Madam President, this is an extremely interesting debate. I am also grateful for the many suggestions put forward for the report compiled by myself and Mr Dimitrakopoulos. It is clear that “Operation Intergovernmental Conference” is an extremely difficult one, but I also see that everyone is taking the trouble to reach a compromise, because we must move the European project forward. Parliament must be a driving force in this. Our demands must not be more conservative than those of the European Commission or of individual Member States. That is not on! Our role is to be the driving force behind further European unification, and that is the spirit in which this parliamentary report, which we are to vote on tomorrow, has been compiled. I believe we have struck a balance between Europe of the States and Europe of the citizens. We are the citizens’ chamber; Parliament is the chamber of the citizens, the Council of Ministers is the chamber of the States. We have not struck the right balance yet. After all, Parliament is excluded from a whole range of important issues that parliaments normally decide on; issues pertaining to legislation, the budget, and to codecision concerning the nomination of individuals appointed to institutions. Therefore I hope that this Intergovernmental Conference will use the opportunity to at last restore the balance between the two institutions, Parliament and the Council that is, and to give Parliament more powers. I too feel that it is extremely important to strike a balance between the large and small countries. This is a very sensitive issue, which we must take into account, and I feel that everyone has endeavoured over the past few weeks to strike this balance. We will see that small and large countries alike will enjoy equal rights where the composition of the Commission is concerned, and that the double majority in the Council, which we are proposing, will favour the small countries. There will be far more small countries than large countries in the enlarged Union. When the support of the majority of the States is required, then the small countries will in fact be very much at an advantage, because it will not be possible to reach any kind of decision unless a large number of them support it. I can also see that we are favouring the small countries in applying the degressivity factor to the distribution of seats in Parliament, so that the number of MEPs is suitably representative. The European Union is not just an economic community. We are also a community of values. The European Union must also defend itself against forces that are injurious to the European spirit, and that abuse it. We know who the populists are, and the nationalists and the racists who are to be found in many European countries, and if we are a political union then we must also have the instruments we need to implement sanctions and measures, both at party and government level. We have an excellent report for voting on tomorrow. I would like to thank the Portuguese Presidency, which has been most cooperative. I would expressly like to commend them for this. I would also like to thank the Commission and Commissioner Barnier, who is always very approachable and cooperative, as I would like to thank my colleagues on the Committee and my co-rapporteur. I believe that tomorrow, Parliament will adopt a position that will afford us a prominent role at the Intergovernmental Conference and also lead this European Treaty to success.

Political group: PSE