Fiona is reporting back on the first week of European Parliament business after the European elections in June 2009 (Fiona Hall MEP)

Fiona Hall MEP <info@fionahall.org.uk>

Fiona is reporting back on the first week of European Parliament business after the European elections in June 2009

July 21, 2009 12:00 AM

When the 7th term of the European Parliament got underway last week there were a few surprises.

Traditionally, many deals are done in the parliament at the level of the leaders and top officials of the political groups, on the lines of "We'll accept your Mr X for chair of this committee provided you accept our Mrs Y". The D'Hondt proportional system provides the underlying calculation and ensures a fair share of posts for each political group.

But last week, MEPs - half of whom are new - made the point that it is their votes in the parliament chamber that are the ultimate arbiter, not political wheeling and dealing behind the scenes. The election of the fourteen vice-presidents of the parliament is normally a rubber-stamping of a done deal. But this time, Tory MEP Edward Macmillan-Scott, who had been a parliament vice president previously, put in an independent nomination against the official nomination from his new group, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR). MEPs opted in large numbers for a Brit with a good record on human rights rather than for a representative of the hard-right, illiberal Polish party with whom the Tories are now aligned. Macmillan-Scott was duly elected - and lost the party whip as a result.

Next it was the turn of our own Bill Newton-Dunn. Under the official deal, our Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) had not nominated anyone for a quaestor post. But Bill decided to stand as an independent, and won handsomely, to rapturous applause from all his ALDE colleagues. You may be wondering what a quaestor does. MEPs wonder that too. The role concerns the internal workings of the parliament, but quaestors have a bad track record on answering questions. Bill has promised to solve the mystery and shine some light on the quaestors' proceedings.

So it was a good week for ALDE, and especially for the UK Lib Dems. In addition to Bill as quaestor we have Diana Wallis re-elected as a vice president of the parliament and Sharon Bowles as the new chair of the powerful Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. Andrew Duff's tireless negotiations behind the scenes were crucial in achieving this excellent outcome.

There's been a change in the UK Lib Dem delegation too. At the AGM I was elected as the new LDEPP Leader. I'm looking forward to hammering home the message at the heart of the European election campaign - that we depend on concerted action at a European level to solve the major crises we face over climate change, the economy and security.

Have a good summer holiday!