Mr President, colleagues, I make no apology for beginning my contribution by thanking the outgoing President, Mrs Fontaine, for the work that she did as President. She led the fight against terrorism long before 11 September. It is to her credit that she took those initiatives at that time. Before a vote is even cast in this election, we already know the winner. The winner is the European Parliament because, as Pat Cox has rightly said, we have had an open election, keenly, but fairly contested. That can only help to raise the profile and to improve the image of this institution – something which frankly is very necessary. The 1999 European elections, Eurobarometer and other opinion polls all demonstrate that this institution has an image problem. With the Convention, enlargement and the 2004 European elections, we face enormous challenges. Every Member of this Parliament now has the opportunity, in a secret ballot, to vote for the person they believe can best guide us through this vital phase. I have been a Member of this Parliament for 17 years. I have had the honour of being its Vice-President for 12 of them. In that time I proved my determination to work for Parliament and for all its Members. As rapporteur on the Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties, I negotiated with heads of government to secure codecision for this Parliament. As one of Parliament's representatives on COSAC, I worked to convince national parliaments of the importance of the convention method for the next reform of the Treaties. As Vice-President of Parliament I have sought to modernise and improve our working methods. I am deeply conscious of the fact that everything I have achieved in this Parliament has been achieved through working with colleagues across the political spectrum. I have fought for what I believe to be right, and I have done that, sometimes, against the interests of my own political group and sometimes even against the interests of my own country. If elected President, I pledge to fight for what this Parliament needs. That includes: firstly, a stronger role in electing the next President of the European Commission; second, codecision for all legislation; third, an end to the artificial distinction in the budget between compulsory and non-compulsory expenditure; fourth, ensuring that we, in this House, are ready for enlargement. We all know that the European Union faces many sensitive issues in the coming months and years. My task as President would be to ensure that at this vital time Parliament's voice is not only heard but acted upon on these issues. This plenary is Parliament's shop window to the world. It should be the place where the outside world can identify the real points of controversy between ourselves, and between ourselves, the Commission and the Council. Yet, frankly, because we deal with so many items – about 35 every four-day part-session – and because of the structure of our debates and the amount of time we spend voting, the relevance of what we do in this Chamber is sometimes obscured to the outside world. We need, as a Parliament, to resolve more issues in committee and reform both the structure of our debates and the way we vote. We need to provide our committees and rapporteurs with the necessary technical and legal resources to allow us to become a genuine equal to the Council as a co-legislator. In short, I want this Parliament to become a real debating Chamber – a Parliament where the general public can hear lively debates over real political choices and one where every Member feels that they have the opportunity to participate. I strongly believe that Members of this Parliament do an excellent job carrying out our legislative, budgetary and control functions. But no parliament can work in the dark. It is vital that we reconnect with the citizens so that we really can live up to our claim to be the voice of the people in EU decision-making. Thirty months is a short time. Reform will only be possible if the President has the support of all Members across the whole House. We need a President for all of Parliament. My record in this House, I hope you will agree, demonstrates that I would be an inclusive President. I have already committed myself to having a cabinet that would be balanced in terms of gender, nationality and political party. I would want a team of all the talents from right or left, big group or small group, medium-size or no group. If elected I pledge to be a President for the whole Parliament and all its Members. If you elect me today I would see this as the pinnacle of my political career. All my energy, all my commitment and all my enthusiasm would be channelled into ensuring that this is a Parliament of which we can be proud. (Loud applause)

Political group: PSE