:00:00. > 3:59:59young giraffe. 18-month-old Marius has been put down by a in Denmark. I
:00:00. > :00:40.am back at DPM. -- 3pm. Hello and welcome to Politics
:00:41. > :00:46.Europe. Your regular guide to the top stories in Brussels and
:00:47. > :00:48.Strasbourg. On today's programme, Europe under water as storms
:00:49. > :00:55.continue to batter the continent. Could EU funds help to bring relief
:00:56. > :00:57.to affected communities? A senior US diplomat in Ukraine apologises
:00:58. > :01:04.following an apparent four letter outburst about the EU. Just
:01:05. > :01:09.undiplomatic language or signs of a deeper rift? Is the financial storm
:01:10. > :01:18.in the eurozone clearing up or does danger still lie ahead for the
:01:19. > :01:21.single currency? And to infinity and beyond, are the billions ploughed
:01:22. > :01:41.into the European Space Agency money well spent? All that to come and
:01:42. > :01:44.more. First, members of the European Parliament have been in Strasbourg
:01:45. > :01:47.for the regular session. What have they been getting up to? And what
:01:48. > :01:51.has been going on across the continent? This is our guide to the
:01:52. > :01:55.latest in Europe. Italy's President was given a hard
:01:56. > :01:58.time in the European Parliament by Italian MEPs. Members of the far
:01:59. > :02:05.right Northern League told him where to stick the euro.
:02:06. > :02:14.Good news for air travellers. In addition to carry-on luggage, MPs
:02:15. > :02:16.voted to extend carry-on. In a show of European unity, Italy joined
:02:17. > :02:26.Britain in having some truly dreadful weather. There was flooding
:02:27. > :02:27.in Tuscany. Gasps as the home affairs
:02:28. > :02:33.commissioner described European Union corruption as breathtaking.
:02:34. > :02:39.She put it at more than 120 billion euros, or the size of the EU's
:02:40. > :02:42.entire annual budget. And as attention turns to the Winter
:02:43. > :02:45.Olympics in Sochi, they were having a gay old time responding to
:02:46. > :02:57.relations with Russia. They want Vladimir Putin to butt out.
:02:58. > :03:02.With us are the Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford and Labour MEP David
:03:03. > :03:06.Martin. Welcome to both of you. Let us start by talking about the
:03:07. > :03:13.flooding. You want the European Union to get involved with funds to
:03:14. > :03:22.help? There is an EU Solidarity Fund led by two of my colleagues. We have
:03:23. > :03:25.called on the UK Government to make an application for these funds,
:03:26. > :03:34.because what's not to like about getting some EU support for our
:03:35. > :03:37.hard-pressed citizens and taxpayers? I am told you can only get help from
:03:38. > :03:47.this fund if the direct costs exceed three billion euros or 0.6% of our
:03:48. > :03:53.gross national income. We are not there. That is a national threshold.
:03:54. > :03:58.You can also get money regionally. There are some hoops to jump
:03:59. > :04:04.through. Thresholds are lower for a region. The government has declined
:04:05. > :04:08.to do that, which is disappointing. I hope Owen Paterson will change his
:04:09. > :04:11.mind on that. We are also encouraging local councils to apply
:04:12. > :04:22.for another pot of EU money, which they could do. It seems to us, why
:04:23. > :04:25.look a gift horse in the mouth? Some people in the Somerset Levels would
:04:26. > :04:39.say that European rules have made it more difficult to dredge. What you
:04:40. > :04:42.do with the soil when you dredge it? On the money issue, Labour in 2007
:04:43. > :04:48.got ?164 million for the floods we had in that year. The reason we are
:04:49. > :04:59.not applying is that it affects the rebate. We lose a third of that
:05:00. > :05:04.money through the rebate. They are nervous about anything that detracts
:05:05. > :05:07.from that rebate. In terms of European responsibility, we cannot
:05:08. > :05:13.blame Europe for the rain and the floods. That is not what I said.
:05:14. > :05:16.There is a huge argument over dredging policy and the EU has
:05:17. > :05:25.backed the line of the Environment Agency... I do not think the EU
:05:26. > :05:33.tries to tell local agencies... They have rules about what to do with a
:05:34. > :05:37.soil once it's dredged. There has to be an environmental impact study. We
:05:38. > :05:46.do not determine the outcome of the study. In their view, dredging
:05:47. > :05:49.should not happen. The US Assistant Secretary of State
:05:50. > :05:51.has apologised after a leaked telephone conversation emerged in
:05:52. > :06:03.which she uses less than diplomatic language about the role of EU
:06:04. > :06:06.diplomacy. Victoria Nuland was talking to the US ambassador to the
:06:07. > :06:09.Ukraine about the growing crisis. Protestors have been demonstrating
:06:10. > :06:21.for months after the Ukrainian government decided to do a deal with
:06:22. > :06:26.Russia. Cathy Ashton met with the Ukrainian president just yesterday.
:06:27. > :06:31.In the telephone conversation between the Americans, it seems to
:06:32. > :06:38.have leaked from the Russians. She appears unimpressed. It would be
:06:39. > :06:46.great to help glue this thing and have the UN glue it. And (BLEEP) The
:06:47. > :06:49.EU. I think we need to do something to make it stick together. If it
:06:50. > :06:55.does start to gain altitude the Russians will be working behind the
:06:56. > :06:59.scenes to try to torpedo it. The US has refused to confirm or deny the
:07:00. > :07:01.authenticity of the recording. A State Department spokeswoman told
:07:02. > :07:08.reporters that they did not say it was inauthentic. Victoria Nuland has
:07:09. > :07:16.been in touch with her EU counterparts to apologise for the
:07:17. > :07:20."reported remarks". Why would you apologise if you haven't done
:07:21. > :07:24.something? What is your reaction? It is a bit unfortunate, her wording.
:07:25. > :07:38.The Russians are trying to divide the US and the EU. Sometimes cursing
:07:39. > :07:46.happens. I think what we need to do is reinforce working together
:07:47. > :07:48.between the EU and the US. As the European Parliament has called for
:07:49. > :07:50.this week, to offer financial assistance dependent on political
:07:51. > :07:53.dialogue, constitutional change, the prospect of free elections, to be
:07:54. > :07:56.prepared to take targeted sanctions against the thugs of the regimes and
:07:57. > :07:59.the oligarchs supporting them, with asset freezes and travel bans, and
:08:00. > :08:16.to reinforce the work of the citizens of the Ukraine. It is their
:08:17. > :08:20.choice to make. We cannot determine what they choose. It shows that the
:08:21. > :08:23.EU and its values of democracy and human rights are pulling power. We
:08:24. > :08:26.knew that the Bush administration did not take the EU very seriously
:08:27. > :08:28.as a diplomatic entity. This suggests that maybe the Obama
:08:29. > :08:35.administration is not that different. It shows that while the
:08:36. > :08:46.EU is trying to bring the two sides together, the US are still playing
:08:47. > :08:50.power politics. She said that they were trying to get some credit for
:08:51. > :09:03.any solution. I think that is a narrow-minded attitude. A difficult
:09:04. > :09:13.one to handle. Do they have the same goals in the Ukraine? Fundamentally,
:09:14. > :09:16.yes. No one is absolutely pure in all of this. All political forces
:09:17. > :09:22.want to get some credit for a decent outcome. Broadly, we are on the same
:09:23. > :09:26.page, to get peaceful political transition in Ukraine and allow the
:09:27. > :09:29.people to make their own choices and not be bullied by Russia and a very
:09:30. > :09:44.unpleasant regime, and to prevent violence and the prospect of civil
:09:45. > :09:48.strife. I believe we are on the same page. There is a little rivalry. We
:09:49. > :09:51.are on the same page broadly, in terms of stopping the violence in
:09:52. > :10:04.bringing sides together. I think the US shows that they want to liberate
:10:05. > :10:08.the Ukraine. Our job is to bring the two sides together. It is an
:10:09. > :10:12.asymmetric dispute. Not just the EU, but the US has only soft power to
:10:13. > :10:15.bring to this. You get the impression that it is not beyond the
:10:16. > :10:24.bounds of possibility that Mr Putin could use hard power. Indeed. We had
:10:25. > :10:28.a couple of Ukrainian MPs in Parliament two weeks ago. You can
:10:29. > :10:49.never guarantee the Russian tanks will not roll over the border. The
:10:50. > :10:52.Russians can come with more aid. There is a big difference in aid
:10:53. > :10:56.between the two entities. Do you want to get into a bidding war? What
:10:57. > :10:58.the EU can offer, which the US cannot, is the prospect of trade
:10:59. > :11:03.relationships and, eventually, who knows? We should not close the door
:11:04. > :11:14.on membership for Ukraine. That is something the US cannot offer. We
:11:15. > :11:21.are in no doubt this is authentic? Yes.
:11:22. > :11:24.The eurozone is still in one piece. The naysayers have been proved wrong
:11:25. > :11:31.or rather still dangers ahead? We have been talking to MEPs in
:11:32. > :11:35.Strasbourg. The financial storm that hit Europe
:11:36. > :11:37.in 2008 wreaked havoc in the region. Even the most drastic action could
:11:38. > :11:44.not protect economies from the continual battering of the European
:11:45. > :11:51.downturn. A few years on, the euro is still here. Talk of a euro crisis
:11:52. > :11:54.has subsided. Are there blue skies ahead? Opinion is divided. The
:11:55. > :12:00.European Commission said that there are encouraging signs that the
:12:01. > :12:03.economy is strengthening. It estimates growth in the eurozone of
:12:04. > :12:11.1.1% for 2014, compared to an estimated 0.4% contraction for 2013.
:12:12. > :12:20.Unemployment in the euro area is expected to remain a record 12.2%.
:12:21. > :12:25.Globalisation is bringing a lot of pressure and possibilities. We have
:12:26. > :12:28.to use those possibilities. If you are open for reforms and of the
:12:29. > :12:31.possibilities for the chance, then Europe has a lot of power to be a
:12:32. > :12:41.strong continent in the next decades. For some countries, the
:12:42. > :12:46.storm clouds never went away. The forecast for Greece is still very
:12:47. > :12:56.gloomy. The opposition says the Greek people are running of
:12:57. > :13:01.patience. They do not see any hope. They do not see the future for their
:13:02. > :13:18.children. They do not hope for better days for their country. Key
:13:19. > :13:22.figures in the EU believe that more integration is the solution. A
:13:23. > :13:32.common currency create stability, it is the main engine for growth. I am
:13:33. > :13:40.very optimistic about that. It does not mean that we have overcome the
:13:41. > :13:46.crisis. This crisis needs more reforms than we have already done.
:13:47. > :13:52.The main reforms we need is to establish an economic, fiscal, and
:13:53. > :13:57.banking union. You need co-operation and co-ordination free single
:13:58. > :14:11.currency. There are voices still forecasting stormy times ahead. The
:14:12. > :14:15.idea of a single currency for 70 different countries, is
:14:16. > :14:18.fundamentally flawed. The plaster has been stuck. They are not
:14:19. > :14:21.tackling the underlying problems. Member states are different. They
:14:22. > :14:27.are different in their economies and cultures. They are different in
:14:28. > :14:29.expectations. The EU has a lot to offer member states working
:14:30. > :14:35.together, but I do not think economic unity is one of these
:14:36. > :14:38.things. Things may be looking brighter on the surface, but the
:14:39. > :14:50.long-range forecast is still very uncertain. With the region still
:14:51. > :14:53.vulnerable to any changes. Politicians here hope the sun has
:14:54. > :14:57.finally set on the crisis that many thought could end the whole project.
:14:58. > :15:10.They are yet to find a way to more prosperous times.
:15:11. > :15:21.We have a candidate in the forthcoming elections. Nigel Farage.
:15:22. > :15:24.We are now entering the endgame in this 50 year political project. It
:15:25. > :15:28.will all come to a dramatic had over the course of the next two years. He
:15:29. > :15:39.turned out to be wrong? In time frame, but I am sure he is correct
:15:40. > :15:50.about conclusion. If you peg your currency to Germany's currency, you
:15:51. > :15:54.are in trouble. We learned that when we were finally able to do what we
:15:55. > :16:02.should do, which is depreciate yet against that. Last time I checked,
:16:03. > :16:04.the eurozone is still intact. Living standards are falling year after
:16:05. > :16:09.year, throughout southern Europe. Eventually, the people will decide
:16:10. > :16:13.it is unsustainable. Is that not the point, that the financial crisis may
:16:14. > :16:15.be over, but it has been replaced by economic stagnation, and
:16:16. > :16:21.particularly for the Club Med countries, a serious problem of
:16:22. > :16:34.deflation. We are not out in the woods. There needs to be further
:16:35. > :16:39.reform. We are stuck in the middle of the forest. There has been the
:16:40. > :16:46.work to be done to get this stage. Nobody has said the long-term future
:16:47. > :16:50.is secured. What I find absurd from the UKIP stands, is that it is
:16:51. > :16:55.unpatriotic to want the EU to explode. Our reliance on it for
:16:56. > :17:18.economic links and jobs in the UK rely on it.
