Cathy Ashton: La Vie en rose - Je ne regrette rien - 2010-01-12

"Cathy Ashton has led a proud 'Vie en Rose' - she has every reason to say 'je ne regrette rien' about her CND involvement," said British Labour Foreign Affairs Spokesman, Richard Howitt MEP, after a UKIP MEP had tried to make Baroness Cathy Ashton publicly say 'je ne regrette rien' over her involvement with CND in the 1980s.

"Tired and wholly false allegations about CND and the former Soviet Union were a thinly disguised attempt to associate Cathy Ashton with anti-Russian sentiment in the Parliament. And it fell totally flat," he said. 

While the vast majority of the European Parliament discussed the world role of the new High Representative today, UKIP and some British Conservatives seemed more interested in repeating totally unfounded allegations the funding of CND leaflets in the UK in the 1980s.

Richard Howitt ignored loud shouts from a UKIP MEP - which most MEPs found discourteous - as he asked a question during her three hour hearing in front of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs committee, for her new role as the EU's High Representative today.  "The Conservatives showed sour grapes about your appointment. They are seeking to criticise what you were doing when Britain was barely a member of the European Union. Perhaps that is not surprising given that 'Britain out of the EU' is where they would like to return?"  he asked. 

Baroness Ashton was enthusiastically clapped by the majority of MEPs when she defended her youthful anti-nuclear commitment.

When British Tory MEP Geoffrey Van Orden questioned Baroness Ashton's commitment to the military, Richard Howitt commented: - "The EU has committed itself to the essential role of training Afghan security forces. It is sad to see those like Mr. Van Orden who supposedly support Britain's military efforts there, and then disavow this critical path towards success for their mission."

'She's the right woman for the job. Her appointment is at last a chance for Europe to be a player on the world stage after endless debate with sceptics. Let's let her get on with it and support her," he said. 

Though the European Parliament does not have the formal power to reject individual Commissioner nominations, it has power to reject the whole Commission in its plenary session later this month. In practice, this means any individual Commissioner could be changed in agreement with their national government and President Barroso before this vote.

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