Sharon's Summer Round-Up
A busy summer for Sharon!
After a rewarding but stressful year representing South East England and chairing the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, Sharon was looking forward to a nice summer break.
However, the shadow of the Eurozone debt crisis loomed and Sharon spent July and August being chased by the Parliament's secretariat and the media, all of whom wanted to know what Sharon thought. Sky News were so desperate for Sharon's opinion that they even wanted to send a crew to interview her at her hotel while on holiday!
Despite the need for a break, the world kept turning. As Sharon said: 'The financial crisis did not take the summer off and so neither did I." It is a good thing Sharon is someone who enjoys her work!
Below is a week-by-week summary of what Sharon did over summer recess:
4th - 10th July - Despite it being the last (and busiest) plenary week of the year, Sharon found time to appear on the BBC's Daily Politics programme alongside The Mirror's Associate Editor, Kevin Maguire, to discuss the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis (Sharon's view that 'Greece leaving the Euro would be bad for everybody' became a top-5 video on the BBC News website). Sharon also met with 'Banker to the Poor' and Nobel Piece Prize Winner, Muhammad Yunus, to discuss the possibility of a London-based 'Social Stock Exchange'.
11th - 17thJuly - Sharon attended and spoke at the launch of the new European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in Paris, having interviewed the new Executive Director, Verena Ross, earlier in the year. Sharon then wrote a piece criticising German banks for denying their part in the crisis, which was picked up by the national press, including the Mirror and the London Evening Standard.
18th - 24th July - Sharon visited the Oxfordshire-based headquarters of the Lotus Renault Formula 1 racing team, where she was shown how car parts are designed and engineered, and how the cars are tested. Sharon also attended a ministers meeting this week, at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in Westminster, before heading back to Brussels, where she finished off some work, tackled some filing to try and clear the decks before recess started, and gave a live interview on BBC Radio 4's The Today Programme.
25th - 31st July -Sharon visited GE Aviation in Hampshire to see first-hand the thriving industry of aircraft engineering in her region. Sharon also met with lobbyists from GE Capital who flew over from Brussels especially to meet with Sharon to discuss upcoming financial legislation. On Tuesday, Sharon did a lengthy interview with the FT's Banker magazine and on Thursday visited Dorney Lake in Buckinghamshire to see the preparations being made for next year's Olympic rowing.
1st - 7th August - Sharon met with academic researcher, Hannah Simcoe-Read, and others to discuss proposed changes to the Common Fisheries Policy - the EU's one size fits all fishing policy which Sharon has been campaigning to improve. (Download Sharon's Fairer Fishing campaign pack). The next day,Sharon was invited to debate the UK's membership of the EU with Conservative backbencher and arch Eurosceptic, John Redwood MP, on BBC's Newsnight. On Thursday, Sharon visited 'Flagmakers' in Chesham to see how bespoke flags are made, including a flag for Barack Obama's State Visit to the UK. On Friday, Sharon did an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live about the ever-present Eurozone debt crisis.
8th - 14th August - Despite having a holiday booked with husband Andrew, Sky News wanted to send a crew up to Durham to get Sharon's view of the worsening Eurozone debt crisis. However, rioting in London and across England meant that the story (and Sharon's interview) was postponed for another day. During her leave, Sharon dealt with an early recall request for her Committee and document preparation - all the while squinting at her blackberry!
15th - 21st August - On Tuesday, Sharon appeared on Boulton & Co on Sky News to discuss the Eurozone debt crisis. On Thursday, Sharon visited an Oxford University summer school specialising in computational biology, a visit which coincided with the Government's announcement of new Enterprise Zones which will see new investment in technology and science in the South East. On Friday, Sharon visited Nissan to see how their new range of eco-friendly cars is made.
22nd - 28th August - On Tuesday, Sharon went back to Brussels to prepare for an extraordinary hearing of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee concerning the euro zone crisis. On Thursday, on her way back to the UK, she met with the CEO of Merrill Lynch Europe, Jonathan Moulds, to discuss capital requirements, the euro crisis and regulation in general; after which she gave what has become an annual summer briefing to journalists at the Financial Times in London. Sharon also took the opportunity this week to meet with the Chief Executive Officer of the Co-op, Barry Tootell, to discuss the Capital Requirements Directive. Sharon finished the week by writing an incisive piece for Public Service Europe, which you can read here.
29th August - 4th September - On Monday, Sharon chaired the extraordinary hearing of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, which was attended by the President of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude-Trichet, among others. You can read Sharon's opening remarks at the hearing here. The next day Sharon was interviewed on Radio 4's Today Programme, on CNN, and appeared on the front page of the BBC News Business page online. She rounded the week off with a visit as guest speaker for a dinner with Milton Keynes Liberal Democrats.
Annual Report project
Throughout the summer, Sharon and her team also worked hard putting together Sharon's sixth annual report, which has now gone to print. It will also be available online soon.
Putting the report together takes a lot of time and effort, but Sharon believes it is important that constituents know what she has done as their MEP.
If you are not a member of the Liberal Democrats in South East or South Central regions, but would like to receive a complimentary copy of the report, please email us with your postal address. An electronic copy of the report will also be posted to www.sharonbowles.org.uk
Research, reading and writing
We have not listed the huge amount of reading tha tSharon also got through over the summer. Sadly this was not enjoyable fiction novels! For the most part it was reports, comments on, or drafts of legislation and background reading to research the areas coming before her committee in the next few months.Sharon also worked on drafting several speeches, prepared notes for meetings and helped brief numerous journalists, pundits and politicians about the fast-moving developments in the Eurozone crisis.
Maybe Christmas will be a bit quieter, and give Sharon a bit more of a rest!