Catherine Bearder, Liberal Democrat MEP for South-East England 2009-2020 was the guest speaker at the May dinner of the Eastbourne European Movement. Her talk was a reminiscence of her work in the European Parliament.
She initially reflected that the war in the Ukraine is a reminder of the purpose of the EU is to prevent war in Europe and this is achieved by social interaction and dialogue between countries. The four principles of freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital thus remain the essence of the European project.
Catherine was first elected to represent South-East England at the European Parliament in 2009 and re-elected in 2014 and 2019. She summarised the political organisation of the European Union as comprising three bodies:
• The EU Council of Ministers, comprising the representatives of the EU’s member states
• The European Parliament, comprising the representatives of the people of the EU
• The EU Commission – effectively the civil service of the European Union
Catherine said she was taken aback when she first arrived at the European Parliament by the scale of the organisation. However, she soon adapted to life as an MEP, with weekly commuting from the UK to Brussels and Strasbourg. She quickly realised that the older people in the Parliament were the MEPs and the younger people were staff: translators, interpreters and assistants.
Catherine recalled that, in her second term as an MEP, she was elected by the EU’s Parliament as one of the five Questors. The Questors oversee the running of the Parliament and this provided a fascinating insight into the operation of the Parliament in terms of its IT systems, catering, transport, exhibitions and artworks.
Catherine noted that there was generally a much better understanding of the EU in other countries than in the UK. UK MPs had been offered a week’s free visit to the European Parliament whilst she was an MEP, but few if any had accepted the invitation: UK MPs generally remained chauvinistic and ignorant of the European Parliament. She observed that the outcome of the UK leaving the EU had not been defined before the referendum and remains undefined. Catherine’s associates in the European Parliament, of all political parties, had been astonished that the UK government had no plan for leaving the European Union - Brexit has caused a major loss of trust in the UK which will degrade the UK’s international relationships for a long time to come.
As a way of rebuilding trust, Catherine considered that it may be possible for the UK to participate in and contribute to European agencies. There are about 70 such agencies, including the European Space Agency, Euratom, Galileo (the European global satellite-based navigation system), Erasmus (the EU’s student exchange programme) and the European Maritime Safety Agency.
The next European Movement Eastbourne dinner is on 8th June 2022 when the speaker will be William White, South-East England regional director of the National Farmers Union. If you would like to know more about the European Movement in Eastbourne or attend one of its dinners, please call Paula Welch on 07510 851722.
