28/10/2016

Download Subtitles

Transcript

:00:37. > :00:38.Hello, and welcome to Politics Europe.

:00:39. > :00:43.The CETA trade deal between Canada and the EU

:00:44. > :00:47.looks set to be agreed after the leaders of five regional

:00:48. > :00:48.parliaments in Belgium drop their opposition

:00:49. > :00:55.MEPs demand an increase in the EU budget for next year but,

:00:56. > :00:58.with sterling weak against the euro, will the UK's contribution have

:00:59. > :01:05.And the president of the European Parliament,

:01:06. > :01:08.Martin Schulz, refers an altercation between two UKIP MEPs

:01:09. > :01:21.So all that to come and more in the next half an hour.

:01:22. > :01:28.to the latest from Europe in just 60 seconds:

:01:29. > :01:30.A trade deal between the EU and Canada

:01:31. > :01:33.is back on the table, after Belgian politicians agreed

:01:34. > :01:37.Canadian PM Justin Trudeau says he's confident

:01:38. > :01:45.Meanwhile, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Norway can

:01:46. > :01:48.extend their use of border controls, which have been in place

:01:49. > :01:51.since the summer, to stem the flow of migrants.

:01:52. > :01:54.Speaking of which, Italy may veto the EU budget unless other

:01:55. > :01:57.countries take in more asylum seekers.

:01:58. > :02:01.PM Matteo Renzi said the likes of Hungary need to help out.

:02:02. > :02:03.Big companies like Starbucks and Apple could be subject

:02:04. > :02:06.to new EU-wide tax rules, which the Commission hopes

:02:07. > :02:08.could stop them shifting their profits around

:02:09. > :02:17.And the President of the European Parliament

:02:18. > :02:19.referred the altercation between UKIP MEPs Mike Hookem

:02:20. > :02:22.and Steven Woolfe to French authorities.

:02:23. > :02:24.Party leader Nigel Farage was not impressed.

:02:25. > :02:27.This is completely political on behalf of the European Union.

:02:28. > :02:41.And with us for the next 30 minutes I've been joined by two MEPs,

:02:42. > :02:43.Labour's Seb Dance and Patrick O'Flynn for UKIP.

:02:44. > :02:47.Now, let's take a look at one of those stories in more

:02:48. > :02:49.detail, the investigations into the altercation between UKIP

:02:50. > :02:55.Patrick O'Flynn, first of all, obviously

:02:56. > :02:57.there has been an internal investigation by UKIP.

:02:58. > :03:01.And now we know that the President of

:03:02. > :03:03.the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, has reported

:03:04. > :03:06.the altercation to the French state prosecutors, because there

:03:07. > :03:07.was alleged criminal activity on parliamentary premises.

:03:08. > :03:16.Ah, well, another thing Martin Schulz has

:03:17. > :03:20.done is prejudiced any investigation by saying in the parliament he had

:03:21. > :03:23.no doubt about Mr Woolfe's allegations.

:03:24. > :03:29.And I find that very regrettable and very remiss because,

:03:30. > :03:32.unlike Mr Schulz, I saw, if you like, the preamble -

:03:33. > :03:34.not the amble, but the preamble - to this.

:03:35. > :03:37.And if you read Paul Oakden, the party chairman's,

:03:38. > :03:40.within the room there was a general understanding

:03:41. > :03:46.that Mr Woolfe had instigated this altercation.

:03:47. > :03:50.Well, there was an understanding that he had said, "Come out.

:03:51. > :03:52.Let's take this outside," and removed his jacket.

:03:53. > :03:54.But nobody knows what actually happened between the two men.

:03:55. > :03:58.Or whether a blow was delivered on to Mr Woolfe's face.

:03:59. > :04:02.What we do know is the very next day in the Daily Mail,

:04:03. > :04:05.there were quotes from Mr Woolfe saying Mike Hookem

:04:06. > :04:08.had got the wrong end of the stick and he wasn't challenging him

:04:09. > :04:11.But within the room, that was completely understood

:04:12. > :04:14.that he was and there were shouts of, "Oh,no.

:04:15. > :04:19.So a reprimand for Mike Hookem is enough in your view, is it?

:04:20. > :04:21.Or should there be further investigation?

:04:22. > :04:26.Um, well, it's quite astonishing, really, if you have two grown

:04:27. > :04:29.adults who are unable to reconcile their differences

:04:30. > :04:33.in a normal way, and if you have a criminal assault taking place

:04:34. > :04:36.whether it be on parliament property or

:04:37. > :04:41.Then it would seem normal that the authorities

:04:42. > :04:44.would want to pursue, you know, potential prosecutions,

:04:45. > :04:47.were it proven to be something that would be worthy

:04:48. > :04:51.But, I mean, you know, presumably, we can't

:04:52. > :04:54.leave it up to individual political parties to release internal reports

:04:55. > :04:58.on what are potentially criminal investigations.

:04:59. > :05:01.What does it say about the behaviour of your party,

:05:02. > :05:04.though, Patrick, at the European Parliament?

:05:05. > :05:09.Manfred Weber, the leader of the Parliament's

:05:10. > :05:10.centre-right European People's Party Group,

:05:11. > :05:14.accused UKIP MEPs of behaving like ruffians.

:05:15. > :05:16.Well, yeah - you should add "federalist" European People's

:05:17. > :05:21.he's allowed to call you ruffians if he wants.

:05:22. > :05:24.What it says about us, Carolyn, I would suggest,

:05:25. > :05:28.I mean, after all, several Labour MPs got

:05:29. > :05:31.sent to prison for embezzlement in the last parliament.

:05:32. > :05:33.I would not dream of characterising the Labour Party

:05:34. > :05:38.It does seem like they put something in the UKIP tea

:05:39. > :05:40.in the European Parliament, though, doesn't it?

:05:41. > :05:43.not just there, but over here as well.

:05:44. > :05:45.You're an argumentative party, aren't you?

:05:46. > :05:48.Well, I think we're a party of honest, free debate.

:05:49. > :05:50.But, really, trying to characterise physical altercations,

:05:51. > :05:52.or invitations to, as typical of the meetings we have

:05:53. > :05:57.in the European Parliament, I can assure you it's absolutely atypical.

:05:58. > :06:01.The one thing I would like to come out of this is some recognition

:06:02. > :06:05.by Steven Woolfe of personal responsibility and regret.

:06:06. > :06:07.Oh, well, now you're prejudicing the outcome,

:06:08. > :06:09.aren't you, by saying it's his fault?

:06:10. > :06:11.No. No.

:06:12. > :06:13.Mike Hookem has expressed regret and apologised.

:06:14. > :06:17.I think Steven Woolfe should do as well.

:06:18. > :06:20.Just looking at the leadership now, are you supporting Suzanne Evans

:06:21. > :06:23.I certainly am supporting Suzanne, yes.

:06:24. > :06:25.Paul Nuttall, obviously, he and she are close.

:06:26. > :06:29.What happens then, I mean, if one is obviously ahead

:06:30. > :06:35.I think she should have been allowed to stand

:06:36. > :06:39.What I'm delighted about is we have two very

:06:40. > :06:41.high-calibre heavyweight candidates, either of whom...

:06:42. > :06:46.I've always been clear that I see my role as advising,

:06:47. > :06:49.perhaps in a spokesman's role, but advising the leader,

:06:50. > :06:57.I think it's - I've seen, you know, the pressure Nigel Farage was placed

:06:58. > :07:00.under, the sheer intensity of the job, and, you know,

:07:01. > :07:06.After years of negotiations, a trade deal between the EU

:07:07. > :07:09.and Canada is on the verge of being approved by the European Union,

:07:10. > :07:12.but it has been a bumpy few weeks for

:07:13. > :07:14.the CETA trade agreement, with politicians in the Belgian

:07:15. > :07:17.region of Wallonia refusing to agree to the deal

:07:18. > :07:25.The problems even caused European Council President Donald Tusk

:07:26. > :07:28.to warn the agreement could be the EU's last trade deal.

