Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-21-Speech-3-075"
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"en.20040421.4.3-075"2
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"Mr President, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today. I have been mentioned so often here in plenary in recent weeks, but this is the first time I have had the chance to speak to my fellow Members here in the House.
You are correct, Mr President: at your written request, I submitted a dossier of information to you. You claim that there is no indication whatsoever that Members have broken the rules of this House. I have made it clear in all the statements I have made – and this is a very important point – that I have evidence of more than 7 200 cases where colleagues have falsely claimed a daily allowance. To what extent this is regarded as a violation of the rules is a matter for you and others to judge.
Nonetheless, Mr President, in my letter to you, I presented a number of cases in great detail – one being the meeting of the Group of the Party of European Socialists in Berlin on 10 May 2001, which you have mentioned – and asked you to indicate or clarify which rule governs conduct of this nature. I remember you from our personal discussions before you took up your present office and at that time too, you had my support and vote as someone who was very reform-minded. You supported me on numerous issues – as we discussed at the time – and acknowledged that I was right in many instances, as with the campaign on parliamentary reform with which you were associated and which you often took up as an issue.
I resolutely refute your statement that there is zero evidence for the allegations that I have made to you, and I also refute the suggestion that I am launching a campaign.
I hope that the public will hear this reaction. I would ask you to take this reaction into consideration by granting me a few extra seconds in addition to the speaking time that I am allowed. I refute the suggestion that I am launching a campaign. This is a European initiative for transparency, and to claim that I have no proof while criticising my methods is a contradiction. Lawyers, colleagues, citizens and voters have said to me that I will have to provide detailed proof. That is why the footage was taken, and what I have done is no different from the actions of the President of the EU Summit in Denmark in 2002, who adopted the same approach in order to reveal the internal workings of the EU Summit. That was broadcast and discussed. I believe that reformers and critics should not be silenced. We will continue our work."@en1
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