Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-01-11-Speech-2-143"
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"en.20050111.10.2-143"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted that this substantial report by Mr Corbett and Mr Méndez de Vigo has been tabled. As a former substitute member of the Convention, I must admit that I might recommend to some people that they read this report rather than the Constitution itself, as it is supremely readable and extremely convincing on the issue.
Today I should like to address my comments to those Members of this House who have taken a critical approach to the Constitution. They have warned against the creation of a European superstate and denounced shortcomings, and they have come out in opposition to mistakes made in the past. I believe we should make it very clear to them that this European Constitution is in fact a way of addressing these shortcomings.
The European Constitution remedies many of the problems that all of us have experienced with Europe as it exists today. It lays down a system of competences and grants national parliaments the right of participation, thus making Europe less centralist and less bureaucratic. The Constitution gives the European Parliament a full say, and Europe will therefore become more democratic than it has been to date. It also strengthens citizens’ rights, above all by means of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, as citizens will be able to invoke the Constitution directly when appealing against European decisions. Finally, the Constitution provides this Europe of ours with a basis of values, and is thus a way of countering the technocratic approach to political problems. The Eurosceptics should therefore really be in favour of this Constitution, as it is the only way of changing the things we all wish to change.
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Alexander Hamilton, one of the fathers of the American Constitution, whose picture can today be found on ten-dollar notes. As I look at the fathers and mothers of the European Constitution in this House, I hope that they will also be remembered as gratefully in 200 years’ time."@en1
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