:07:29. > :07:35.It's cast a cloud over the European Union.

:07:36. > :07:38.A long-heralded trade deal that's been agonisingly close,

:07:39. > :07:46.CETA has been seven years in the making, a deal between Canada

:07:47. > :07:51.it needs the backing of all 28 EU member states

:07:52. > :07:57.and it's got the backing of 27 of them.

:07:58. > :07:59.The sticking point was Belgium, and specifically the southern part

:08:00. > :08:06.Now, that's home to around 3.5 million people

:08:07. > :08:09.which, when you think about it, is quite a small proportion

:08:10. > :08:12.of the overall population of the EU, which is 500 million.

:08:13. > :08:15.The Wallonian regional government, headed up by Paul Magnette,

:08:16. > :08:24.on the environment, labour laws and consumer standards,

:08:25. > :08:27.concerns shared by some MEPs, who say the stalling of the deal

:08:28. > :08:34.I think that is a good thing for European Union and for citizens

:08:35. > :08:37.also - not each member state has got the same possibility.

:08:38. > :08:40.In Italy, we haven't this chance and so often,

:08:41. > :08:43.we see that our interests are not covered by our

:08:44. > :08:51.Others aren't so against CETA in principle, but say this

:08:52. > :08:54.is the latest symptom of an anti-EU malaise and must be addressed

:08:55. > :08:58.for the institution to have a future.

:08:59. > :09:07.I do see that this adds up to crisis after crisis after crisis.

:09:08. > :09:10.Um, and people see again that the Council is not able

:09:11. > :09:19.But on trade, at the same time, you see that there's a lot

:09:20. > :09:23.of discussions and there's a lot of question marks in the NGO world,

:09:24. > :09:25.in the unions, but also in the public opinion.

:09:26. > :09:28.We need to say stop, and look at it fundamentally

:09:29. > :09:34.But those supporting CETA say the agreement would save EU

:09:35. > :09:38.exporters 500 million euros a year, a good deal for the whole of Europe,

:09:39. > :09:41.and one that's been held up by a small minority.

:09:42. > :09:43.But they say the fault lies with the Belgian

:09:44. > :09:46.constitution, and a lack of compromise on the socialist left,

:09:47. > :09:53.If there are a number of regions which have concerns,

:09:54. > :09:56.then, yes, we should go back to the table and check is this

:09:57. > :10:00.But after so many concerns have been, um, solved,

:10:01. > :10:04.after we were able to convince so many people who had concerns

:10:05. > :10:06.like the German Economic Minister Gabriel

:10:07. > :10:09.or the Austrian Chancellor Kern, to mention only two of them,

:10:10. > :10:14.If they understood what is CETA about and what is CETA

:10:15. > :10:17.not about, then I think also regional Belgium should be able

:10:18. > :10:24.There's renewed hope now that the deal will be

:10:25. > :10:27.signed in the coming weeks, but those frustrated by the slow

:10:28. > :10:30.progress point out that Canada is about as like-minded to most EU

:10:31. > :10:32.countries in terms of public services and environmental concerns

:10:33. > :10:37.If the EU had such trouble making a deal work with Canada,

:10:38. > :10:39.it may not bode well for trade agreements with other

:10:40. > :10:45.The EU had hoped to unfurl its red carpet for the Canadian Premier

:10:46. > :10:48.Justin Trudeau this week so he could sign off the deal.

:10:49. > :10:55.When he does finally make it over, it will be too late to stop

:10:56. > :10:57.the questions over the EU's ability to negotiate

:10:58. > :11:05.Ellie Price reporting, and we've been joined now

:11:06. > :11:08.a former trade adviser to the Canadian government,

:11:09. > :11:12.who worked for many years on the CETA trade deal.

