October 2002

IN AT THE DEEP END

Last June, at the Council of Fisheries Ministers meeting, the European Commission agreed to a political compromise suggested by the Spanish, which will potentially destroy fragile deep water stocks of fish off the West Coast of Scotland within the five years. Despite vowing that he would never agree to TAC's (total allowable catches) and quotas being applied to these species of deep-water fish, Commissioner Fischler capitulated under pressure from Spain, and announced that TAC's and quotas would after all be applied. Scottish fishermen were outraged, as indeed was I. Firstly, I was appalled and deeply insulted in the way the Commission and Council has reached a preliminary decision on this proposal without consultation from the Parliament - a process the Council is bound to respect under the European Treaties. From my position as Chairman of the Fisheries Committee I kicked up hell about this clear breach of protocol and demanded an apology from the Commission. I was assured that no final decision would in fact be taken until my committee had given its view on the matter.

On Wednesday 11th. September the Fisheries Committee met in Brussels to do just that. I asked the Commission for some answers regarding the most appropriate types of fishing gear to be used in such deep waters and the suitability of the use of TACs and Quotas to control the overexploitation of these deep water stocks. I told the Commission that clearly TACs and Quotas only limit what is landed, not what is caught. This was why TAC's and quotas led to the massive problem of discards which has plagued the Common Fisheries Policy for the past 20 years. I pointed out that deep sea species are vulnerable to all fishing effort but as they are a mixed fishery, with around 87 different species often swimming together at great depths, we will inevitably find high levels of discards, as most of these species are inedible. Sadly in diverse species such as these that can take up to 25 years to reproduce, high levels of discards could result in a collapse of stocks within five years.

Following a vote, the Committee, overwhelmed by the presence of Spanish and other southern MEP's, voted to accept the Commission's plans for TAC's and quotas. The final battle to save Scotland's deep water fishery will therefore now be fought on the floor of the full plenary session of the European Parliament when it meets in Strasbourg in October.

EU BACKS FOOT-AND-MOUTH VACCINE

The European Commission has decided that vaccination should be a priority to tackle any future foot-and-mouth outbreak. The move is contrary to the actions taken by the UK Government, which adopted a mass slaughter programme during last year's outbreak. It is also seen as a huge vote of no confidence in the UK government's mis-handling of the epidemic. EU food safety Commissioner David Byrne said he was bringing forward proposals for mass vaccination, invoking special emergency measures. He said the Commission still believed vaccination of "entire susceptible livestock" was not advisable but it should be at the forefront of any response to future outbreaks.

David Byrne's announcement clearly demonstrated that the UK authorities should have been more ready to introduce vaccination during last year's crisis, which saw more than 2,000 cases of the disease. The Commission's plan to take charge of a future outbreak reflects no confidence at all that the Blair government has the competence or can be trusted to cope. The Royal Society's scientific report into the disease recommended emergency vaccination as an alternative to mass culling, but this was rejected by Blair who insisted on taking personal charge of the UK epidemic.

The government has subsequently held three inquiries into the disease, but did not hold a full public inquiry. Conservative MEP's got the support of the European Parliament to set up a full Committee of Inquiry in Brussels. Hundreds of witnesses have given a chilling account of the needless slaughter of many unaffected animals and of towering arrogance and incompetence by Department of Agriculture and DEFRA officials. This has prompted the Commission to act and lies behind their recent announcement on future vaccination policy. Never again do they wish to see the incompetence of an administration like the British Government, placing the whole continent at risk from a dangerous epidemic.

Although vaccination was rejected during last year's outbreak partly because it would have cost farmers "disease-free" status in export markets, it has now been accepted by the Commission that it is the only viable policy to stop the rapid spread of the disease. The European Parliament's committee of inquiry is expected to produce final recommendations, which will not be legally binding, before the end of the year.

MARTA ANDREASEN BLOWS THE WHISTLE ON KINNOCK

The dismissal of one grey, bespectacled accountant in faraway Brussels seems almost unseemly to write about when we are all on edge about Iraq, international terrorism and the anniversary of September 11. Yet the story of Marta Andreasen - a modest, Spanish number-
cruncher, charged with overseeing the European Commission's colossal £60bn budget - is a gloomy parable of real relevance to everyone in Scotland.

Ms Andreasen was hired just nine months ago to act as Chief Accountant to the Commission which oversees and spends almost every penny that the EU raises from Europe's taxpayers. Her job was to make sure that the books were in order and the money properly accounted for. Within days of reaching her desk last January, Ms Andreasen was appalled by what she
found. The systems in use just didn't meet basic accounting standards. The computer and software collating the figures was easily subject to interference by officials who could access it without leaving a trace.

Basic double-entry bookkeeping - an accounting system introduced in the 19th Century and used by virtually every company from BP to the local sweetie shop - didn't exist. In summary: the possibility of inaccuracy and fraud was huge and its detectability negligible. No-one, as the EU's own auditors had already complained for years, could vouch for any of the accounts as being truly accurate.

But when the softly-spoken Ms Andreasen alerted her bosses to these shortcomings and asked for changes, she was told, under threat of dismissal, it was her job to sign off the accounts, keep quiet and take no further action. When she wrote in despair to Commission President, Romano Prodi she received no reply. The log recording her letter now denies that it was ever sent. She was told to put up and shut up.

But Ms Andreasen is not a quitter. When she refused to keep quiet she was moved to another department. And now she is threatened with the sack. The chief ringmaster for Ms Andreasen's persecution is none other than Neil Kinnock, the Commission Vice-President charged - would you believe it - with cleaning up Brussels' Augean Stables after the budget scandals that brought down President Jacques Santer's regime. It was Kinnock - famous for having castigated Labour Liverpool rebels for the 'obscenity' of sending out redundancy notices to council workers by taxi - who had Ms Andreasen stopped by security staff at Brussels airport and served with a fax threatening her with the sack.

UK Conservative MEPs have taken up the cudgels for Ms Andreasen. They are relentlessly pursuing Mr Kinnock for explanations, the reinstatement of Ms Andreasen and the opening of the Commission's books. Labour MEPs meanwhile are backing Kinnock and the Commission establishment and dismiss Ms Andreasen as nothing more than a troublemaker. Mr Kinnock, the Labour Party and the Commission should be deeply ashamed. Rather than address the issues they have chosen to brush them under the carpet and blacken the name of an honest civil servant. Marta's story is a sorry example of how this Commission has failed once again to deliver on its promises of reform.