Brussels, 30/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - As already reported, as arranged by the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform and the British newspaper European Voice, the candidates standing to become the next President of the European Parliament had their first public debate on Wednesday. Opening the debate, Dutch Socialist Michiel van Hulten said that the MEPs standing for president had presented a ten-point action plan including a suitable settlement of the assistants' issue and "one place of work" - "and that place should be Brussels".
Introducing himself, the British Labour MEP David Martin repeated his European convictions which caused him problems "at times" in the past with the UK and also his party. As his priorities, he mentioned extending codecision, the election of the President by the EP and abolishing the distinction made in the EP's budget between compulsory and non-compulsory expenditure (see EUROPE of 29 November, p.5). The President of the Europe of Democracies and Diversities, Jens-Peter Bonde (Denmark) stressed updating the Parliament's work, equality between all MEPs and access to documents, exclaiming that "70% of European legislation is carried by junior civil servants). The President of the Liberal group, Pat Cox (Ireland) also felt that Parliament was moving in the direction of an "era of transformation". Among the big challenges ahead he listed enlargement and continuing to pursue the economic and social reform focussed on in the Lisbon process. He added that the EP had to have a greater impact on citizens (see EUROPE of 30 November, p.6). The President of the United Left/Nordic Green Left group, Francis Würtz, stressed the huge need to consult citizens before taking decisions, rather than afterwards, exclaiming that Europe has to be given meaning for perplexed citizens. He suggested initiatives such as meetings at the EP with groups of citizens from different countries on specific themes (young people on Erasmus, anti-globalisation figureheads on the Tobin Tax, etc) and a regular follow-up of the implementation of commitments made by the European Councils in terms of full employment. The Green/EFA candidate, Gérard Onesta (France) noted that he aspired to combine solidarity with diversity. Solidarity between rich and poor regions, between generations and also with this planet that we are so endebted to. Diversity was needed, he said, because while Europe is a forest whose trees are states, its roots are the regions.