Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Spokesman on: EU Commission report, PMQs, Europe, John Prescott, Jane Kennedy, Chief Whip, Iranian President’s letter and 7/7 compensation
EU Commission report
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) told journalists that the Prime Minister had welcomed the Agenda for Europe document that was published by the EU Commission today. It chimed with the vision that the Prime Minister had set out in his June speech to the European Parliament which came immediately after the French and Danish referendums in which he had talked about the needs to concentrate on the context within Europe, not the text. In other words, on delivering on issues such as the single market and economic reform within Europe to show real delivery for citizens, not the constitution. That vision was further defined at Hampton Court at our special summit, and was echoed yesterday by Chancellor Merkel, who had said that her number one priority in Europe was completing the single market. The PMOS said that what the document today showed was the dynamic within Europe had changed, and it would never be the same again, and there was a new consensus emerging as the document made clear. It went back to the Prime Minister’s speech, but it was also the result of our successful EU Presidency.
PMQs
Asked about the Prime Minister’s reaction to today’s PMQs and did he think that they had gone well, and was he taken aback by the lack of support from the backbenchers, the PMOS said that he was not going to get into party matters, as people knew. The Prime Minister had acknowledged today, as he had also done during his recent press conference that everybody knew that it had been a difficult time. The key question was: was the a Prime Minister and the Government still delivering on the election manifesto it was elected on a year ago? The PMOS said whether it was on health, on education, where the Prime Minister would argue very strongly that the reform process was up and running, and needed to be kept going, and where hard decisions, such as tuition fees and foundation hospitals and City Academies were paying off. The PMOS also said it was issues such as Europe and today we had clear evidence that the vision the Prime Minister had set out was paying off, and was being driven through. We also had upcoming issues, especially in the field of pensions and energy where again, there will be hard decisions that have to be taken in the interests of the country, and the Prime Minister was quite prepared to do that.
Asked how the Prime Minister had thought his performance had gone, and had there been any reaction, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister, both at the press conference, and today, explicitly recognised that the Government had been going through a difficult time. Given the issues that had been around, it would have been surprising if that had not been reflected today.
Asked if the difficulties had therefore been recognised at PMQs, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister recognised that there had been a difficult time. Equally, however, as the Prime Minister had said at PMQs, the important question was whether there was an ongoing policy agenda which was being addressed, and whether policies were being developed which needed to be addressed for the future. The Prime Minister believed that the answer to both of those, present and future, was yes. Time would show that the Government was in the right place in terms of policy.
European Union
Put that it sounded as if the Prime Minister was "pretty desperate to lay claim to ownership" to something that was going to happen anyway, the PMOS replied that first of all, the Prime Minister was the person who made the speech in Europe, and even at the time, people remarked that it was going to change the agenda in Europe. What our EU Presidency showed was that it had changed the agenda, and the question people asked in June was: very good speech, but was it just rhetoric? The PMOS said that the EU Commission paper today showed that it was reality. What it also showed was the growing consensus that there was in Europe was on the agenda that we set out at Hampton Court on issues such as energy, which was not on the agenda before.
Asked was if it not the case that the new face of Europe policy was being fleshed out as a return to the EU constitution, the PMOS replied that it was not. The EU constitution was focused on institutions, and this was focused on delivery. As Chancellor Merkel said yesterday, on completing the single market as her number one priority, be it in terms of energy liberalisation or in creating a European energy grid which could only be of benefit in that it gave Europe much more bargaining power in the world energy market. The PMOS said it was also about bringing down protection barriers across Europe. All of those were things that we had been developing and arguing a case for for a long time. The coincidence of our Presidency with the circumstances that we found ourselves in June posed a big question mark for Europe, but it also gave us an opportunity to seize it and push the agenda forward. What today showed was that we had done so.
Asked if the Prime Minister thought that there was an opportunity now to reintroduce or redraft the constitution, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister had been quite explicit about this since June, and he had not changed his view. What Europe needed to focus on before it went back to questions about the constitution was changing the context. By changing the context, it showed that Europe was delivering on practical terms for European citizens, rather than focusing on items such as the constitution.
Asked if the Prime Minister thought that the constitution was dead and should never be revisited, the PMOS replied that there were institutional issues which had to be addressed about how Europe with 25 worked, and the Prime Minister was quite open about that. What the Prime Minister also believed was that that should not be the first priority that was faced at the moment. The first priority, therefore, was to address issues such as energy liberalisation, economic reform, and how there could be greater co-operation on security to fight the terrorist threat.
Put that it had now been many months since the constitution was "killed off" and did the passage of time not suggest that a lot of institutional reform that was seen as essential for the proper running of an EU 25 was not necessary at all, the PMOS said anyone who had attended a European Council saw the problems of operating in an coherent way of Europe 25.
Asked if it was causing problems, the PMOS replied getting decisions made was not an easy process, therefore, at some point, those issues that be addressed. The PMOS said that if a consensus was formed about the way in which Europe had to change, then real change could be made in people’s priorities. The European Commission paper today said that.
John Prescott
Asked if there was any information about the Cabinet Committees that John Prescott would be sharing, the PMOS replied that if people looked back at any other previous reshuffle, there was always a timelag between when a reshuffle had happened, and when the Cabinet Committees were announced. That was because the process of changing the committee’s system could not be started to reflect the reshuffle’s new priorities until it had been announced. The PMOS said that the reshuffle was on Friday, today was Wednesday, and things did not move that fast.
Asked when it might happen, the PMOS said that people were working on it, and it would be as soon as possible, but the PMOS said he was not going to give a date. The PMOS also said he was not going to set up a coconut shy for people to aim at.
Put that the PMOS’ words were very Sir Humphrey-like, the PMOS replied that it was the biggest compliment he had ever received! It was the reality, however, but the PMOS noted that it was also the appraisal time of year, and he thanked the journalist very much.
Put that No10 must be relieved that Scotland Yard had announced this afternoon that they were not pressing criminal charges on Mr. Prescott, and was this a taster of what we expected for the Prime Minister on cash for honours, the PMOS replied that the question was a very sly way of getting him to try and give a running commentary on police investigations, which he would not do. Therefore, silence was the best policy.
Jane Kennedy
Asked to explain the Prime Minister’s stumble about Jane Kennedy today at PMQs, the PMOS replied that the Prime Minister respected Ministers and ex-Ministers privacy in terms of what their conversations with him were.
Chief Whip
Asked how the Prime Minister rated the performance of his new Chief Whip, the PMOS said that he had a very high regard for her.
Iranian President’s letter
Asked about a letter sent from the Iranian President to President Bush, the PMOS said that the US Government had expressed its view, and that was all that mattered. The key question was not a letter, but rather, it was whether the Iranian Government recognised the international will as expressed at the UN by the united world. The answer to that so far seemed to be no.
7/7 compensation
Put that the Prime Minister indicated today that there might be some extra compensation for victims of the 7/7 bombs last year, and was that likely to be announced in the future, the PMOS said that he did not want to pre-judge what the Home Office and the Home Secretary would say. The Prime Minister did recognise that the circumstances of 7/7 were exceptional, but people should wait and see what the Home Secretary said.
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