:11:13. > :11:14.You must be mopping your brow in exasperation,

:11:15. > :11:22.Did you think it would be a little bit quicker than it has been?

:11:23. > :11:24.Well, we'd been pursuing this agreement since 2009

:11:25. > :11:32.the way, we understood when Europe decided that this would be viewed

:11:33. > :11:34.as a mixed agreement, that there could

:11:35. > :11:37.be snags and it could require - because it would require approval

:11:38. > :11:40.at the member-state level as well, um,

:11:41. > :11:43.but, um, I think we've learned to be patient and I think

:11:44. > :11:46.The final last-minute changes still need to be approved

:11:47. > :11:51.Do you share the Canadian Prime Minister's confidence

:11:52. > :11:57.In fact there aren't last-minute changes right now.

:11:58. > :12:02.There is simply an agreement between Belgium, the EU

:12:03. > :12:04.and this Wallonian - about certain steps that will be

:12:05. > :12:07.taken with regard to the implementation of the agreement.

:12:08. > :12:09.Those steps were already understood, for example,

:12:10. > :12:19.that things that were exclusively within the EU competency would be

:12:20. > :12:21.provisionally entering into force, but other elements would

:12:22. > :12:24.They've also requested a reference to the European Court

:12:25. > :12:27.with regard to one aspect of the agreement, the investment

:12:28. > :12:32.Um, but 90% of the agreement will be entering provisionally into force

:12:33. > :12:33.once this last approval goes through.

:12:34. > :12:37.Dragging it down to basics, though, Wallonia effectively wanted

:12:38. > :12:40.guarantees that this deal wouldn't lead to privatisation and job losses

:12:41. > :12:43.and, effectively, it was almost derailed at the final hour

:12:44. > :12:51.I mean, are you surprised that a deal of this magnitude could come

:12:52. > :12:55.down to such a tiny element blocking it?

:12:56. > :12:59.In trade negotiations, usually one goes from the broader,

:13:00. > :13:01.easier issues, to the last-nub issues.

:13:02. > :13:08.And in a sense, this was just a microcosm of that typical dynamic

:13:09. > :13:13.Because the European Union this past summer gave member

:13:14. > :13:18.states the right to approve the agreement, as opposed to it

:13:19. > :13:20.being approved exclusively at the European level,

:13:21. > :13:23.it gave power to these smaller subregions in Belgium to,

:13:24. > :13:26.um, express concerns and farming is very important in Wallonia,

:13:27. > :13:34.They gave them the power and they exercised it.

:13:35. > :13:36.Well, putting that point, then, to you, Patrick O'Flynn,

:13:37. > :13:40.I mean, doesn't this then add into those

:13:41. > :13:42.concerns that people have had about the difficulties of securing

:13:43. > :13:45.trade deals if you have to have widespread

:13:46. > :13:48.approval and a tiny group - one tiny group in one country can

:13:49. > :13:54.It's not going to be that easy, is it?

:13:55. > :13:56.Well, I'd like to congratulate Christophe for concluding this deal,

:13:57. > :14:00.a free trade agreement with the EU, which doesn't

:14:01. > :14:03.have a requirement of freedom of movement, which is the majority

:14:04. > :14:07.I think you're wrong to draw a parallel to the United Kingdom's

:14:08. > :14:16.I think in round terms, Canada is approximately a 35 billion

:14:17. > :14:23.euro a year export market for the EU, the United Kingdom

:14:24. > :14:26.is a 350 billion euro a year export market for the EU.

:14:27. > :14:30.But my point is that a deal can be derailed by the tiniest element.

