Madam President, Mr President-designate of the Commission, you have recently outlined to us a view of what the tasks of the European Union will be. You have spoken of an enduring development, you have spoken of peace and of stability. Mr Prodi, you may not belong to the great Expressionist painters, but I have faith that your gentle leadership can produce good results. You have also mentioned East Timor, and we all expect that Europe will bear full responsibility in this matter. What we have heard from the Commission in Parliament has not been a useless act and a worthless spectacle at all, they have been particularly necessary and you yourself have been completely right to demonstrate to us in the last week that elsewhere in Parliament the Executive has not got around to issuing any detailed clarifications. Perhaps in this there would be a model also in relation to other Parliaments and executive bodies. This Commission cannot ally itself with the Council unilaterally, just as its predecessor frequently did, unfortunately. My group will not unite with those who would like the Commission to be some kind of secretariat to the Council. No. The Commission is a political organ and, as has now become clear, it also has political responsibility to, of all things, the European Parliament. So that we can have confidence in your Commission at least until the year 2005, it must first be confirmed what this new spirit in the relations between the Council and the Commission will come to mean in practice. We are still waiting for clarification. My group emphasises the political responsibility of each Member of the Commission, and we accept your promise that you will carefully study the well-founded dissatisfaction with each Member of the Commission. The President of the Commission must also commit himself to using his power if there is any Member of the Commission suspected of, or being investigated concerning, misconduct or criminal behaviour. Mr Prodi, one thing must be stressed: there are far too few women in the composition of your Commission, and this must be stated now so that we learn something from this for future occasions. In future, the equal representation of men and women in the Commission or in other named bodies of the Union cannot be an optional principle of others in the group. Concrete measures are needed. When the new agreement between Parliament and the Commission is negotiated, action must be taken so that in future the candidates for the Commission will also be discussed with Parliament. The procedure now followed has clearly proved to be too limited. My group also calls for the amendments to the legislative process proposed by a large majority in Parliament to be taken in accordance with the proposals of the Commission in future. We also appreciate that you have promised to take a serious view of Parliament’s suggestions for legislation. We also call for Parliament to be included in the coming reform of Union bodies and also in the negotiation process with a completely different emphasis than has previously been the case. We will also be responsible for including the whole commonwealth of European nations in this process because the upcoming reform of European institutions will guarantee greater rights to the citizens of Europe. We have not been satisfied with the way in which Parliament has been allowed to participate in international agreements. We also call for Parliament to be consulted at every stage in future in negotiations such as those involving the World Trade Organisation. Mr Prodi, everyone is talking about glasnost, and transparency, and I believe that you are talking about it sincerely, but the hearings have not convinced me that the individual candidates or even you yourself, as the future President of the Commission would understand what glasnost or transparency really mean in practice. It must not remain a mere catchphrase. Your first task is to create the background for the transparency required by the Amsterdam Treaty. This is not only necessary so that Parliament is kept informed, but also so that the citizens and all the nations can influence the development of the European Union with an emphasis which is completely fresh.

Political group: Verts-ALE