07/10/2016 Politics Europe

On today's programme: Theresa May says she will end the free

movement of people when the UK leaves the EU.

Francois Hollande warns Britain must suffer the consequences.

We will assess the implications for the Brexit negotiations.

UKIP launch an investigation of the altercation

between two of their MEPs in the Strasbourg Parliament

which left Steven Woolfe in hospital.

We'll assess implications for the party.

The EU joins India and Canada in ratifying the Paris climate

change deal which will now come into force next month.

The EU Commission considers a new plan to bring the citizens

Free interrail passes for 18-year-olds.

So all that to come and more in the next half-hour.

First, our guide to the latest from Europe in just 60 seconds.

Theresa May kicked off the week with that announcement.

We will invoke Article 50 no later than the

So even the most mathematically challenged of us

can deduce that Britain could leave the EU by summer 2019.

In Strasbourg, the European Parliament

chief Brexit negotiator warned the EU should not compromise

in Brexit talks on its four founding principles -

A new EU border force was launched on Thursday aimed at stopping

the dozens of migrants who attempt to Balkan states

Hungary rejected the EU quota for migrant resettlement

Half the voting population failed to make it

In a vote attended by the UN Secretary

General, MEPs backed the first global agreement on curbing carbon

emission which was then ratified by other countries on Wednesday

and is set to come force in a month's time.

With us for the next 30 minutes I have been joined by the Green MEP

Molly Scott Cato and the UKIP MWP Jonathan Arnold.

Molly Scott Cato and the UKIP MEP Jonathan Arnold.

The ratification of the Paris climate change agreement

We all agree now that climate change is the greatest threat facing

humanity and it is significant that the

world's country have come together and have agreed to this Treaty

and it is coming into force very quickly

because people are focusing on this as a key issue.

We need to move rapidly towards renewables,

like they are doing in Germany and, I'm afraid, the government is taking

us in the opposite direction and the other thing is focussing

on the aspect of land that can be used for carbon capture.

Now that we leave the common agricultural policy,

we can make sure that when we give subsidies we can in return have

from them dealing with climate change

Two things - I believe that these decisions should be taken

at Westminster by our Parliament and not through the European Union.

We should decide for ourselves which international agreements

we should sign and secondly my concern

is we are going...often and we're putting the cart before

the horse in response to lower carbon emissions.

when you have pensioners who have to struggle to choose

between heating and eating in the winter,

what you have to do is get the technology right.

Make sure you have the right renewables and make them affordable.

It is a research and development question.

If you take what Jonathan Arnold is saying, will it

We are already seeing governments committing to this and many have

political direction and travel but also business is coming on board

and one of my key concerns is that to make this transition

in a renewable economy we do not want to see the benefits in banks

We can allow pension funds to invest in the infrastructure and therefore

the money will come back to them and more widely through community

73 nations ratified, it is a lot of support.

57% of the world's green house gas emission.

There is a consensus of sorts behind an

agreement like this which in the future should make

energy costs getting cheaper and better for everyone.

I think there are certain issues there.

What we are looking at the moment is China building up to another 400

coal-fired power stations, increasing its emissions

far, far beyond anything that the entire UK output

is so there are certainly global questions and they

have to be answered by getting the technology right.

On Thursday the UKIP MEP Steven Woolfe was

hospitalised after what was described as an altercation

with a fellow UKIP MEP, Mike Hookem, at the European

It was suggested he was unconscious and in a serious condition

but by the afternoon, he was awake and tweeted

he was feeling brighter, happier and smiling as ever.

It came just a day after Woolfe declared

It came just a day after Woolfe declared that he would stand

following James's announcement that she was standing

The other MEP, Mike Hookem, has been talking to the BBC.

He says he did not throw a punch at his colleague nor

There were no punches thrown, there was nothing.

The door opened at that point I was not holding him.

He fell into that room onto another MEP.

I arrived a quarter of an hour late because it was called

I could only piece together from speaking to colleagues.

From what I heard is that there was a little bit of animosity,

shall we say, at the start of the meeting.

Discussion about Steven Woolfe for having had

discussions about defecting to another party, which Mike Hookem

I am recounting what people said to me.

They are saying to me that then Steven Woolfe took off his jacket,

and basically said to Mike, let's sort this out side.

That he was wanting to discuss it in private.

He was not suggesting a political fight.

Mike is pretty much of pensionable age.

Mike Hookem having heard that, if anyone says "deal with this

outside" I think people start to get the impression that some form

of physical altercation could take place.

Not always, maybe at UKIP party meetings...

I can honestly say that I have been in UKIP for 15

years and I have never come across a meeting like that one

and frankly I'm glad I arrived at that meeting late

but what happened when they went outside, as I understand it,

they had gone outside and there are witnesses to that.

they had gone outside and there were no witnesses to that.

In terms of were punches thrown, who threw them, that I think

is something that you're not going to get anybody to comment on.

