Martin Callanan: Green or Blue?

So as is reported on Con Home, and Guido (who royally stitched up one of the candidates) we find that Martin Callanan is the new Tory delegation leader in the European Parliament.

First up I must offer my congratulations, the scale of his victory must have surprised him. I have known Martin for years and there is no doubt that he is closer to the Tory membership than the other two candidates.

Back in 1999 there is no doubt that he was an adjunct to the infamous H block of Helmer, Heaton-Harris and Hannan, but since then he has moved to a more centrist position. This is most apparant from his position on Climate Change which though not utterly enamoured with everything that is being proposed is fully in line with Cameronian alarmism,

Here he is calling for the EU to impose green taxres on third nations air carriers.

Here he is applauding the EU's position at the Copenhagen Climate Change talks,

1. Regrets the fact that the Copenhagen Accord does not deliver the needed fair, ambitious and binding deal on a post-2012 climate treaty and that it neither sets global mid-term or long- term reduction targets nor states when global emissions would need to peak;
2. Regrets the fact that the reduction commitment pledges that were on the table in Copenhagen do not appear to add up to what is required by science in order to stay within the 2° objective, notwithstanding reduction commitments due to be submitted by the Parties on 31 January 2010 to the UNFCCC;
3. Recommends that the UNFCCC secretariat be empowered to make a technical review of the targets due to be submitted by the Parties on 31 January and report on their compatibility with the 2° limit, in time for the resumed negotiations in the ad hoc working groups; further emphasises that the targets must meet the necessary limit as identified by science;

Is convinced that if Europe invests in a sustainable future and incentivises a low-carbon economy within the framework of a binding international agreement, it will bring about results that are favourable to the climate, energy security, reduced energy dependency, resource efficiency, the competitiveness of European industry and job creation;

Here he agrees with a whole bunch of carbon tagets and so on,

Believes the Copenhagen agreement should bind the parties to mandatory reductions and provide for sanctions at international level for non-compliance, their form remaining to be defined;


6. Recalls that the international agreement should ensure collective greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the developed countries at the high end of the 25-40 % range for 2020 compared to 1990 levels, as recommended by the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 4AR), and that recent scientific data indicates that an emission reduction of at least 40 % is required; calls for those reductions to be domestic; recalls that a long-term reduction target should be set for the EU and the other developed countries of at least 80 % by 2050 compared to 1990 levels; recalls that global greenhouse gas emissions should start falling by 2015 at the latest; emphasises the need for the reduction targets agreed in the international agreement to be in line with the 2°C objective and with latest science; calls, therefore, for regular reviews in the agreement every five years to make sure that the reduction targets are ambitious enough to meet the 2°C objective and that those targets continue to be in line with the latest science; calls for the establishment of a global carbon accounting mechanism;

So yes Martin is far better than the others on offer, and he has always supported leaving the EPP, though he was  left for dead in some of the negotiations around it. He is firmly anti-Lisbon Treaty and is generally on the side of the angels across the board (apart from as can be seen on climate change). I just fear that he has got a little comfortable in post.

And the thought that Giles Chichester has been preffered over Jaqui Foster for Deputy suggests two things. 1)The Torys are still as bad as they were.
or/and
2) There was some back room deal between Martin and the pro-Europeans after Ashworth was roasted by Guido.

Tories surrender on Constitution

Now here is a fascinating email exchange. Every few months the heads of the UK political parties in the European Parliament are invited to have a session with interested MPs and Lords. This is organised by Dermot Scott who heads up the Parliament office in London.

From: SCOTT Dermot
Sent: Mon 2/4/2008 3:17 PM
To: CHICHESTER Giles; TITLEY Gary; DUFF Andrew; LAMBERT Jean; FARAGE Nigel; HUDGHTON Ian

Cc: TEMPLE-SMITHSON James; ALHADEFF Giampiero; ROYSTON James; PAGE Clive

Subject: Tripartite meeting 6 March, Westminster

Dear colleagues

The following topics have been suggested for discussion at the next Tripartite meeting of MEPs/MPs/Peers on 6 March:

Lisbon Treaty
energy package
Spring Summit/Lisbon Process
Western Balkans/Neighbourhood Policy

If we are, as usual, to reduce that to two main topics and one for general conversation over lunch, would the following meet you approval?

Energy package
Western Balkans

with the Treaty discussed over lunch.

I think the Lisbon process has been on the agenda fairly regularly, though of course the spring summit follows shortly after. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks

Dermot Scott

Dermot Scott
Head of Office, European Parliament UK Office
2 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AA

A perfectly reasonable request I would have thought.

This below is the response from James Temple-Smithson, who is the EPP-ED staffer based in Conservative headquarters in London as is one of the senior advisers to the Tory leadership on matters pertaining to the EU. His advice having spoken to Giles Chichester, Tory MEP leader is as follows.

Dear Dermot,

Thank you for your mail. Giles' view is that there is limited value in another discussion of the Treaty at this meeting as there will be little new to say, so he would prefer it to be dropped in favour of the Spring Summit which, as you say, will be more topical.

Best wishes,

James

Nothing new to say! What the ?==))(&(&!!!!

The treaty will still be going through Westminster at this time, either in the Lords or back in time for a third reading. Given that the Lib/Dems are falling out at this moment and that for the first time there seems to be a chink in the armour over a referendum, to not talk about the key European issue de jour is tantamount to absolute surrender. Yes the odds are against any significant change, but do you give up now. Even Mr Scott points out that the Lisbon Agenda has been done to death over the last few years. But Giles Chichester has decided to airbrush the incovienience of our liberties being sold down the river out of the equation. I cannot see Duff, or Titley out voting him on this. After all the Labour Party and the Lib/Dems would be delighted to sweep the Treaty under the table. But to have a Tory doing their work for them.

Nothing to see, move along.