Mr President, European Liberal Democrats in this House hope that President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing will present to the Heads of State and Government a draft Constitutional Treaty which commands a broad consensus. It must dampen the fires of the increasingly bitter disputes we have witnessed in recent weeks. However, it is for the Convention, not its President, to confirm the existence or not of a consensus, and if the Convention needs a little more time to complete its work, so be it. Mr Giscard d'Estaing likes to say that his Constitution will last unchanged for 50 years, but unless a durable consensus is reflected in the final text and Member States are given the time to debate it we are likely to have to revisit the matter in the very near future. The latest proposals provide hope that the Praesidium is now in listening mode, but there is clearly still much listening to do. Even with the restrictions on his role in foreign policy, European Liberal Democrats remain unconvinced of the case for a full-time chairman of the European Council. We are suspicious that the larger Member States seek to unpick the seams of the Community fabric. A double-hatted approach for Europe's new Foreign Minister commands widespread support, so why not take the same approach and integrate the roles of European Commission and European Council Presidents? Must we risk years of conflict, of turf wars, of duplication of effort before we recognise the sense of this approach? At the very least we must leave open the door to an integrated presidency in a few years time. President Prodi spoke – and I have sympathy with much that he said – of the national veto. In the name of preserving national sovereignty, the veto all too often promotes international anarchy. Unless we are capable of thinking in new ways about the concept of sovereignty, we will continue to fail our citizens on the major challenges we face. While I welcome the proposed extension of Parliament's powers of democratic control over the budget and European legislation, I am concerned that an imbalance remains between the powers of Parliament and Council in other areas, such as concluding agreements with third countries on crucial security matters. Mr President-in-Office, another item on your agenda in Thessaloniki will be the debate on High Representative Solana's recommendations for an overall strategy in foreign and security policy. It is vital for the European Union to develop a doctrine which enshrines the central role of international law and of institutions such as the UN, the WTO and NATO. Europe also urgently needs a framework for deciding under which conditions we should commit troops to military action, including conflict prevention, peace enforcement and humanitarian crises. Congo is a welcome step forward but our current embarrassment over Bosnia-Herzegovina is a setback. And to prevent the European Union fracturing again as it did over Iraq, we need to start debating and planning now our approach to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. I hope that the summit will discuss Europe's approach to North Korea and Iran and not leave it until a crisis erupts. In the area of Justice and Home Affairs, I commend the President-in-Office for the progress made thus far under Greece's stewardship. I hope that you will continue to seek to balance repressive measures against illegal immigration with a generous approach to refugees and an emphasis on human rights and fundamental freedoms. I would also appeal to the President-in-Office to make every effort to conclude three important proposals concerning third-country nationals who are long-term residents, minimum standards for qualifying for refugee status and minimum standards for the granting of such status. Mr President-in-Office, you touched on the subject of a Members' Statute. I fear that the proposal we adopted yesterday will not make your work any easier, but I hope you will be guided in this, as in other matters on your agenda, by the advice of your philosopher, Socrates: remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs, therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity. (Applause)

Political group: ELDR