Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-19-Speech-3-034"
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"en.20031119.1.3-034"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in the course of these weeks we are shaping the future Constitution of the European Union, and I would like to add that never before has the public had such an opportunity to participate in and influence the creation of a constitution as during the Convention, and we made that possible by means of a European Parliament initiative. What is at stake here is not only effectiveness and transparency, but also greater parliamentarianism, accountability and accessibility for the public. In other words, not only the Union's future sustainability but also its ability to cope with enlargement is at issue.
At this point I would particularly like to emphasise once again that the overall outcome of the Convention was, from Parliament's viewpoint, of course painful in many respects, but ultimately it was a balanced compromise that we are willing to accept in the greater interest. Mr President-in-Office, if there is talk about doing away with the Legislative Council, then let me make a perfectly serious observation: if the accession countries had a legislative body that functions as the Council does at present, then those countries would have been refused membership of the EU, because they would quite simply have failed to meet the basic requirements for legislative process, transparency and parliamentarianism. That is why we are insisting on the Legislative Council.
A great deal has already been said about budgetary rights. On this issue, I also believe that the agreements whereby the final decision on own resources is taken by the Member States, whereby the Council decides on the multiannual budget framework after consulting and gaining the approval of Parliament, and this House has the final say on the annual budget plan, all that is ultimately a compromise. It is not acceptable for the informal Ecofin summit at Stresa to attempt to undermine long-standing parliamentary rights, to torpedo them in fact. Any attempt to restrict Parliament's rights in this area will come up against the combined and energetic resistance of a large majority of this House. That is why I am counting at this point on the presidency adopting a pro-European position, and to take on the faint hearts and the backward-looking members of the Council in order to achieve a satisfactory solution."@en1
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