Tories still sitting with Putin's Russians in the Council of Europe

snowflake5 Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 03:03:28 PM GMT Print-friendly version Facebook

After Cameron's dramatic dash to Georgia in August, it turned out that the Tories were sitting in alliance with Putin's United Russia in the Council of Europe. A Tory spokesperson responded by saying they were pulling out - but they were fibbing



According to Andrew Sparrow in the Guardian, writing on 29th Sept,

But the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly is meeting in Strasbourg this week and, according to MacShane, the Tory-United Russia alliance still seems to be up and running. MacShane sent me an email saying:

"I have just seen all the Tories go in to sit with the Kremlin's guys in Room Eight for the meeting of their group."

MacShane says the week will be dominated by debates about Russia and Georgia. The Russians organised a pro-Moscow demonstration by south Ossetians, but there's a move from delegates from other countries to have the Russian delegates suspended in protest at Moscow's decision to recognise South Ossetia (thereby condoning the break-up of Georgia). MacShane says that's "the only honest thing to do", but he doesn't know if the Tories will support it. 

Andrew Sparrow contacted the Conservatives to see what they were saying about it - and apparently they are still "consulting" their partners in the group about their position, and of course these partners are United Russia.

I personally think Cameron needs to issue a statement clarifying his position, as he personally wrote an article in the Telegraph about Georgia stating that

We could be pressing for the negotiation of the strategic partnership between the EU and Russia to be suspended. We could press for Russia's exclusion from the G8. And we could even be looking at the visa regime for Russian nationals travelling to and from the UK.

How does he reconcile that with his own people still sitting several months on, in close alliance with United Russia in the Council of Europe, and against the western European states?



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Tories still sitting with Putin's Russians in the Council of Europe | 1 comment (1 topical)

Europe - the eternal Tory problem (#1)

by LabourMatters on Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 11:03:14 PM GMT

Mary Honeyball MEP's blog highlighted this story today too:
 ...But the Tory MEPs who will go into battle on Mr Cameron's behalf are not a happy bunch. Already forced to sign up to new rules on expenses, they are now under orders to withdraw from the centre-right coalition that dominates business in the European Parliament.

This was a promise Mr Cameron made to his Eurosceptic Westminster party when he was fighting David Davis for the party leadership. But insiders warn that it threatens to reopen the fault lines on Europe within the Tory party at large and could also undermine Mr Cameron's hopes, should he become prime minister, of a fruitful working relationship with Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France, Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, and Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister.

Under European Parliament rules, MEPs have to join a group to gain rights and influence. The current threshold is 20 MEPs from at least six member states. After June, it increases to 25 MEPs from seven EU countries. The Tories have 26 MEPs at present and hope to gain around 40 of the 72 UK seats up for grabs. But they will struggle to form a new group with MEPs from six other nations. The Czech democrats are already signed up, and they may also be able to count on the support of the Italian Pensioners' Party.

But there is a concern that few other countries will be ready to join the Tories – leaving its MEPs post-June having to sit in a ramshackle gathering of political outcasts currently featuring Robert Kilroy-Silk and the French fascist Jean-Marie Le Pen and his daughter, Marine.

Mr Cameron is accused of failing to comprehend how Europe works – and now risks a split within Tory ranks at Brussels. Around six of his MEPs have made clear that they will not be prepared to sit with the unaligned MEPs from elsewhere in Europe.

More: http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Inside-Westminster--Tory-MEPs.4555203.jp


Tories still sitting with Putin's Russians in the Council of Europe | 1 comment (1 topical)