Madam President, this is the first time that the Secretary-General and High Representative, who is also to be the Secretary-General of the West European Union, has been here with us in the Parliament. You bring with you, Mr Solana, exceptional credentials for these duties. You have been President-in-Office of the Council and Secretary-General of NATO. Our Group wishes you every success, both personally and in your work; if you are successful, it means success for us all and success for Europe. The European and Conservatives wish you a warm welcome to your new duties. You said that if ever it was necessary you would attend Parliament. I am sure that by this you also mean the relevant committees, to wit the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy. We would be highly delighted if there could be a form of cooperation with you which, although institutionally different, is on the same basis as that with the Commission, which has stated that it will attend Parliament and the committees whenever it is asked to by the Parliament. If you consider this to be necessary, then I believe we shall make good progress together. I would like to say a word of thank you to the other Group chairpersons who agreed last Thursday that the European Commission, represented here by Chris Patten, should be allowed to speak today. Under Article 18 of the EU Treaty, the European Commission must participate fully in the Common Foreign and Security Policy and for this reason our Group will always defend the interests of the Commission, which are also the interests of the European Union, and will always require that you work together prominently in the interest of Europe, as I think is wonderfully ensured by both individuals in question. There is no place for competition and mutual ambition; rather, we must work towards the common goal of a strong and competent Europe. (Applause) With you as the Secretary-General of the West European Union and the West European Union integrated into the European Union, parliamentary supervision naturally takes on a new duty and, together with the national parliaments, which will retain a supervisory function, it is the European Parliament which must carry out this supervisory function. We therefore believe that the Assembly of the West European Union, which has played an important role in the past, must transfer these duties to the directly elected European Parliament. You mentioned some of the areas in which the European Union must operate, including Russia. The security of our continent will depend on how things unfold in Russia. We want a competent, democratic Russia, but we also believe that what is happening today in Chechnya is a disgrace for Russia and a disgrace for Europe. By its actions in Chechnya, in Grozny and other towns, and in the countryside of Chechnya, Russia is distancing itself from the values of Europe and I would urge you, Mr Solana, and Chris Patten, to make your voice heard today, tomorrow and in the coming days at the OSCE meeting in Istanbul. We must not remain silent! Anyone who keeps silent now and fails to make his voice heard is answerable to men, to the Muslims of Chechnya. (Applause) Allow me to make a final comment on security and defence policy. We wish to have a European defence identity, but this must not mean that we uncouple ourselves from the USA. Rather, we must understand it as a distribution of duties and not as duplicity. We must ourselves be competent and, therefore, create the necessary preconditions in terms of transport, communication, news-gathering and modern satellites. We cannot simply leave everything to the Americans. It is also a matter of technology, as Chris Patten rightly said. This must not take place in opposition to America, but additionally. I think that if, as Europeans, we do our duty in this matter, we will generally strengthen the North Atlantic alliance and if, as Mr Solana and Mr Patten have said, we carry out these duties and you, Mr Solana, as the Commission does, undertake to seek dialogue with us whenever we consider it necessary, then my group will support you. In this regard I wish you every success in your work. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE