Vive la difference - August 2011
The problem with Europe is that it’s often seen as being out of sight and therefore conveniently out of mind.
Which is probably a bit of an oversight on our part, because whether you are a Eurosceptic or are full of Eurovision, the reality is that a significant amount of the legislation which regulates how each and every business in the North-east of Scotland operates originates in the corridors of power in Brussels – just ask any farmer or fisherman about that.
Establishing a good and effective working relationship with the European Parliament has always been a challenge for business and the wider general public and a source of intense frustration for our elected MEPs.
They find it difficult to get across to us what their role in Europe entails and the extent to which their work impacts on day to day life here; they say it’s almost impossible to get media coverage of what it is an MEP actually does.
That’s not to say of course that the media doesn’t have a love, or perhaps more accurately hate, relationship with the EU and all its perceived machinations, particularly – although not exclusively - focused on the size of and shape of vegetables.
This has given us over the years, directives that cucumbers must be straight, bananas should not be excessively curved, rhubarb must be straight, strawberries should be oval, mushy peas will be banned and the British loaf is under threat because it is the wrong size. Collectively these “directives”, most of them misreported enthusiastically by a certain tabloid newspaper, come under the heading of what the EU likes to call “euromyths”. Other euromyths have included suggestions that women would be asked about their sex lives when completing the census, corgis are banned, Bombay Mix is to be renamed Mumbai Mix and busty barmaids are to be banned from wearing low-cut tops – well that last one has a grain of truth to it apparently, they’re not really banned but in consideration of the dangers of skin cancer, barmaids wearing such attire who have to work outside collecting glasses, etc should really be issued with sun tan cream.
But euromyths aside, it is time to dispel some of our own myths about Europe and to understand how we as businesses can better understand the EU’s legislative powers and how we can work more closely with our MEPs to make sure that we have a real voice in Brussels and can raise awareness of our key priorities, just as we do in Holyrood and Westminster and with our local authorities.
Working with other chambers in the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) network, AGCC is looking for ways to improve those links and to step up activity with Europe. Scotland has six MEPs who together represent the whole country as a region of Europe and the network recently met with three of them – Catherine Stihler, Alyn Smith and Struan Stevenson – in a round table discussion, which gave us an opportunity to flag up priorities and current work and to explore opportunities for further engagement and cooperation.
From that came several actions which will be of benefit to our members. Key among these is an agreement to hold additional meetings between the MEPs and Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow chambers along with SCC to look at some of the issues relating to transport and infrastructure development support, in particular air route development funding. Aberdeen, thanks to the presence of Council member Christine Jones of TOTAL, was also able to provide follow up information on the North Sea drilling moratorium. There was discussion too on the Green Paper on procurement and on the lack of effective consultation and engagement with the private sector in determining priorities for economic development activity in Scotland with regard to European objectives and funding allocation.
The next full meeting between the wider Chamber network and the MEPs will be held in Aberdeen in November and we will be inviting members to identify issues which affect them which are determined by the EU.
The Chamber is also improving its engagement with the European Commission/European Parliament offices in Scotland as they work to promote the Europe 2020 programme (the new economic strategy for Europe) - and while the jury might still be out on the pros and cons of that, at least we’re now moving closer to being part of that jury.
But if you’re worried in case there’s just a bit too much Entente Cordiale and that our sovereignty is at risk, be reassured that the EU strenuously dismisses claims that it wants to merge France and the UK as “absurd, and of course untrue.” |
