Mr President, Mr President-in-Office, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, let me begin with a few words to the President-in-Office on behalf of my group to express our sincere appreciation and admiration of the way in which the Irish Government is conducting its presidency of the Council. It is working with goodwill, a strong sense of purpose, discretion and efficiency. I believe this is a good example of the way in which even our less populous countries can achieve major political progress. Mr President-in-Office, I emphatically welcome your statement that, if it were a matter for the Irish presidency, you would bring the Intergovernmental Conference to a successful conclusion during your tenure. This confirms our impression that your presidency is giving of its best. Let me say on behalf of the Group of the European People’s Party that we warmly welcome the fact that things have started to move and that this movement extends to unresolved issues, particularly that of the double majority. For my own part, I have always urged the Government of Germany to be flexible and move forward. Since this is now happening, I must clearly acknowledge it. But these efforts by the German Government must be accompanied by similar efforts on the part of other governments. This is not the time or place to be apportioning blame for mistakes or for obstructive rigidity; the time has come for all governments to make compromises, and we call on them to do so. The stakes are high; the President of the Council spoke of dangers – that is how his words were translated into my language – and so it is important that we remind ourselves again of what we seek to achieve through this constitution. Our European values are described in the preamble, in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The functions and responsibilities of the European Parliament are described in the draft constitution. Its provisions represent a huge leap forward for the European Parliament, democracy and parliamentarianism in Europe. The legislative activity of the Council of Ministers is to become more transparent, even though we will not get the legislative council we have asked for. Under the Convention’s proposals, the Commission will be appointed in such a way, with the President of the Commission being proposed by the Heads of State or Government, that its composition will reflect the results of the European elections. This is truly great progress, because it would enable the people of the European Union to influence the nature of the Commission through the ballot box. While we are well aware that this is not yet applicable law, we advocate the introduction of such an arrangement in time for this year’s European elections. This would mean that, in proposing a President of the Commission, the Heads of State or Government would take account of the result of the European elections. This accords with democratic principles; it is a fair solution; it is not motivated by party-political considerations but is a matter of principle. Mr President-in-Office, when the nomination of a President of the Commission is discussed under your presidency, we urge you to take the outcome of the European elections into account in your deliberations. We do need to call to mind the strenuous efforts that were made before the Convention’s proposal materialised. I should like to reiterate my thanks to the two representatives of Parliament, Klaus Hänsch and Elmar Brok, for their great work and, of course, to Valéry Giscard d’Estaing for his chairmanship of the Convention as well as to all those from our Parliament and from the national parliaments and governments who contributed to the final draft. This whole effort must not be allowed to end in failure now. I remember very well how the President of the French Republic, as President of the European Council, explained the Treaty of Nice to us in December 2000 and how, in his response to our criticism of the outcome of the Nice Summit, he made a declaration of intent. The first step towards the creation of the Convention on the Future of Europe was taken when the French President agreed that there was a need to think about introducing a new method of reforming the EU, and the next was the Laeken decision and the work with which we are all familiar. That work must not be in vain. From the first of May, we shall be a Community of 455 million people. We need clear and sound legal foundations for the European Union of the future, so that this whole structure can be held together. At the heart of the constitution are the means by which we can agree on common methods and peacefully resolve conflicts of interest and disputes. In short, the constitution is all about a peaceful future for our continent, and it is a project that must not be allowed to fail. Mr President-in-Office, I wish you every success and hope that you will harvest the fruits of these efforts before the end of your presidency. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE