EU

Politicians would make terrible magicians. That’s my conclusion after reading a new proposal that sets out how Europe should meet its fuel economy targets for all new cars.

The German government’s proposal is an attempt to con the rest of Europe into playing into the hands of car companies like BMW and Daimler.

While considering how to write a blog on the latest developments on Europe’s bumpy road to fisheries reform, I decided to take a step back in time. Eleven months ago I wrote this blog explaining where the discussions were at, what was still on the table, and outlining a number of areas of concern.

When the alarm rang at 4.45am this morning, I was already awake. Nobody overslept or moaned about feeling tired. And after a quick pre-action breakfast we piled into the minibus, loaded with climbing equipment, a huge banner and our petition printed with the names of 20,000 UK campaign supporters. We were on route to Lewes, the constituency of UK Transport Minister, Norman Baker, who this Wednesday will represent the UK in a make-or-break moment for the future of pollution from cars.

Something big went down in Europe today: MEPs voted on how efficient our future cars should be. This lays the foundations for rules that carmakers have to abide by.

Who'd have thought it? Just days before MEPs vote on what future cars should look like, UK oil companies, together with the RAC, have just come forward and said we're asking for the right amount of car fuel efficiency.

Earlier this week, we exposed that the UK’s top fishing lobby – the National Federation of Fisherman’s Organisations (NFFO) – is not what it says on the tin. Traditional fishing is in crisis and it seems that small-scale fishermen aren’t getting the representation they deserve. Our investigation revealed some very interesting surprises and it has elicited a very fervent response from the NFFO.

Where were you when you heard the news? I was sitting in a very chilly train station in Edinburgh, cursing a delayed train, unable to extricate myself from Twitter to go get a restorative coffee, when the news came through: Members of the European Parliament, those elected but often-maligned creatures, had voted overwhelmingly in favour of radical, progressive reform of Europe’s fish laws.

Yesterday morning in chilly Brussels I joined small scale fishermen and Greenpeace campaigners who had travelled from all over Europe to demonstrate together outside the European Council Building. We were there to remind ministers to put the health of our oceans first, in the reform process of the European laws that govern our seas.