:17:19. > :17:23.George Osborne wants stability in the eurozone iin the eurozone
:17:24. > :17:27.because he knows it is no good to be UK. That is a ludicrous piece of
:17:28. > :17:30.spin. Do you want the eurozone to break up? If you are not all the
:17:31. > :17:33.same long-term productivity path, you need to gently depreciate
:17:34. > :17:36.against the currency, or all economic activity gets sucked into
:17:37. > :17:42.Germany. That is what is trapping half are members of the eurozone.
:17:43. > :17:48.You are a Labour MEP. You are now in a situation where the eurozone has
:17:49. > :17:51.resulted in mass unemployment. The kind we have not seen since the
:17:52. > :17:56.1930s. We have, added onto this, this problem through in the southern
:17:57. > :18:00.countries, of deflation. Once you get into deflation, prices continue
:18:01. > :18:13.to fall. People will not spend today, because it will be cheaper
:18:14. > :18:24.tomorrow. You never get out of the hubble. In some senses, I am halfway
:18:25. > :18:28.towards that position. We have got through the crisis, the challenge
:18:29. > :18:33.now was to sort out the muddle. We need to get people back to work. It
:18:34. > :18:42.is economic, not financial? We have called for fiscal stimulus, we want
:18:43. > :18:45.the youth back to work. We want to share borrowing costs sothat Greece
:18:46. > :18:48.and others can borrow better, can get there economy moving. Remove
:18:49. > :18:57.some of the debt burden by sharing the cost. Germany is sharing some of
:18:58. > :19:01.the benefits it gets from the euro with the other member states. We
:19:02. > :19:04.slide back to the same problem of over indebtedness. What is needed as
:19:05. > :19:11.well is to tackle uncompetitive markets. We need investment in
:19:12. > :19:16.productivity. Francois Hollande has talked about it, but has not
:19:17. > 0:12:22delivered. You pay over 40% of salary to employ someone in front.
0:12:23 > 0:12:22-- in France. That is a huge deterrent. If you leave a generation
0:12:23 > 0:12:22unemployed, you store up enormous problems. I am not in the French
0:12:23 > 0:12:22government. You are allied with Francois Hollande book. The idea
0:12:23 > 0:12:22that Greece, Spain, Portugal, are going to be able to compete in a
0:12:23 > 0:12:22locked currency exchange rates with Germany is for the birds. It will
0:12:23 > 0:12:22never happen. Germany has the scale, the brand, the infrastructure, the
0:12:23 > 0:12:22relations, all on its side. Greece, it is a siesta country. It is not in
0:12:23 > 0:12:22the culture. They will not be able to do it. Economic activity will be
0:12:23 > 0:12:22sucked away from them. Every year they will get smaller and poorer.
0:12:23 > 0:12:22Will the EU parliament put pressure on the Central Bank to become more
0:12:23 > 0:12:22activist? There are a lot of calls to love bomb Europe with the money.
0:12:23 > 0:12:22It needs to go around the major European banks and buy their loan
0:12:23 > 0:12:22books and put cash onto the balance sheet of EU banks to they can start
0:12:23 > 0:12:22to lend again. They have been doing a lot of that. We discussed this on
0:12:23 > 0:12:22Thursday. The Parliament as a whole has argued for it. The British
0:12:23 > 0:12:22Conservatives voted against it. You are quite right, we are down to
0:12:23 > 0:12:220.5%, 0.25% interest rate. That is not providing a stimulus. We need
0:12:23 > 0:12:22quantitative easing. We need a sharing of borrowing and lending
0:12:23 > 0:12:22costs. Only under strict conditions. Otherwise, taxpayers in Germany will
0:12:23 > 0:12:22be responsible for bad banks. Dash back the taxpayers in general. There
0:12:23 > 0:12:22is a lot to do one with. Thank you for joining us. The continent still
0:12:23 > 0:12:22crippled by debt. Struggling to emerge from the financial crisis
0:12:23 > 0:12:22onto the proper European footing. EU countries are still putting billions
0:12:23 > 0:12:22of dollars into the space agency. Here is Adam. Europe's Mars Rover
0:12:23 > 0:12:22crawls over the surface of the red planet. Except, it is really the
0:12:23 > 0:12:22Netherlands, where you will find the research and technology centre of
0:12:23 > 0:12:22the space agency. It is where most of the missions are planned and
0:12:23 > 0:12:22built. This one takes off in 2018 and will have robotics designed by
0:12:23 > 0:12:22an engineer from Greece. It is costing one billion euros plus. What
0:12:23 > 0:12:22would you say to fellow Greeks? Those who are struggling
0:12:23 > 0:12:22financially, to convince them this is worth investing in? This is
0:12:23 > 0:12:22investing in research and development. Highi technology jobs
0:12:23 > 0:12:22in Europe. Something Europe has been investing in. Missions are launched
0:12:23 > 0:12:22in South America. Astronauts are trained in Germany. A new lab has
0:12:23 > 0:12:22opened up in the UK. Back in Holland I donned some fashionable clothes to
0:12:23 > 0:12:22meet a member of the team there. One of the pet projects is this probe,
0:12:23 > 0:12:22which later this year will land on a comet. Hopefully. We can do things
0:12:23 > 0:12:22together that a far bigger and far more ambitious than at an individual
0:12:23 > 0:12:22level. It is a great example of European Corporation. The badges
0:12:23 > 0:12:22come off at that point, when we are sitting in a control room waiting
0:12:23 > 0:12:22for the results, we are all European. Walking around this place,
0:12:23 > 0:12:22there are no EU flags. The agency is independent. It is funded and run by
0:12:23 > 0:12:2220 member states, which confusingly include Canada. In terms of
0:12:23 > 0:12:22countries, the UK is the fourth-largest contribute behind
0:12:23 > 0:12:22France, and Italy. It spends about ?250 million. A few years ago we
0:12:23 > 0:12:22upped contributions, making the UK a lot of friends around here. Each
0:12:23 > 0:12:22member pays a basic subscription based on a national income. The more
0:12:23 > 0:12:22you pay in, the more work is sent to your country. Member states than
0:12:23 > 0:12:22pick and choose which missions to invest in. Some member states have a
0:12:23 > 0:12:22specific interest for a specific launch. They will invest more in
0:12:23 > 0:12:22launches than other areas. Some other member states do not have an
0:12:23 > 0:12:22interest in launches at all. They do not have to put money in that
0:12:23 > 0:12:22programme. Having said that it is not part of the EU, it does run
0:12:23 > 0:12:22Europe's equivalent of a GPS system, which the EU pays quite a lot for.
0:12:23 > 0:12:22The Lisbon Treaty also gave Brussels power to have its own space policy
0:12:23 > 0:12:22for the first time. Prepare for Britain to go space mad. Next year,
0:12:23 > 0:12:22we will have the first British astronaut to head into orbit on a
0:12:23 > 0:12:22European mission. You have 30 seconds to give me your
0:12:23 > 0:12:22views. It's a good thing? It is a great thing. A great example of
0:12:23 > 0:12:22European Corporation. Get added value. There will be a new centre in
0:12:23 > 0:12:22Oxfordshire. We have 30,000 people in Britain employed in space
0:12:23 > 0:12:22technology. It is good for jobs, it is good for future prosperity. I
0:12:23 > 0:12:22agree. It is a good thing. This is not about putting a man on the moon,
0:12:23 > 0:12:22it is about industrial innovation. The cutting edge of innovation. It
0:12:23 > 0:12:22is all good. And we get payback from this? A disproportionate benefit.
0:12:23 > 0:12:22Britain has quite a name itself in space. All credit to the coalition
0:12:23 > 0:12:22government for putting money into the European space agency. That is
0:12:23 > 0:12:22it for today. Thanks to my guests. Goodbye.
0:12:23 > 0:12:22For many it stayed dry today. We have had a few showers around and
0:12:23 > 0:12:23there will be more