Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-01-16-Speech-2-008"
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"en.20070116.2.2-008"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Parliament is the only supranational parliament with genuine legislative powers in the world that is elected by universal suffrage, and the President is the voice and face of Parliament. I am standing for election today precisely because I believe that the ambition to make the European dimension of democracy more of a reality and the ability to represent the will of the majority, while maintaining one’s own independence of judgment and while respecting the value of individual Members, are the crucial characteristics required of the person chosen to lead this House.
There is a trend, now prevalent, for administration to take on more of a political colour and for posts to be openly shared out between the European People’s Party and the Socialists; this is downgrading many of our officials and will weaken our institutions. It must be reversed.
Colleagues, I ask for your support today because I believe that across the political divide we share a profound concern about the risks and dangers of this Parliament becoming too quiet and obedient a place. We can and we must reverse this trend, and whatever the outcome of this election, I pledge to work passionately to take forward the difficult task of building a coalition for change.
Over the next two and a half years the President, who I hope will be female, will have to be able to show on many occasions that he or she represents an institution that is free from the interests of the Member States and from the pressure of economic lobbies and that he or she is able to talk to an increasingly divided and indifferent public.
The President will have to show that he or she is capable of fighting for the constitutional rights acquired by Parliament. We shall have to know how to defend these essential and legitimate rights when we are told - perhaps by Mrs Merkel tomorrow - that, if we are to escape from the constitutional deadlock, there is no point in going through the European Parliament or holding a public debate and that a quick bout of intergovernmental negotiations will do very nicely: one more Intergovernmental Conference behind closed doors, which will produce one more unsatisfactory compromise on the cheap.
In a world in which even the Commission and certain Member States tolerate the use of breaches of individual and collective rights as currency in the economic field, in the control of resources and in the fight against terrorism, the European Parliament and its President must continue to provide a voice and provide legitimacy for all of those people who are unable to talk or act freely, wherever they are, and they must continue to publicly denounce uncomfortable truths, as they did in Chechnya and in China and in the case of the CIA flights, Guantánamo, Cuba and many other issues.
The elected President will have to ensure that the question of the seat is not continually brushed under the carpet by the big groups. More than one million citizens have signed the one-seat petition, yet the big groups in this House continue to side-step any discussion on the seat of Parliament. This issue has become important for the credibility of our institution, whether we like it or not. No matter which way we choose, we must take a clear stand, and this means at least holding a debate on the issue.
The elected President must also prioritise internal reforms which have been blocked for too long. Our debates must be made more interesting and relevant, and this certainly entails greater flexibility. However, the new President will have to engage with the Council and the Commission to encourage them to improve the quality of their answers during Question Time and statements: ensuring that responses are not simply diplomatic hot air is also a way to motivate our Members to be in this House during the plenary.
If better governance also means the adoption of fewer laws, one must acquire the means for estimating their effects and better monitoring the application of European legislation. The President of Parliament, though, needs not only to be available to all the groups, but must also guarantee that the House’s staff will remain independent and aloof from political trends."@en1
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"(Loud and sustained applause from the Verts/ALE Group)"1
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