Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-06-10-Speech-1-078"
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"en.20020610.4.1-078"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Corbett, you have received a great deal of recognition here today, and I too would like to praise you for the commitment and tenacity with which you have ensured that our Rules of Procedure will be brought up-to-date. I hope you will forgive me for sharing my concerns with you nevertheless.
What makes a parliament a parliament is, of course, the debate of the people present in heart and spirit and who represent the opinion of their own rank and file. People who, despite their different backgrounds, still try to reach consensus and settle any differences of opinion.
What, then, is the source of this tendency to obstruct specifically small groups, give small Member States less say and eliminate minority languages? I fail to see the connection. I cannot appreciate how organising everything in large groups will liven up the parliamentary debate. I rather think that the opposite is likely. I can see a move towards very large groups, whose internal diversity I am struck by, so that I actually regret every instance where the membership of individual MEPs is curtailed.
I therefore hope that we can modernise Parliament without having to put up with these disadvantages. But I regret the fact that the admissibility of amendments will from here on in depend on the number of members in a committee. Surely this has nothing to do with the ideas we are trying to put across! I fail to comprehend how speakers from different backgrounds could bring universal happiness. Non-European thinking is the very thing which is, in fact, threatening Europe. It is important for different Member States to have their say, as was enshrined in the previous Rules of Procedure.
I will give you another example: the formation of groups. Needless to say, this has led to a great deal of commotion, and I know that Mr Corbett has met us some of the way. He will say he has met us most of the way. I too have started making regular visits to the candidate countries, and just imagine how difficult it will be for smaller groups, and more recent groups, to enter this Parliament.
Then there is the language issue. It is, of course, important for us to be able to talk in our native tongues, but it is just as important for all citizens also to be able to hear their language in the gallery …"@en1
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