The European Parliament is investigating.

Did they bring the party into disrepute?

I am struggling about knowing exactly

Other people.., the witnesses, know but let me put it this way

is this really it portrays UKIP in an appalling light.

The way I look at this is, hard-working

members, the people who go out and put leaflets through doors,

the people who have worked hard for this

party year in, year out they expect better than what has

Frankly, they have a right to expect that and I think it is absolutely

disgusting that this incident has happened.

Our members have a right to expect better and frankly the general

public have a right to expect better.

In terms of what should happen now, that is a matter for the party

to determine, that is for them to decide, not me.

Who would you support in a leadership contest?

I have not decided yet partly because I do not know

whether someone like Paul Nuttall would put his hat in the ring.

It is clearly, after what we've seen in this situation,

it must be obvious to anybody, that Steven

Woolfe and of course Mike Hookem - though I do not think

he would put his hat into the ring - surely they cannot now consider

either of them could stand in a leadership contest.

Martin Schulz has put out a statement.

I would just like to say that I have worked alongside Steven

Woolfe because he is in my committee and I speak on finance as he does,

and I found him to be a decent person to work with,

but the important point with this story is that

UKIP are bringing our country into disrepute.

It is appalling to see someone collapsed on a bridge

and they have been doing this for some time in chambers,

behaving with disrespect and rudeness

Martin Schulz is saying he will investigate this.

I do not know if he will involve police.

If it is obvious there has been assault, presumably

A conservative MEP is going to be leading the investigation

and we will wait for that result from both

the UKIP and the inquiry by the European Parliament.

In her speech to the Conservative conference,

Theresa May made it clear she will ensure Britain's

new arrangement with the EU will end the free

movement of people and end the European Court of Justice having

What does it mean for Brexit negotiations, when they trigger

Article 50 before the end of March next year?

Kevin Connolly has been testing the mood at the European

A busy day at the European Parliament.

And a busy week in British politics because we know a bit more

Not a deadline, of course, but a rough timetable.

Now the Europeans say there will be no negotiating until Britain sets

out stall but might there be a bit of manoeuvring

A question for the parliament president.

People speak to each other but to discuss to each other

It will become more concrete before you start

With me nobody is completely speaking about it.

And, given the scale and complexity to come,

there are those who agree that it might make sense

The sooner we come up with a final agreement, the batter.

The sooner we come up with a final agreement, the better.

Everybody would have something to lose if it was too much

Our laws will be made not in Brussels but in Westminster.

Much will depend on Theresa May and how she handles Brexit.

So how are Europe's parliamentarians judging what they are hearing.

I think it is good that there is a decision to trigger

I think the bad thing is that on the UK side there is no

agreement on how or what to negotiate.

Strasbourg is waiting to hear more, much more, from London and don't

Europe's Parliamentarians have a vote on any proposed wrecks

a deal and, if they did not like it, they could veto it.

Kevin Connelly reporting from Strasbourg.

Do you accept that we are not going to be a full member

of the single market following Brexit now?

It seems clear Theresa May has ruled out free movement of labour

and the European Court of Justice having jurisdiction over

When we listened to her speech, we heard that, yes, it sounds

like we are going towards hard Brexit, and that is how

the speech was received in Strasbourg and on the European

end of negotiations, but we should be aware of the great

Jobs, people working for multinational organisations,

are based here because they can sell directly to other

European countries in the single market.

Why would the remaining 27 member states want to be punished,

We import more from the EU then we export.

What would be the point of putting punishing tariffs on our goods?

I think we are at risk of seeing this from a British perspective

and Tory perspective, which is basically about

The European project, especially France and Germany

in the aftermath of the Second World War,

and the four freedoms underpinning it.

One of those is freedom of movement, and if we do not accept

that we will not be allowed to trade freely in the single market.

We could still have access without having the freedom

That is a British view, but the French Prime Minister

We heard Francois Hollande saying Britain will suffer the consequences

if indeed they do go for what is being termed as a hard

Brexit, which is withdrawing, no membership of the single market,

and not signing up to any freedom of movement.

Hollande will not be in place by the time any meaningful deal...

You do not think his successor would feel the same?

What is happening here is the European Union is setting

And what we need to do is set out our negotiating position,

is it seems to me in British politics, there are far too many

people who are in negotiating positions coming from

the European Union saying that that position is where we will end up,

and it is a little bit like if I went to buy a car

and there is a list price on that car, I will negotiate

I won't simply say, the person in the salesroom is telling me this

car is this price, there is no possible way of any movement

from that, and actually, when we look at the Lisbon Treaty,

Article 8 makes it very clear that negotiations will be conducted

in a spirit of neighbourliness and cooperation.

That may be what is written down, but it may not be the reality.

We have heard European leader after European leaders saying

if there aren't consequences, it will set a terrible

You can understand why they are going to be talking tough,

In the end, will they not strike a deal that is beneficial

Seeing this as an economic dealmaking system is the problem.

For them it is a political structure and political union that they value

very strongly, and without those four freedoms it

Their priority is to keep the union together.

The economic negotiations are second to that.

Are you saying the Germans are not interested in a good economic deal?

They are not interested in the sort of trade deal that could be done

Our trade is not as significant to them as it is for us.

12% of their economy and 4% of our economy that is actually tied

That is three times as much important for us as for them.

We just heard one of the MEPs in that film say there would be

When you look ahead to invoking Article 50, when the talks

really begin, and we see exactly whose cards are on the table,

will it not be the case that MEPs in Europe will look at it

practically and pragmatically, and not emotionally?

What would be the point of MEPs if we were to come up with a deal

that works for the UK, that works for the

If we were to come up with a deal that actually recognises the UK's

strengths, and frankly, that is one of the things

I want to see Theresa May doing, playing the strong hand that we have

If we came up with a deal the worked for everyone,

in whose interest would it possibly be for the European Parliament

What do you think should happen to EU nationals that are here?

Should there be a clear statement from the government

to say their position and their futures here are 100%

guaranteed as David Davies said but Liam Fox wouldn't?

People who are living in the UK, we can't say to them you have to go

back to the country you've come from, just like the Spanish

government would never say to British citizens

Well, they might if there is a negotiation.

If we say that is not an issue on the table,

then they wouldn't, and frankly, I think the Spanish government

would recognise that Britons going out to retire and live

in Spain are taking a lot of money and bringing that money into Spain.

With many EU countries facing Eurosceptic movements of their own,

MEPs this week have been discussing a scheme which its backers say

could increase positive feelings towards the European Union.

The idea is to give every young person across the EU a free

Interrail pass for their 18th birthday.

The European Commission says it will now consider the proposal.

This is a wonderful and enchanting idea, the idea of a free Interrail

pass for 18-year-olds, investing in young people,

investing in trade for European citizenship and allowing people

to travel around Europe promoting better understanding

As we have heard in the past, Europe is all about emotion,

and one way of feeling emotion is by travelling around

the continent, and that is the fundamental idea

And I must say, I'm very grateful to the head of the group for giving

a voice to many people during the State of the Union speech.

I love trains and transport and I want to continue to make it

really easy for young people to travel by train

And I want to make sure that it is cheap.

If you spend 361 euros for each 18-year-old in the EU on this

harebrained irrelevance, it will cost 1.9 billion a year.

And even by the standards of the EU, this is madness.

Europe looks like a leaf in the autumn.

It is fatigued by its numerous crises.

It is only the young people that can transform this European autumn

And one of the people behind the campaign for free Interrail

passes for 18-year-olds is Vincent, who joins us now from Berlin.

We launched the programme as a result of an Interrail trip

we took ourselves, me and a colleague.

We travelled to 14 European countries.

We really found out how important it is to experience

I think before this trip, we were already Europeans in theory,

but the trip turned us into Europeans out of experience.

It was not just textbooks, this was personal experience.

We made friendships and got to see the beauty and diversity.

I think a lot of young people don't have that opportunity and we really

need to give them that opportunity so all Europeans really know

If you think about it, 2 billion euros sounds like a lot,

but this is a single digit percentage of the EU budget,

1-2%, a very small amount of the EU budget.

If you think about the long-term, systemic efforts of this move

to strengthen European identity, to foster cultural exchange

and dialogue between youth and all future generations,

this will be an invaluable programme that will vastly further

Will you still have to have quite a lot of money as an 18-year-old

to be able to fund the accommodation, the time away,

even with this sort of money behind it?

I think this is a very good point, and we have thought about it a lot

and talked with MEPs and think tanks about this problem

But the main idea is that you can level the playing field and make

the entry into mobility easier for youth but independently of socio

economic, national or financial backgrounds.

I think it would be worthwhile to build a couch surfing network

around this idea to really see the Interrailers connected even

I went Interrailing and at the time it was quite expensive.

It is lovely to have a young person be positive about Europe.

We know they voted strongly to remain and feel truly European,

and I hope British young people will be able to participate in this

One of your colleagues called it bribery and a rotten apple.

I think the point is they have said they want to spend taxpayers' money.

That is money people have worked hard to earn,

So that people can feel more European!

And actually, frankly, I think travel is a great thing.

It is great for young people to travel.

But I don't see personally that that is around the boundaries

My brother had a great time going out to Malawi and working

In a way, this is really taking the benefits of the Erasmus

and applying them to youth across the board.

Erasmus is one of the most successful programmes that has

But this would really apply to all youth.

Erasmus is just for a small percentage.

It would really benefit all of us so much and move this continent

And it will include young Brits, will it?

We are still in the EU, so they will be included?

Before we have a look at the weather here at home,

we'll have a quick update on Matthew.

Formerly a major hurricane, the winds have dropped but the rain

has continued, 265 millimetres of rain across parts of Georgia