Mr President, Mr Secretary-General, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, first a warm word of thanks to Secretary-General Solana – and of course to the Commissioner – but especially to the Secretary-General, because we generally agree on most points with the Commissioner anyway; a word of thanks for having kick-started the reform process in the Council. Secretary-General Solana, I should also like to offer you a heartfelt word of recognition for the almost superhuman work which you carry out around the world as our High Representative – with particular commitment in the Middle East – and as Secretary-General. It is only because you are such an extraordinary person that you can do this. I do not want to start an institutional debate on your office right now, but I cannot even begin to imagine that there is anyone else out there who could bear the double burden you have to bear and shoulder it so brilliantly. (Applause) I should like to offer you my warmest thanks for having tabled these proposals. As Commissioner Barnier said, we have a joint duty to reform our institutions, in this case the Council. The first thing we need to do here is to make a distinction between the General Affairs Council, the Council as legislator – which is, in fact, the most important Council – followed perhaps by the Council that prepares the meetings of the European Council and then of course the Foreign Affairs Council for foreign policy matters. We know – by name – who arrives late at the Foreign Affairs Council, leaves early and, in between, sits looking rather bored while the Council legislates, which is why we feel we need a European Affairs Council for European legislation and a separate Council for foreign policy in general. This European Affairs Council would always be present at legislative work and could also prepare the meetings of the European Council, the most important task of which is, of course, to legislate. The European Affairs Council would, of course, be responsible for appointing the representative to the Council/European Parliament conciliation committee when legislation is on the agenda. We know that at the moment officials – nothing against officials, it is just that they are not politicians – often attend as Council representatives and then consult with the European Parliament on the issues in question. But we need politicians who have the courage to bring about results with Parliament and we expressly support radical reform in this direction. We would also be doing the legislative process a service if the Council of Ministers or, perhaps, the Europe minister representing the presidency also attended Parliament when legislation is on the agenda or even that one or more representatives of the European Parliament – i.e. MEPs – attended the European Affairs Council when it is acting as legislator, so that the Council can ask the European Parliament for its views. There is still a great deal that needs to be debated here. What I should like to ask you to do, Secretary-General, is to discuss the matter again with the relevant committee – its chairman is right here – while you are preparing your paper and before you send your final report to Seville. If, understandably, you cannot do so personally, your representative could consult with the relevant committee. You rightly addressed the question of transparency, which is a matter of particular concern to Mrs Hanja Maij-Weggen who, with Mr Poos, drafted the resolution to which our group still has a number of proposed amendments. Mrs Maij-Weggen is not here today because she left for the Netherlands after today's vote in order to take part in the elections, the outcome of which we are all waiting for with bated breath. We want maximum possible transparency, which is why the Council, when it holds legislative meetings, should meet in public once the reform process is completed. The media – including the television – should report on the Council, so that we know exactly how each individual government voted at the end. Please, Secretary-General, once it has finished with the regulation on transparency, let us instruct the interinstitutional working group to draw up guidelines for greater transparency which ensure that we get through to our citizens. Your proposals, what the Commission has said and our contributions basically go in the right direction. If we carry on working with commitment, we shall together achieve a good result for our institutions; and not just for our institutions, but for the European Union as a whole and for the citizens of Europe, and I wish both you and us success in our endeavour. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE