Tom Wise MEP in the European Parliament Ind - Dem Group UK Independence Party UKIP Eastern Region Region

Sending the Commission to Coventry.

I recently reported on how the British government had expressed serious concerns about the way in which the Commission had poorly represented the interests of member states at the International Whaling Commission (IWC). HMG now reserves the right to speak on its own behalf, and questions whether the Commission should even have such a mandate.

Nellie Kroes, EU Commissioner for Competition Policy recently lamented the fact that member states were not contacting the Commission for advice on how to deal with the current economic crisis, but were acting unilaterally. Now I learn of yet another example of member states acting together in their own mutual interests and bypassing the Commission's authority.

There is a big problem in Europe over the enforcement of traffic laws, and the collection of penalties. Now that borders are open, every Member State has ever increasing numbers of Foreign Registered Vehicles (FRVs) on its roads. It is nigh on impossible to penalise FRV drivers for offences they commit, as there is no means of sharing registration data. London alone is estimated to lose £11 million a year in this way. Figures just released show that more than 3 million FRVs enter the UK each year, a staggering 36% of which are Polish. FRVs are 30% more likely to be involved in accidents.

There is a Council framework to compensate for this, but obtaining agreement on this is problematic: HMG, to its credit, is citing one of its much vaunted 'red lines' as a reason for objection.

The French and Belgians have given up waiting, and have simply entered into a bilateral agreement whereby they will share driver information.

This is the way forward - let us all negotiate such agreements with our friends and neighbours, like the French and Belgians, and end this reliance on the EU. The Commission seems to be losing its grip, lets hope we are seeing the beginning of the end.

Tom Wise MEP

Brussels 17 Oct 2008
[Rep]