Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-01-16-Speech-3-064"
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"en.20020116.6.3-064"2
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"Mr President, the smallest group in Parliament, the Group for a Europe of Democracies and Diversities, also wishes to welcome the President-in-Office of the Council, Mr Aznar, and we should like to talk a little about the Convention, which will begin on 1 March. It will have a very unevenly balanced membership of 105 people and a 14-member praesidium which also looks as if it will be very unevenly balanced. I would call upon you to ensure that these 14 members also include representatives of the 49% who voted ‘no’ in the referendum on Maastricht in France and of the near enough 50% who voted ‘no’ in a couple of referendums in Denmark. I think it very inappropriate to put together a praesidium of 14 representatives who think alike and who will produce a result which, after three or four years, then ends up being overturned in a referendum. It would be more practical to secure a lasting compromise by entering into dialogue straight away with the different points of view to be found among the various populations.
The intergroup here in Parliament, which is called ‘SOS Democracy’ and whose members are in a way the federalists’ polar opposites, as well as partners cooperating on issues of transparency and proximity to the people, has had an excellent meeting with Mr Verhofstadt and also wishes to request a corresponding meeting with yourself. During the meeting with Mr Verhofstadt, the latter made two interesting pledges.
Firstly, he called for all the delegations from all the countries to include those we call Eurorealists and urged that, for example, at least one of the three representatives – two from the national parliament and one from the government – from two of the countries should be someone with a Eurorealist approach. He pledged that he would work towards these goals and called upon us to campaign for them. His second pledge was that he would support a subsequent referendum.
My question to Mr Aznar is as to whether he too would call for broad representation and ensure that referendums subsequently take place. Will he be involved in ensuring that two different drafts are prepared: a constitution for a democratic federal state, and a democratic agreement between independent countries, so that people can see the difference? Will he be a party to holding a consultative referendum on two different proposals? Will be involved in asking people what they think and have an intergovernmental conference called for the purpose of preparing a compromise? We must discuss how the Charter can bind the institutions together without coming into conflict with the constitutions and the European Court of Human Rights; how a division of the Treaty into two parts will not simply make it less likely that there will be referendums in the event of Treaty changes; how more than thirty forms of decision can be reduced to three clear forms of decision; how we are to formulate a right of veto on crucial issues without paralysing the whole process; how the national parliaments are to be associated with the cooperation process and whether they can assume the Commission’s initiative, monopoly and competence catalogue; and how it can be ensured that matters do not just go the same way as did the rule of law.
In connection with the issue of openness, which Mr Watson also addressed, I should like finally to ask you, Mr Aznar, whether you will change Spain’s position and ensure that Parliament receives the same documentation as the Council of Ministers. As a friend of Spain, I particularly welcome you to Parliament, and I hope that you will surprise us by implementing that openness which Sweden did not get anywhere with and which Belgium did not work to bring about.
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"Bienvenido"1
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