20/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - In a press release, the President of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, Enrique Baron, strongly criticised the change in attitude of the EPP Group and that of other groups which, he says, finally blocked the vote on the Leinen-Dimitrakopoulos Report on the redistribution of seats in the European Parliament after enlargement (this report should have been voted on during next week's institutional debate in plenary, along with the Duhamel Report on the "constitutionalisation" of the Treaty, and Gil-Robles Report on reinforced cooperation). The European Parliament cannot shirk its responsibility in this matter, writes Mr. Baron, recalling that, at every previous enlargement the EP has always been in a position to draw up proposals for the redistribution of seats and that, "after discussion with the Council," had always "agreed on the final outcome". "We lose every right to criticise other EU institutions if we do not try to solve our own problems", he says.