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What next? Shot for not clapping?

Monday, 6th September 2010

Controversial plans to “fine” MEPs if they fail to attend Tuesday’s ‘state-of-the-union’ address by commission president José Manuel Barroso have caused an outcry among deputies.

Under the proposal, still to be ratified at a meeting on Monday, deputies will have 25 per cent of their daily allowance cut if they fail to attend at least part of the set-piece speech.

Three roll-call votes will be taken during the debate and unless MEPs are present for two of them they will lose about 60 euros.

The proposal, approved by political group leaders last Thursday, has led to a backlash with British MEP Claude Moraes saying, “The procedures employed by the parliament to ensure attendance at the state of the union are deeply patronising to MEPs.

“More importantly they will pour ridicule on the parliament as a whole, because it will associate democratic debate with financial allowances and inducements in the eyes of the public.

"Parliament and the commission leaderships have cobbled this together without warning and deserve all the criticism and incredulity which will be heaped on them,” added Moraes, deputy leader of UK Labour MEPs.

“Attendance would have been moderately good had this rule change not happened. Now it becomes the story instead of the pompously titled 'state of the union' address. It is another EU public relations disaster." 

The move was was greeted with derision by UKIP deputy Nigel Farage who said, "They are so desperate to make him (Barroso) look good that they need to threaten people to come along. It smacks of panic and dictatorial panic at that.

"Will they have a security guard at the back of the room with a luger prepared to shoot the first person to stop clapping?"

That the parliament supports this sort of madness just shows how out of touch they all are. Say something interesting, do something relevant if you want an audience.

"Doing this shows that the only way they can get people to listen to their drivel is to pay them.”

A parliamentary source said the move was being introduced largely because of poor attendance at debates and speeches during the Strasbourg session.

This,he said, was the cause of "increasing embarrassment" to parliament's authorities, especially when VIP guests are invited to give a set-piece speech.

"Parliament clearly does not want this to happen when Barroso gives his first state-of-the-union address this week," he said.

A parliament spokesman said the proposal to deduct the daily allowance was a "one-off" and there were,currently, no plans to extend it.

He said, "I can confirm that the decision has been taken by the leaders of the political groups. This mechanism has been in place for some years for the voting time. Now the group leaders have decided to extend it to this particular debate on the state of the Union because of it's special relevance."

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