25/11/2016 Politics Europe

Hello and welcome to Politics Europe, your regular guide

to the top stories in Brussels and Strasbourg.

On today's program, the Brexit secretary David Davis had a frosty

reception when he visited the European Parliament,

but will he ever be able to find a compromise

MEPs have voted overwhelmingly to freeze EU membership

That's not pleased Turkey's president, who says if it happens,

he will open the gates for migrants to enter Europe.

And how has the election of Trump as US President left Baltic states

like Latvia feeling vulnerable to Russia?

All that to come and more in the next half an hour.

First, this week members of the European Parliament have been

meeting in Strasbourg for their regular plenary session.

What have they been getting up to and what else has been

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

In France, former PM Francois Fillon surprised by winning the first

round of the centre-right Republican Party's contest to pick

a candidate for next year's presidential election.

He will face the centrist, Alain Juppe, in a run-off this

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy clearly disappointed.

MEPs back to common defence policy, a non-binding vote calling

for multinational forces and a joint HQ to manage crises.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would run for a fourth term

One challenger might be Martin Schulz.

The president of the European Parliament said he would swap

UKIP face multiple investigations over claims they misspent UK funds

And Brexit secretary David Davis met with Guy Verhofstadt,

Did Mr Davis really call him Satan?

And with us for the next 30 minutes I have been joined by

the conservative MEP Ashley Fox and the UKIP MEP Gerry Batten.

Let's take a look at one of those stories in more detail

and that is the visit by Brexit secretary David Davis to meet

Ashley Fox, Manfred Weber said our government has no idea

Guy Verhofstadt, the EU Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator,

said the process will be tough and very intense.

David Davis said it was fun and useful, so who is not

This was a getting to know you session, the first time

David Davis has been across to Brussels and Strasbourg,

This is about building relationships.

The negotiations don't start until March, so I am very happy

In a way, we know what many of the leaders in the EU thinks,

so nobody should be surprised by what they have said so far.

It doesn't want to leave anyway, in my view.

Mrs May was a Remainer and if we had remained,

it was the best decision and everything is wonderful.

I have a plan, I wrote one two years ago, it is called the Road

to Freedom and it is simple and clear.

Mr Verhofstadt confirmed to Mr Davies the four freedoms

including freedoms of open borders, are not negotiable.

One thing we want they have told us we cannot have so what kind of plan

We welcome Jean Lambert, who is a Green MEP.

What do you think of the tone of the meeting between

Guy Verhofstadt and David Davis, the Brexit secretary?

When you are listening to reports, you almost wonder if they were

I think that it is true that, my understanding is at least

the agreement, there needs to be a strong European Union

So that has implications, I think, for how the EU handles

But I think it is also very clear from what I have been hearing,

the UK still hasn't really got its head around the magnitude

And even some of the, even some of the technicalities,

it would appear that David Davis had not realized that the European

Parliament get a vote on the Article 50 outcome.

So, you know, some of these things that you really think the government

Do you really think David Davis didn't know that MEPs...

I met him before he met Guy Verhofstadt.

Well, somebody who is actually in the meeting.

Not the one the night before but the actual meeting.

And it is this thing, I think, the understanding

of what is going on here, the timetabling of it,

the magnitude of it, the fact that you are not

going to have everything neatly wrapped up with a ribbon

You are still going to have a transition period after that.

It is still not really there and clear in the negotiations.

Isn't that the problem with Theresa May's mantra,

she's not going to give a running commentary.

If you don't give some detail and you don't flesh out some

of the broad negotiating points, than Jean Lambert,

quite rightly and some of her other colleagues,

on both sides of the political spectrum, will fill the gap for you.

People will not, that is what I am saying.

To be honest, the smoke and noise in the media really doesn't matter.

What matters is the result at the end of the negotiations.

What we will see is in the run-up to the negotiations people

like Jean Lambert and others will create a lot of noise

I am concerned with getting a good result for Britain and I am

There is no way, after two years, the EU will present us

They might want to punish the UK for leaving.

I think what Mrs May wants to do is delay and delay and then present

something like the Swiss or Norwegian option,

we still pay money and have to obey a large percentage of EU laws

There is a much simpler way to leave, repeal the 1972 act

and all of the EU directives would remain as acts of parliament

and we can ammend and repeal them over time.

Gerry Batten would think that because Guy Verhofstadt,

the chief negotiator for the EU, has spent his whole life campaigning

for closer EU integration, so was it sensible to appoint

someone as hardline as that, in terms of a federalist viewpoint,

One of the key negotiators, of course, is also

Michel Barnier of the commission and it will be national governments

engaged in this, through the council.

I think Verhofstadt is there to ensure the interests

of the EU and that is going to be his key role.

The idea that you can simply pull the plug and create a sense of legal

uncertainty in terms of which jurisdiction applies

For cables between the UK and mainland Europe,

for what we are doing on Euro, any of these are the things,

There needs to be something here which will be absolutely

concrete in terms of legal certainty and that has to be part

of the outcome and we have to engage not only the European Parliament

that our national Parliament within this.

The idea that you can sideline elected bodies outrageous.

Is it acceptable, if there will be these negotiations,

which clearly there are, that Manfred Weber calls

for Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson unbelievably arrogant and say

what they like about the British government?

I think you can also argue whether Boris Johnson has been

What Ashley is saying in terms of a lot of the rhetoric

That there will be position taking, there will be stretching things

But in terms of the negotiation, there are a hell of a lot of nuts

and bolts that need to be sorted through.

It is not a quick and easy job as, some seem to think.

There are things that have enormous implications for business,

for people's daily lives and therefore that needs

On the other side, as Jean Lambert was saying, Boris Johnson threatens

sales on Prosecco if the Italians didn't come on board.

He was illustrating the point that those countries in Europe

will want to continue to trade with us and I am confident

Right, and do you think you will still have to apply,

all EU leaders have said and the Prime Minister of Malta,

you would have to have some freedom of movement if you want to have full

tariff-free access to the single market.

And would have to pay some contribution to the EU.

I think you need to distinguish between being a member

Canada has just negotiated tariff-free access at 98%.

I think we can do better than that and retain control.

This is a problem easily solved quickly, because the British

government should say to the EU, "We can negotiate with you forever

but not necessarily reach an agreement.

Do you want continued tariff-free trade with the UK or do you want

And give them a month and they can think about it,

they make the decision, because they will do it anyway.

Do you think the alliance made up of the UKIP MEPs will have to repay

the 173,000 euros of allegedly misspent funds?

I was a member of that, only briefly.

There is a double standard here because I have been assured

by the people in charge of this that all the money was spent

in accordance with the rules and other groups under...

I haven't been misled about anything, what I am saying

is the EU parliament acts as the judge, jury and executioner.

Other groups have spent money in polling, available to everyone.

You said other groups have done the same thing.

They have spent money in the same way.

Is that funding political activities?

Political activity hasn't been funded but there

There is a big sex scandal brewing in the European Parliament.

A number of assistants have gone to the Brussels police,

Police have gone to the Parliament and asked to investigate

and they are impeded by the authorities.

We will look at that but I wanted to focus on...

We are looking specifically at the misspent,

Now, one of the most significant votes of the week in

the European Parliament, the decision by MEPs to back

the suspension of EU membership talks with Turkey by a majority

Politicians right to left backed a symbolic rejection of the Turkish

government's disproportionate measures after a failed military

Our correspondent has been speaking to the leader of the socialists and

Democrats in the European Parliament and asked him why

After the coup, he put in jail thousands of people.

Journalists, loyal politicians, leader of parties, everybody

But without motivation in front of the situation,

we have decided to take initiative with other groups in the European

We reached a large, very large majority of the resolution.

Isn't it right that at this point in time, what the people

side of the debate say is that Europe needs Turkey,

you need to keep talking, now is not the time to stop dialogue.

We freeze the talks for accession, but not the dialogue.

We need the dialogue, but we want democratic talk,

we want a country in which the citizens are free.

Free to discuss, are free to criticise, are free

is of an illiberal and undemocratic view, and if he was to introduce

the relationship between the EU and Turkey will finish for always.

Because Europe relies on Mr Erdogan for his side of the deal to stop

One thing is not linked with other things.

And I don't think, I don't believe that President Erdogan

And in any case, the EU does not accept blackmail

Ashley Fox, did you vote for the suspension of EU membership

My group abstained on this resolution.

We think it is unhelpful because we regard Turkey

as a strategic ally, important in nature.

We don't want to push them towards President Putin,

but at the same time, we are really concerned

about what is happening in Turkey at the moment.

The arrest of journalists, opposition MPs.

But the main opposition party in Turkey say this is unhelpful

in re-establishing democracy in Turkey.

Do you not need to make a stand against what you listed?

I know you abstained, but most MEPs voted to stop talks.

We regard this as megaphone democracy by the European

We want to carry on talking to the Turks.

Explain they are important to us, but that we want them to come

away from the autocratic system they are developing.

We abstained for good reason, because this is a non-legislative

Some call it symbolic I will call a useless.

And everything will be all right in the future.

Turkey doesn't even fulfil the EU's own criteria for being a member.

Whenever there is a progress report on Turkish entry,

we always vote against it, UKIP MEPs.

And of course the Conservatives, Lib Dems, Greens vote for it.

The Conservative Party have not decided they are leaving

the European Union, but why would you want to join the EU

where Turkey should be a member at some point in the future?

You would like Turkey to be a member in the future?

The majority of Conservative MPs don't see that happening.

It is a channel of communication to Turkey to encourage them along

The point is that President Erdogan is truly important.

His country is sitting in an important position,

and he has already said that if this were to become binding,

and I do take your point that it is not at the moment,

he would open the borders and allow the migrants

he has taken in from the Middle East across into Europe.

Yes, but why are we leading Turkey up the garden path?

