Since the 2009 European Election I’ve kept an eye and an ear open for what MEP Marta Andreasen will do in UKIP’s delegation. Today I seem to have my answer – she’s willing to be just as stupid and poisonous as the rest of them.
The issue at stake is a complex one. As The Parliament reports, the European Commission breached the copyright of machine translation software made by Systran SA, and was – rightly – sued for copyright breaches. Budgets Committee of the EP has just voted to approve the €12 million damages payment, with only one MEP – Andreasen – voting against paying the damages.
If the ball were in the other court – that Andreasen were an accountant for Systran, or the firm were based in the south east of the UK rather than France – you  would bet she would be kicking up all kinds of fuss about this, demanding the EU treats companies fairly.
The issue is of course an enormous cock up, and embarrassing to the Commission. But to get to the bottom of where the problem really lies would require time and effort, and cooperation with Commission staff. And we know where that ended up last time she tried.
So well done Marta. Make a populist and impractical statement, poisonous in nature. Suppose it was inevitable, you’re a UKIP MEP after all.
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