Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-12-18-Speech-3-052"

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"en.20021218.3.3-052"2
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"Mr President, although the Copenhagen decision is indeed of historical significance, this is only one stage in the development of the European Union. It has been said quite rightly today that enlargement of this Union must go ahead. On the one hand, a number of countries – I am thinking here of the Balkan countries – await membership at a later date, and on the other, there are other countries with a well-founded claim to close partnership and equal status, by which I mean Russia and also the states bordering the Mediterranean. An enlarged EU must, though, strike a new balance between flexible and efficient decision-making and the aspects of the decision-making structures that have to do with democratic policy-making. Together with the representatives of the Council Presidency – I see that Mr Haarder is present – Parliament, the Council and the Commission are engaged in the search for a common basis for dialogue on better forms of governance. Mr Haarder has gone to a great deal of trouble to provide a number of contributions. Even though he is now the representative of a government and no longer a member of this House, a certain awareness may be at work here. The main thing, though, is that there are a number of governments that are far more restrictive than he wishes to be. I see that as highly problematic, as not enough governments have made public commitments to transparency and public access, especially as regards their decision-making structures. I would particularly like to thank President Prodi for the way in which the Commission has again presented a range of proposals that point a way forward to possibly better and, at the same time, more democratic ways of governing, principally indicating how the Council and Parliament can participate in lawmaking with equal rights. Not all of the Commissioners have realised, however, that when this House delegates and cedes the power to make laws, we can, of course, do so only on certain conditions and in conjunction with a right of recall. I hope, though, that the next conversations, which we will be having at the beginning of the Greek Presidency, will bring us a result. I appreciate it when the Commission and the Council keep on reiterating their obligation to insist on adherence to the Treaties, but I ask them to acknowledge that we in this House have to insist on the principles of democracy being guaranteed by the legislators' participation in the process of drafting laws. We will be having elections in 2004, which we will not win against each other; we can win them only with each other and only when we make it our real concern that there should be greater flexibility, greater efficiency, and also more democracy in the European Union."@en1
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