Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-07-01-Speech-2-023"
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"en.20030701.1.2-023"2
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"Mr President, as a member of the Convention I noticed that very early on it became a commonplace – at least certain governments tried to make it so – that the six-monthly rotation of the presidency of the Council leads to inefficiency, a loss of momentum, a loss of direction and
that if too many small countries have the presidency it will not work.
I congratulate the Greek Presidency most sincerely for having shown that this is completely false. It has been the case during the last five years that the small-country presidencies have proved to be models of how this system can work. We should take pride and pleasure in that and congratulate the Greek Presidency on it.
Last Friday, at a meeting in London, a document produced by the London Office of the European Parliament remarked that the Convention was proposing that the Council should have a permanent, powerful presidency. Anybody who believes that ought to have a look at the draft text. The presidency of the Council will have no constitutional powers. The Council is denied any power of legislating. The Council may – and ought to – have influence, but the idea that the presidency will be 'powerful' is a great mistake. Since it will be a presidency chairing a meeting of prime ministers and heads of states, it will not be so much a case of
as of less than
unlike the position of the President of the Commission in future, for which again I am glad.
Although we have rightly heard a certain sense of alarm about the dual presidency, it may not be as bad as it sounds, like the music of Wagner.
At the Convention I had the honour of representing – as alternate member – the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance, and in particular the European Free Alliance subset representing the stateless nations of Europe – the small countries. I rejoice, as I said the other day, to see the flags of the new countries that come in. But not all the little countries of Europe are as yet – or intended to be – Member States of Europe. It is therefore vitally important to ask ourselves, as we contemplate a new constitution for Europe, about the future position of Catalonia (comparable in size to Hungary), of Scotland (comparable in size to the Slovak Republic), of Galicia or Wales (comparable in size to Latvia). What will be the way in which this Union works?
Mr de Gaulle was happy to pour contempt on the idea of subsidiarity. If we do not recognise that this is going to have to be a Europe of democracy at many levels, which takes subsidiarity seriously and takes it in a transitive sense right through the Member States, to all the countries of Europe, it will not work. I hope that will not be the case."@en1
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"par inter primos"1
"sotto voce"1
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The resource appears as object in 2 triples