Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-03-Speech-3-033"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2001-10-03"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Extraordinary European Council of 21 September 2001 in Brussels – Preparatory work for the European Council in Ghent2
dcterms:Language	"da"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20011003.2.3-033"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2001-10-03-Speech-3-0342
lpv:speaker	lp:Jens-Peter Bonde2
lpv:spokenAs	substitute; Delegation to the European Economic Area Joint Parliamentary Committee (EEA) (1999-09-29--2002-01-14)3 member; Delegation for relations with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway (1999-09-28--2002-01-14)3 member; AFCO (1999-07-21--2002-01-14)3 unknown; JuniBevægelsen (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 chair; EDD (2001-01-30--2004-07-19)3 member; Conference of Presidents (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, the summit is now to discuss the composition of the Convention that is to draft the EU’s constitution. A majority of MEPs want to see the European Parliament’s representation doubled from 16 to 30. The argument is made in terms of equality with the national parliaments which each had two Members in the Charter Convention, making a total of 30. The name of my political group refers to a ‘Europe of Democracies’ in order to emphasise that we want democracy in the individual countries and democratic control of the EU. Democracies can govern the EU jointly, but there is no European people, as such, to have given the European Parliament a mandate to negotiate a new constitution for the EU. My group and the intergroup SOS Democracy instead proposes that we let each individual national parliament present proposals for the next treaty and then let representatives of the national parliaments prepare the draft treaty that is to replace the Treaty of Amsterdam. The Commission, Parliament and the governments could be observers in such an assembly. We would, at the same time, call upon the prime ministers to pledge that the next treaty will be subject to referendums in all the Member States. A treaty adopted in a referendum could bear the insignia ‘more democracy’ rather than ‘more Union’. We should like to create a slimmer EU with greater freedom for the Member States: an open and democratic EU that is close to the people and is governed by electorates and elected representatives in the Member States; a more flexible Europe, open to the candidate countries and to all other European nations. ‘A democratic EU’ sounds all well and good, but it can only come about when there is a European public. A living democracy requires a common language, culture, media, treasury of songs and sense of internal interdependence: in short, a European people. A ‘Europe of democracies’ is the art of the possible. The EU should be put on a slimming course and the focus shifted to cross-border matters which we cannot control as individual nations. In that way, there would be no loss of democracy but a benefit in terms of shared influence, and the people of Europe would vote in favour of the next treaty. Would they do so today, Mr President-in-Office of the Council? Dare you allow the Belgians to vote on the Treaty of Nice?"@en1

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