Madam President, Mr President of the Commission, Mr President-in-Office, ladies and gentlemen, today we are looking into the future of the European Union and we are therefore debating the future of Europe. However, we also look – particularly at this time – towards Belgrade and Serbia. We marvel at the desire of the people there for freedom, we encourage them to continue along the path towards the European Community of values. We declare our solidarity with the elected President Vojislav Koštunica and all democrats in Serbia. We shout to Slobodan Miloševic: 'Do your people a service. Step down so that your compatriots can live in peace and freedom.' (Applause) Ten years ago today on 3 October German unity in freedom became a reality. It was the work of millions of people who in a peaceful revolution brought the wall down, cleared the minefields and swept away communism with its contempt of humankind. German unity was only possible because of Solidarnosc in Poland, because of the desire for freedom of the Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians and other peoples in central Europe. And they have the right to join the Community of values of the European Union. On the initiative of our colleague, Alain Lamassoure, our group will be tabling a motion declaring that we will proceed with enlargement in such a way as to enable the first peoples from central Europe to take part in the next European elections in 2004. (Applause) A few days ago in Budapest, the freeman of Europe, the former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, spoke passionately in favour of the central European States becoming Members of the European Union. Today we say thank you to Helmut Kohl and salute him for understanding German unity as a duty to bring about the unification of our European continent with courage and determination. (Applause) Now we look towards Biarritz – and I see that the President-in-Office is leafing through and reading a book. Mr President-in-Office, I would ask you to follow this debate now as Mr Prodi is doing, to put your book to one side and take this Parliament seriously! (Applause) We are looking towards Biarritz and I can agree with nearly all of your comments. I should like to thank you very much, Mr President of the Commission, Mr Romano Prodi, for the great speech which you have given here today. Parliament – in any case my group – will stand resolutely at your side if you continue to defend these principles in the future. (Applause) And now we look towards Biarritz. We support what you said about majority voting, Mr President-in-Office. Of course we need to apply the principle of democracy in practice. This means that the majority of the population must be reflected in a majority vote. I would also ask, however, that we respect the rights of small countries in the European Union and avoid any arrogance on the part of large countries in the European Union. The small countries have their dignity too, and perhaps the outcome of the vote in Denmark would have been different if we had behaved differently in connection with one quite specific issue in recent weeks and months. (Applause) We say yes to closer cooperation. But this closer cooperation must not exclude anyone. We can support what you said. But I would also ask you to take us beyond Nice in Biarritz, and to ensure that there is also a decision in Nice to set in train the next steps in the reform process, and then – as you rightly said – we will have to consider the issue of a procedure for forming a constitution. The Institute in Florence has said that we need to split the Treaties into a basic treaty and a second treaty. We need to give this further consideration. As we do to the point which the President of the Commission rightly raised, that of mandating the next Conference in Nice to settle who does what in Europe: what the European Union does and what the nation states do. And it is then for the nation states to determine what should be decided at regional or district level. We wholeheartedly support what you said in this regard, Mr President of the Commission. We have now had the Convention on Fundamental Rights. Our group should like to thank Roman Herzog and for our Parliament Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, as well as all colleagues from all the groups who have participated in this. A magnificent job has been done and of course we have to ensure that, little by little, this also becomes part of Community law. Mr President-in-Office, you are right. We must not jeopardise the project; that is why we need a little patience. But I expect and hope that you will also find the right way gradually to make these fundamental rights European Union law. I now come to the really decisive point and the reason why we are so grateful to the President of the Commission, Mr Prodi, for his speech today. A great speech, Mr President of the Commission, in which you declared that we are acting within the framework of the Community of the European Union, that we are not working within bilateral or multilateral structures under secretariats which are outside the Community framework, but secretariats within the Community framework. We will resolutely oppose intergovernmentalism or secretariats, should any of our leaders have these in mind. We wish to act within the framework of the European Union. The greatest achievement of the European Union is our shared law, and we must obey this law. Anyone who starts to bend the rules for opportunistic reasons challenges the foundations of the European Community. This law is the foundation stone for peace in Europe. Mr President-in-Office, in conclusion I would make a request of you. Like the majority of the Council, you belong to the political family of François Mitterrand. I wish you the courage and strength to remain true to the European ideals of François Mitterrand in the coming weeks, months and years. And if you do then our family of parties – which was founded on the legacy of Konrad Adenauer, Alcide de Gasperi and Robert Schuman – will also be at your side when it comes to building a common Europe. That is the common task which now lies before us. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE