Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-06-12-Speech-2-157"
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"en.20010612.8.2-157"2
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"Mr President, let me say that the Council values this opportunity to discuss with the honourable Members the important issue of how we are to design the Union’s trade policy in an effective but also an open and transparent manner.
In the discussion here in the Chamber, I have identified two distinct trends. The first trend, represented by Mr Schwaiger among others, would require us to change the procedure. I assume that Mr Schwaiger considers that we must change the rules. Mr Clegg, on the other hand, who represents the second trend, says that the issue is not primarily about Article 133 but about the Council’s desire for openness in general.
However, I can see no other way of addressing this issue than actually working on the basis of what is laid down in the Treaty and Article 133. As we live in a society based on the rule of law, we can do nothing other than proceed on the basis of what is said in the Treaty. Of course, some might think that this should possibly have been changed. I therefore reported on a little of the discussion surrounding the amendments to the text of the Treaty which took place in Nice, and there will of course be an opportunity to return to this question. We have an Intergovernmental Conference coming up in 2004. Mr Schwaiger hopes to see changes as early as in Laeken. This might be a little optimistic but, as I have stated, there will be an Intergovernmental Conference in 2004. Let us return to the discussion then.
So what opportunities do we have if we cannot achieve progress along formal lines? Has the Council done enough to proceed along informal paths, keep Parliament up to date and give Parliament an opportunity to take part in the discussion? Naturally, openness and consultation can always be improved, but it is with a certain amount of regret that I note that, on two occasions during the Swedish Presidency when we invited dialogue on the issues I mentioned earlier, no-one attended from Parliament. There is an English expression “it takes two to tango”, and this also applies in this context. The Council has demonstrated that we want dialogue. Unfortunately, it appears that there was insufficient interest on the part of Parliament and on the part of the representatives of the committees concerned in taking part in such a dialogue. I can only regret this. It only gives us cause to maintain this dialogue to ensure that we obtain a consultation procedure which respects what is set out in the Treaty. Otherwise, we will seek the informal paths which are open to us in order to obtain the democratic support we all desire on these important issues of trade policy."@en1
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