Brussels, 26/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - As EUROPE has already announced, the candidates for succeeding Nicole Fontaine as President of the European parliament will take part for the first time in a public debate on 28 November in Brussels. The debate has been organised by MEPs with the framework of the Parliament Reform Campaign and by the magazine, European voice. The new President of the European Parliament will be elected for two and a half years, until the end of the current Parliament's mandate. The election will take place on 15 January in Strasbourg.
Prospective candidates include: the President of the Liberal Group, Pat Cox (Ireland), for whom the leader of the German EPP group, Hans-Gert Pöttering has pledged his support (see 15 November's issue of EUROPE page 4), British Labour Party MEP, David Martin, for the Socialist group, the French President of the United European Left/Scandinavian Left/Green Francis Wurtz, French Green Gérard Onesta and the Danish President of the European Group of Democracies and differences, Jens-Peter Bonde.