:14:31. > :14:34.We cannot just assume that these trade deals are going to be so easy

:14:35. > :14:39.Well, it's certainly true that that Article 50 process could get very

:14:40. > :14:41.complicated and convoluted which is why I would prefer

:14:42. > :14:44.something that I think John Redwood and Peter Lilley

:14:45. > :14:47.have alluded to, a sort of "look in the eyeball" and say,

:14:48. > :14:49."We're quite happy to move on with free strayed

:14:50. > :14:55.And of course there was a Civitas report at the beginning of the week

:14:56. > :14:58.that made clear that if we moved to the WTO regime,

:14:59. > :15:00.our exporters would face ?5.2 billion of tariffs,

:15:01. > :15:02.but the United Kingdom would raise 13...

:15:03. > :15:13.Or 10% tariffs on the car industry which of course...

:15:14. > :15:15.But obviously our car-producers vis the Nissan deal

:15:16. > :15:18.are very confident about the continued good place to be

:15:19. > :15:20.to produce motorcars in the United Kingdom.

:15:21. > :15:24.Let me bring Seb in here - is this a moment for the EU to think

:15:25. > :15:27.about streamlining its processes when it comes to striking trade

:15:28. > :15:31.I think there'll certainly be a lot of questions raised as to how

:15:32. > :15:34.we can make it more efficient and speed it up, but ultimately

:15:35. > :15:36.a lot of the criticism that's been levelled

:15:37. > :15:40.at the EU has been the lack of democracy and the lack of ability

:15:41. > :15:44.of people to have a say on decisions that affect big issues like trade.

:15:45. > :15:48.And of course here we have, as you say, a bunch of farmers -

:15:49. > :15:50.but ultimately people with a key stake

:15:51. > :15:52.in what the outcome of this deal is...

:15:53. > :15:54.And who were worried about their livelihoods.

:15:55. > :15:58.And they were able to do that and they've been able to do that

:15:59. > :16:01.and there is a democratic structure within the Belgian constitution that

:16:02. > :16:04.Ultimately that should be something that ought to be

:16:05. > :16:07.welcomed by those who have been calling for increased parliamentary

:16:08. > :16:10.I mean they exist and they're implemented.

:16:11. > :16:13.Christophe Bonde, the International Trade Secretary here, Liam Fox,

:16:14. > :16:16.has said that a trade deal during the Article 50 two-year

:16:17. > :16:19.negotiation process requires only a qualified majority in the Council.

:16:20. > :16:21.But could it fall subject to the Wallonia problem?

:16:22. > :16:24.In other words, could a trade deal then have to go

:16:25. > :16:26.on to be approved by all the individual states?

:16:27. > :16:29.Well, I think the issue with modern trade agreements

:16:30. > :16:31.is that, unlike old-school trade agreements that dealt exclusively

:16:32. > :16:34.with tariffs and goods, these agreements are much more

:16:35. > :16:36.complex and the issue at the European level

:16:37. > :16:39.is that they spill over from purely European to member-state competency,

:16:40. > :16:41.which requires consultation and requires approval at times

:16:42. > :16:47.So, you know, I don't want to speak to the

:16:48. > :16:52.deal to be struck between Britain and the EU, but in any kind

:16:53. > :16:56.of agreement that the EU is going to be

:16:57. > :16:59.pursuing, it's going to touch on more than just those core trade

:17:00. > :17:02.Um, I think it's going to likely require, um,

:17:03. > :17:04.larger, certainly larger consultation and perhaps larger,

:17:05. > :17:13.People might wonder if the EU can't make a deal with Canada,

:17:14. > :17:18.Well, I think the thing is that trade deals right now,

:17:19. > :17:22.and this trade deal with Canada, was kind of the canary in the mine,

:17:23. > :17:25.because people have suddenly become much more aware of the broad range

:17:26. > :17:28.of issues that are raised in these agreements.

:17:29. > :17:32.They deal not only, as I say, with tariffs, but also with trades

:17:33. > :17:33.and services, with regulatory co-operation.

:17:34. > :17:35.They don't force any regulatory change.

