Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-04-12-Speech-3-050"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2000-04-12"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:IGC2
dcterms:Language	"da"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20000412.2.3-050"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2000-04-12-Speech-3-0512
lpv:speaker	lp:Jens-Peter Bonde2
lpv:spokenAs	substitute; Delegation to the European Economic Area Joint Parliamentary Committee (EEA) (1999-09-29--2002-01-14)3 substitute; CONT (1999-07-21--2001-04-23)3 member; Delegation for relations with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway (1999-09-28--2002-01-14)3 member; AFCO (1999-07-21--2002-01-14)3 unknown; JuniBevægelsen (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 member; Conference of Presidents (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 co-chair; EDD (1999-07-20--2001-01-29)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, in Denmark there is a concept known as asset stripping. Top class lawyers and accountants are being convicted one after the other because they have helped strip companies of assets and then left them with tax liabilities. Asset stripping is a punishable offence. The Intergovernmental Conference is designed to strip our constitutions and fundamental laws of assets and leave the voters with a democratic deficit, but constitution stripping of this kind is not punished. The asset under our constitutions is the right of voters to be heard and to choose representatives who can pass laws on our behalf. If we are dissatisfied with the laws, we can choose new representatives and obtain new laws. This is the beating heart of our democracies, a heart which, because of the constitution strippers, will stop beating. They are taking legislative power from our 15 national parliaments and transferring it to officials and ministers, from voters and elected representatives to the executive and from open assemblies to meetings behind closed doors in Brussels. Electoral power is being transferred from our constitutions, but is not being transferred to the European Parliament. We parliamentarians have been side-tracked. Power lies with the Commission and the Council of Ministers. The EU is not a parliamentary democracy, and the national parliaments have been still further marginalised. A number of us in this House have therefore prepared 19 proposals for democratic reform of the EU. We call the initiative SOS Democracy – “SOS” because it is a matter of urgency and “Democracy” because that is the heart of the problem. We do not have democracy in today’s EU. We should like to have it in tomorrow’s. We have different opinions as to how the laws should look. We have support across the political spectrum from communists to conservatives. We disagree about a lot but agree that our differences should be resolved in democratic parliaments. The voters in our countries should always have the last word. We reject any attempt to strip our constitutions of democratic content and we urge the public to get involved in the negotiations concerning the Nice Treaty before it is too late. Join us in SOS Democracy."@en1

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