Find out how Fiona spends her week

Sunday

I attend the Remembrance Day service in the centre of Newcastle, and then meet up with colleagues in Sunderland campaigning in the Millfield ward by-election, before catching the plane out to Brussels.

Monday

This is a Strasbourg week so it’s an early start to catch the 07:24 from the Gare de Luxembourg. It is foggy for most of the 5 hour journey. As well as ALDE group and UK Lib Dem meetings, we have a special ITRE (Industry, Research and Energy) meeting to discuss the Energy Efficiency directive. The parliamentary timetable on it is very tight if we are to get an agreement with the Council before Christmas.

Tuesday

A long day. It starts at 9am with a “shadows” meeting on the Energy Efficiency directive, involving all of us who are in the trialogue negotiations. We discuss possible compromise wording on certain key clauses. Then another cross-party “shadows” meeting on a completely different matter – a Development Committee report on Economic Partnership Agreements.

In the afternoon I am involved in a press conference about the political situation in Ethiopia, where there has been a further outbreak of violence and many arrests. Those of us who observed the elections in Ethiopia in May are particularly concerned at the clamp down and would like the Council (i.e. member state ministers) to request formal discussions with the Ethiopian Government under the terms of the Cotonou Agreement, which governs aid relations between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. Finally, at 11pm (!) I speak in the plenary debate on the decommissioning of nuclear power plants and call for an end to “state aid by the backdoor”.

Wednesday

In the morning and the evening we have the final ALDE discussions on REACH, now that the position on amendments is at last clear. There are two camps within the group – those who support the German industry position and want as little regulation of chemicals as possible, and those (including UK, French and Swedish ALDE members) who believe that REACH must be effective in controlling and limiting the use of particularly dangerous chemicals. In between, I brief ALDE Industry committee colleagues about the tortuous trialogue negotiations on Energy Efficiency.

Thursday

The REACH vote starts at 10am, two hours earlier than usual. By narrow margins (a single vote in one case) we approve a text which should help small businesses by lightening the burden of regulation on small amounts of chemicals, but is rigorous in its requirements for authorisation and substitution of the most dangerous substances. This is only the First Reading in the European Parliament so the work is not over yet. Before the session ends I have to catch the last train back to Brussels (arriving at 22:45) but manage to speak off the cuff in a debate on development strategy for Africa.

Friday

Back on the plane to Newcastle in time for the official opening by the Deputy Prime Minister of the new Tyne Tees building on the riverside in Gateshead. Then I catch up in the Durham office and finish the day with a meeting in Newcastle with T&G members concerned about plans to close half of the Elementis Chromium plant in Stockton.