Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Mr President of the Commission, Parliament is required to give its opinion on essential matters. Well, as far as Parliament is concerned, the issue of the weighting of votes within the Council and the number of Commissioners are essential matters. Even so, Mr President-in-Office, on this point we trust you to reach the best agreement. We understand that not all the elements are on the table yet, but I trust that wisdom will carry the day at the Nice Summit. For us Members of the European Parliament, the essential thing is primarily to make our voice heard where it might be useful. There are two points where it is useful and necessary. On the Charter, first of all. As practically everyone who has spoken before me here has said, we want a reference to the Charter in Article 6.2. Do not underestimate Parliament’s determination to achieve this. We do not find the principle of blackmailing into proclamation acceptable with regard to the conclusions the Biarritz European Council, even if it was an informal one. We still have a few days left to convince all European Union citizens, including those living in countries that sometimes feel that Brussels is plotting the worst, those for whom the development of a common foreign and security policy and an area of freedom, security and justice should be specifically incorporated into a code of values. We have a few days left to convince these people that the best safeguard against the Brussels behemoth is precisely, perhaps, to incorporate the Charter into the Treaties. Otherwise there would be the political paradox that a good development for the European Union is not acknowledged in the Treaties. There would be the legal paradox that the European Union had provided itself with a code of values and then agreed to carry on living with a treaty which makes reference to the values of another organisation. The second point I should like to stress is, obviously, the scope of qualified majority. Mr Poettering condemned the responsibilities of parties on all sides. I, however, would like to remind us of our responsibilities: we cannot blow the case out of all proportion. If we want to actually overcome the deadlock on qualified majority in order to enable the European Union to accommodate new members, then everyone has to make some small concession. In that respect, there are various proposals on the table. Regarding trade policy, the Commission has drawn up a proposal which must be carefully examined. We are in favour of developing democratic responsibility in this area. However, while we feel that this proposal needs to be examined carefully, it must also enable all parties to conserve the elements that make up their identity, particularly, no doubt, Europe’s cultural identity. As you know, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, we shall also examine qualified majority voting according to the yardstick of extending the scope of codecision. In that respect, let me draw your attention to one specific point: the extension of codecision to the common agricultural policy. If we trust to democracy, then it is not normal for 45% of the EU budget to lie outside the scope of codecision. It is even in the interests of agriculture, at a time when health and the environment are areas covered by codecision. The recent decisions of the European Parliament show that it has some sense of responsibility and concern for the interest of the citizens of Europe. Its voice would be stronger yet and that of the ministers defending an agriculture that promotes sustainable development would also be stronger within the Council if it were to be based on decisions taken in this place under the codecision procedure. (Applause from the left) These, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, are the criteria according to which we shall assess the outcome of the Nice Summit. Let me also mention how highly we value the point you raised concerning services of general economic interest. Yes, we do think that the Nice Council conclusions should include a request that the Commission should draw up a framework directive in this field.

Political group: PSE