:17:36. > :17:38.They just simply engage different economic spheres in a conversation

:17:39. > :17:42.to see if those regulatory barriers can be smoothed

:17:43. > :17:48.They also, um, you know, allow the states -

:17:49. > :17:50.they don't force privatisation either.

:17:51. > :17:57.You know, there are a lot of misconceptions, so I think a lot

:17:58. > :18:01.of those discussions are taking place

:18:02. > :18:04.around the CETA and hopefully going forward the general public

:18:05. > :18:06.will have a better sense of what they actually

:18:07. > :18:08.entail and be will be more confident.

:18:09. > :18:11.Certainly in Canada right now, there's a broad debate

:18:12. > :18:13.about the link between trade and the social agenda,

:18:14. > :18:16.to help people understand and be confident about

:18:17. > :18:19.their future, because they know that that trade agenda is also linked

:18:20. > :18:24.So maybe make these trade deals, explain them a little bit more

:18:25. > :18:27.Christophe Bondy, thank you very much indeed.

:18:28. > :18:30.Now, this week, MEPs demanded an increase to the EU's budget

:18:31. > :18:35.At more than 160 billion euros, it's an increase on last year,

:18:36. > :18:38.but concerns are also growing about a possible

:18:39. > :18:40.shortfall this year, with the slump in sterling's

:18:41. > :18:42.exchange rate meaning that UK's contribution

:18:43. > :18:47.is worth almost 2 billion euros less than forecast.

:18:48. > :18:50.Ellie Price has been talking to the German MEP Jens Geier,

:18:51. > :18:52.who is leading the budget negotiations on behalf

:18:53. > :18:57.She began by asking him why MEPs are asking for more money this year.

:18:58. > :19:02.We are asking for sufficient money in order to fulfil

:19:03. > :19:08.what member states demand from the European Union.

:19:09. > :19:12.Um, you cannot really make working for

:19:13. > :19:15.jobs and growth and, um, trying to cope with the migration

:19:16. > :19:21.crisis a priority and then do not handle it,

:19:22. > :19:24.um, like a priority in terms of giving sufficient means.

:19:25. > :19:27.Now, one of the problems you face is the weaker

:19:28. > :19:31.pound and obviously that's lowering the contributions that Britain has

:19:32. > :19:37.How much of a problem is that for you and what are you going

:19:38. > :19:41.So the exchange rate on which the contributions

:19:42. > :19:44.from Great Britain are measured is set on the 31st of December 2015,

:19:45. > :19:49.and after the Brexit, as you perfectly know,

:19:50. > :19:52.the pound sterling went down.

:19:53. > :19:59.So now it coasts Britain 10% more in pounds sterling

:20:00. > :20:04.to fulfil its obligations in euros and that creates a deficit

:20:05. > :20:09.and deficits are not allowed, so we cannot close the budget year

:20:10. > :20:23.Um, the Commission now calculates the deficit with 1.8 billion euros

:20:24. > :20:27.and there are three, um, possibilities to cover that and none

:20:28. > :20:32.First - ask the British for more money.

:20:33. > :20:35.Second - ask the other member states to cover the British,

:20:36. > :20:43.And third - let's find money in the European budget.

:20:44. > :20:49.We have some time to go until the end of the year,

:20:50. > :20:53.The pound sterling recovers a little bit.

:20:54. > :20:57.Maybe there are more finds coming in.

:20:58. > :21:00.But it would cover today about two-thirds of it.

:21:01. > :21:03.I could imagine some, some sort of burden-sharing

:21:04. > :21:06.between the UK and the other member states.

:21:07. > :21:12.Britain will leave the EU in just over two years' time and take

:21:13. > :21:18.Well, it will go along with the renegotiation

:21:19. > :21:21.of the multi-annual financial framework

:21:22. > :21:26.and that would mean that all - what the EU is giving money

:21:27. > :21:30.for is renegotiated, every contribution is renegotiated

:21:31. > :21:37.in terms of paying and in terms of getting the money.