It probably suits the Turkish politicians just as much.

Is there no intention of anybody in the EU...?

It has been going on for 30 years now.

They less fulfill the criteria for membership than they did

They are going backwards in terms of human rights and democracy.

It was almost false to say during the EU that accession

You have to ask the Conservatives and Lib Dems who are voting for

But it was incorrect to always claim that Turkish accession and 75

million Turks coming across the border into Europe,

because you don't think this would ever happen.

It is true they are being asked to reply, and every time

we have a progress report, it is voted in favour.

If they did join, 75 million people would be able to come in.

Is it a worry that President Erdogan could use the stick of opening up

the borders even if this is not a binding vote

So is Turkey's move towards an autocratic system.

It is very worrying that 100,000 people in the Army and civil service

are being purged from their jobs since the coup in July.

So I think we need to maintain the strategic dialogue with Turkey,

and this megaphone diplomacy from the European Parliament

What we need is to establish proper talks with Turkey

about where their position is in relation to the European Union.

I very much doubt that is full membership.

And I don't think it would ever get through the European Parliament.

Now, what does the election of Donald Trump as US president mean

It is a member of both the EU and Nato, but during his election

campaign, Donald Trump suggested that America might no longer defend

Nato allies against military action from neighbouring Russia.

In the latest of our meet the neighbours series,

Adam has been to Latvia to find out more.

Friday the 11th of November, and it is a big day

The 11th of November is an important day.

He killed a bear and put those ears on and had more power.

Also known as bear slayer day, it marks the moment in 1919

when Latvians saw off foreign fighters,

But it is also their equivalent of Remembrance Day, and a chance

for the Ministry of Defence to talk about modern-day threats.

This is a scimitar tank from the Latvian Army,

but here you will also find troops from the US Army,

That is because in the last few months Nato has been

bolstering its presence in all three Baltic states to send a clear

message to their next-door neighbour, Russia.

Meet the defence minister, a former Olympic weightlifter.

Now grappling with what he sees as a Russian buildup on his border.

We saw what has happened around our borders.

The scale of exercises, snap exercises.

We see strategic bombers, not just close to our borders

but the UK and Portugal as well.

Of course this is a real rattling of sabres.

The kids love the weaponry, but for the adults, Russia provokes

We are always between two big enemies.

Donald Trump is elected and he said great things about Russia.

40% of the population is ethnically Russian or speaks the language.

Miroslav runs a small political party that campaigns for them.

I think the industry in the United States and maybe

in Europe also is interested in aggravating tension,

because it will allow them to sell more and more military equipment.

Democracy is in some sort of deadlock, one way out of crisis

The day ends with thousands of candles laid by Riga Castle.

It is to remember fallen soldiers, and is really quite impressive.

Latvia has been on the frontline of history before.

Can you understand the fear of the Baltic states like Latvia

I'm not a fan of Donald Trump or President Putin.

I think Trump won because he was not Hillary Clinton.

I think he made a big mistake not backing Nato because President Putin

He is basically a gangster running a gangster state,

but he is interested in winning prestige at home by winning

Do you understand the fear of the Baltic states?

I think Donald Trump needs to change his message

and say he is 100% behind Nato will protect Nato countries.

On that basis, do you understand why they are worried about the future

policy relationship between President Putin and Donald

It underlines the importance of Nato, and unlike Donald Trump

and Nigel Farage, I don't admire President Putin.

What about the problem of ethnic Russians, or those who speak

the language, in a state like Latvia?

Could you see it going the same way as Ukraine?

The Russians who wanted to return when the Soviet Union broke up,

Russian speakers who live there are perfectly happy

by and large to be part of Latvia.

I'm not an expert but that is my understanding at the moment.

President Putin does not need reality.

It is like Hitler and Czechoslovakia in 1948.

He doesn't need reality to move into territories, he needs

He is rational, that is one thing you can say in his favour.

He is a criminal and works on the basis of increasing

He will not make irrational decisions.

But he will maybe decide the West is weak enough in order to take back

some of those states formerly owned by the Soviet Union.

One of the potential solutions is for increased spending by other

Some people have said that would be enough to allay Donald Trump's

reluctance, if you like, to come in on behalf

Do you think that would work and should happen?

I think it is important that all Nato members pay their fair

share, and if Donald Trump made one valid point,

it was that Europe was freeloading within the Nato alliance.

The United Kingdom, Poland, Estonia, Greece, only four countries meet

that 2% target, and all of them should.

Would you like to hear a commitment from Donald Trump

that he would actually, or America would come in on behalf

of another Nato member state in the event of any

It is very important that Nato stands by all that numbers

and the United States stands by its European allies.

We don't want to detach European security from the security

of the United States, but all European countries

as neighbours of Nato have that responsibility to pay

That is a good point to end the programme on.

It's all quiet on the weather front as we move into the second half

In fact, most of us should see a fair amount of sunshine on Sunday.

That wasn't the case everywhere on Saturday,

thanks to our Weather Watchers, who captured foggy scenes