries.  Helping countries from poverty has often felt like uphill struggle; no matter how much aid has been given, it hasn’t had the effect we hoped and sadly, many African countries are much poorer than they were at independence, despite the vast sums of money they have received.  Problems of accountability and traceability have always been a problem.  If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, then EPAs are long overdue. I work actively on this issue as the European Conservative and Reformists Group Spokesman on International Trade and I believe we need market liberalisation tied to structural aid to help less developed countries trade their way out of poverty, enabling them to take advantage of preferential treatment and to develop both sustainably and quickly.  With drought conditions and food security adding to their huge difficulties, caused by climate change, it is more important than ever that we do all we can and as quickly as possible to help ACP countries.

But what of 2010?  The first priority for the New Year is to ensure that the new Commission is held to account.  Belgium’s Karel de Gucht recently received Manuel Barroso’s nod for the Trade post, vacated by the outgoing Baroness Ashton and I will be working closely with him.  It will be interesting to see the stance he takes as he most certainly has to demonstrate a commitment to free trade as the last thing we all need is someone who resorts to protectionism.  Free trade is vital to end the world’s economic depression, which we have still not escaped.  A sad sign of this ongoing crisis was GM’s recent announcement that 350 employees from the Luton Vauxhall plant are to be made redundant, demonstrating a further demise of our manufacturing industry.  My sympathies are with all those who lost jobs particularly in the run-up to Christmas.

But the New Year also brings with it new ideas and new opportunities.  We hope to have a Conservative Government come June and after 12 disastrous years of Labour in power this cannot happen soon enough.

I shall, of course, continue doing my bit in Brussels, Strasbourg and the constituency to make sure that the Eastern Region is represented at the European table.  I shall also continue to help all those who write to me with questions and problems to the best of my ability, so please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Finally, may I wish you a Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.