:21:38. > :21:43.So it would be a perfect possibility to just recalculate what does

:21:44. > :21:46.the European member states want from EU,

:21:47. > :21:50.how much money are they ready to give, and how will be

:21:51. > :21:53.the burden-sharing between the 27 remainers.

:21:54. > :21:59.So my feeling is it might be a little bit more for the other

:22:00. > :22:06.So it could mean a major overhaul of...

:22:07. > :22:13.So Britain's leaving the EU will have a major impact

:22:14. > :22:26.Now, Seb Dance, he laid out three possible scenarios,

:22:27. > :22:30.didn't he, to cover this shortfall - ask the British for more money,

:22:31. > :22:34.get the EU nations to cover, or seek money out of the current EU budget.

:22:35. > :22:39.Well, um, it remains to be seen, obviously, what collectively will be

:22:40. > :22:43.seen as the best of those three options.

:22:44. > :22:45.What do you think would be the best option?

:22:46. > :22:47.Obviously, nobody wants, to advocate paying more

:22:48. > :22:50.money and, as a group in the European Parliament,

:22:51. > :22:53.we voted to not increase the budget because we don't

:22:54. > :22:56.believe that we should be paying more money in real terms

:22:57. > :23:02.But I mean, obviously, when we have a situation

:23:03. > :23:05.when the pound has lost so much in its value internationally,

:23:06. > :23:08.you know, there is a lot of currency volatility around and when that

:23:09. > :23:11.exchange rate is set at the end of this year,

:23:12. > :23:14.on the 31st of December, it inevitably means that our

:23:15. > :23:17.contributions will go up if we just stick with the current,

:23:18. > :23:18.with the current contributions and that,

:23:19. > :23:21.obviously, is a problem that Brexit has posed because,

:23:22. > :23:24.of course, the level of volatility is such that we can't be sure

:23:25. > :23:26.about what our contributions will be.

:23:27. > :23:28.So Patrick, on a point of principle, shouldn't

:23:29. > :23:31.the UK, rather than other member states, make up the rest?

:23:32. > :23:35.What should happen is some of this bloated

:23:36. > :23:39.I mean, Seb says his group voted nor for increases.

:23:40. > :23:44.We voted for cuts at every possible turn, including

:23:45. > :23:47.trying to get an amendment on to cut the salaries,

:23:48. > :23:50.allowance and travel expenses of MEPs, which Mr Short actually...

:23:51. > :23:56.But there are so many wasteful things - youth clubs in Azerbaijan,

:23:57. > :23:58.combating on-line hate speech in the Middle East.

:23:59. > :24:01.This is a bloated organisation that can't pay its bills.

:24:02. > :24:06.I was going to say if you start blaming others for their spending

:24:07. > :24:09.priorities and simply saying that European Union is a bloated budget

:24:10. > :24:14.how on earth do you shift the focus on them to choose one of those

:24:15. > :24:17.options, which is to get us to pay more in our budget contributions?

:24:18. > :24:20.Ultimately, they're not going to share the burden

:24:21. > :24:23.if we treat the European Union in the way

:24:24. > :24:26.I mean you have to work constructively with partners.

:24:27. > :24:29.You have to work as an engaged partner in a single market

:24:30. > :24:34.as you're a member - as we still are, of course.

:24:35. > :24:38.It would seem as an obvious point that if we want their goodwill

:24:39. > :24:40.in the forthcoming negotiations, simply criticising

:24:41. > :24:42.them for their current spending allocations is not going to...

:24:43. > :24:49.There was the recent 1.8 billion more because our economy was doing

:24:50. > :24:55.Ah, final word there from Patrick O'Flynn,

:24:56. > :25:17.That is all for now from all of us here, bye bye.

:25:18. > :25:18.Saturday's weather was full of cloud.

:25:19. > :25:21.Only the lucky few got to see some sunshine.