Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-10-Speech-3-102"
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"en.20071010.17.3-102"2
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"Madam President, today we are debating a very important report, on the basis of which the distribution of seats in the next term of Parliament is to be made.
The rapporteurs have put forward a proposal that is very interesting and certainly must have required a great deal of work, both analytical and conceptual. I would like to express my sincere thanks to them for that. But as far as I am concerned it does have two serious weaknesses. Firstly, our fellow Members are proposing a solution that is ad hoc in nature, temporary, and solely for the next term. However, I recall that when we began work on this report in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs we agreed that we would look for systemic solutions enabling an automatic change to be made to the composition of the Parliament when new states accede to the EU.
The alternative proposal announced by about 80 MEPs, including me, meets this condition. Use of the d’Hondt method to calculate the number of votes from individual states is an objective instrument eliminating political horse-trading. By accepting this amendment the European Parliament could become the first institution to rise above political and national disputes. I accept a neutral, mathematical method of weighing the strength of individual countries. This would be a step in the right direction and a model to follow for other multinational European institutions.
Another weakness in the conception presented is the lack of consistency in the approach to European citizens’ rights. These include the right to be represented in this forum. In my view, the criterion of calculating the size of the Parliamentary representation from population numbers weakens this right. For example, how are citizens of Poland who live and work in Ireland or Great Britain supposed to feel? Various estimates suggest that there are between 2 and 3 million such people.
Under the electoral regulations that are binding in Poland, votes may be cast for candidates standing in Poland. But if we take the criterion of population as is suggested in the report, as a result of people leaving the country the number of MEPs elected in my country is diminishing, while it is rising on the islands. So who is going to represent them here in this forum? Irish MEPs, or British, or Polish, of whom there will be fewer? The report does not answer these questions. In this context I feel it is essential for changes to be made to the report’s text, and along with many fellow Members we shall be voting for certain amendments."@en1
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