Labour MEP Stephen Hughes talks to Kate Holman about the priorities confronting Europe’s socialists
As a matter of urgency the European Union should introduce legislation to protect public services across Europe, argues Labour MEP Stephen Hughes.
Hughes – who represents the North East of England in the European Parliament – warns of “deep cuts” in public spending if the Conservatives win the next general election. “Despite their weasel words, we all know they are no friend of public services. It would be a disaster for the British economy”, he predicts. “At present, there is every justification for not only maintaining but increasing public spending. Running a deficit during a recession is nothing to be ashamed of. That money has to go into productive investment, active labour market measures, education and training.”
Together with trade union partners, Hughes and his colleagues in the Socialist and Democrat group in the European Parliament are relaunching their campaign for a directive to guarantee the availability and quality of public services in all 27 EU member states. “We are aiming to step up the pressure on this”, he says promising to push for action from the EU’s next Employment Commissioner – due to be appointed before the end of the year.
Hughes, who was elected vice-president of the S&D group in the European Parliament in June and is the only full Labour member of the EP’s newly-formed Financial, Economic and Social Crisis Committee, says responding to the downturn must be a top priority for Europe. “The most worrying projections suggest there will be 27 million people unemployed in the EU by the end of 2010. It’s urgent that we identify the best models for job retention, or people will drift into long-term unemployment. We have a whole cohort of youngsters who are graduating now and finding it impossible to get employment. So we need to focus on smart methods of job-sharing and injecting training into reduced working time.”
Also high on the “to do” list for the European Parliament’s new mandate, says Hughes, is proper regulation of the financial sector, and a new EU “route map” until 2020, replacing the not-altogether-successful Lisbon strategy, which runs out next year. The green economy, with its strong job-creation potential, must take centre stage, he insists. “The renewable energies sector is very dynamic. It is likely to generate 500,000 new jobs over the next decade. But if a more ambitious EU-wide policy is put in place it could provide up to 1.5 million jobs.”
Hughes stresses that the threat to workers’ rights arising from European Court of Justice rulings on the Laval, Viking and other cases concerning mobility of labour in the EU must be resolved. European Commission president José Manuel Barroso has already admitted that member states are applying EU legislation on the posting of workers in different ways. However, rather than tightening up the law itself, he has proposed adding a new regulation governing the way it is applied. “At first, I thought that was nonsense,” admits Hughes, but more recent discussions with Commission officials have persuaded him that this may be a way “to introduce legislative certainty across the EU and create a balance between economic freedom and fundamental rights. That’s encouraging.”
The role of S&D vice-president offers a clearer overview of what’s happening in different policy areas, says Hughes, although it also means a lot more meetings. “The vice-presidency gives me a strategic position in terms of the policy direction of the group, besides my specific responsibilities. I have a chance to influence a whole range of issues – for example, I recently met a delegation from the Kashmir community and I will make sure that we flag up Kashmir’s self-determination as an important issue on our foreign affairs agenda.”
Nonetheless, he recognises that with a much-diminished centre-left presence in the European Parliament since June’s elections, it is going to be a lot tougher fighting for a socialist agenda. He points to a recent vote on working hours for freelance freight drivers, which went the wrong way. “It’s the first time for years that we have lost an important vote. If that’s the pattern, we will be impotent as a parliament to deal with the financial crisis. We may as well pack our bags and go home. As for social legislation, we will have a job to get anything done. After all, we lost the elections.
“As regards outstanding legislative issues such as regulation of atypical work, and the Working Time Directive, I think there’s little prospect of any real progress. There are glaring gaps in social Europe, but Barroso is not the man to fill them. That’s all the more reason to appoint a good, strong commissioner for social affairs.”
Hughes describes the Commission president, who has just secured a second term in office, as a “deregulator”. He adds: “He has been successful in not proposing regulation over the past five years and I think he will continue to do the same.” Yet Barroso, for his part, has blamed member state governments for blocking EU social policy initiatives.
“In the last 10 years, we have had difficulties in the European Council on issues like temporary agency work and working time”, concedes Hughes. “Barroso is justified in pointing the finger of blame. In each of those cases, I’m sad to say that our own Government played a leading part in building opposition.”
The Commission has just launched another round of consultation with trade unions and employers over the long-overdue revision of working time legislation, but Hughes sees little hope of reaching EU-wide agreement between the social partners. And he thinks there is unlikely to be a new proposal from the Commission before the latter half of 2010.
As for sitting in the same chamber as Britain’s two British National Party MEPs, Hughes describes it as “very, very uncomfortable”. He adds: “We are monitoring them very carefully. We are receiving e-mails about the outrageous things they say and we will use that against them. People need to know who they voted for.”
Hughes believes David Cameron could yet have sleepless nights in the coming election campaign over his party’s position on Europe, even if the Tory leader tries to focus on domestic policies. “He is under pressure from the lunatic right-wing to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty irrespective of whether it’s ratified or not. I hope that once the Czech President has signed, Cameron will draw the line under the whole debate. But he’s already done silly things like pulling the Tories out of the European People’s Party. At one fell swoop, they lost a lot of power and influence.”
Hughes concludes: “John Major made himself a hostage to fortune over Europe and you would think that, sooner or later, that British leaders would learn to take Europe seriously and to be at the heart of what’s happening. The right of the Conservative Party will make it a big issue in the election, because these people are fanatical– they will do their level best to pin Cameron down. The Tories are deeply divided.”
