Several MEPs denounce PES/EPP-ED agreement on election of president and put forward proposals for “better parliament”

Strasbourg, 15/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - The election of the future president of the European Parliament should not be a coronation but an election: this is the theme of the Fairchair Campaign, launched on 14 November in Strasbourg at the plenary session of the European Parliament by several MEPs: Ryszard Czarnecki (UEN, Poland), John Attard-Montalto (PES, Malta), Jens-Peter Bonde (IND/DEM, Denmark), Daniel Hannan (PPE-ED, United Kingdom), James Allister (NA, United Kingdom) Kathy Sinnott (IND/DEM, Ireland). The leaders of this campaign immediately denounced the system and not the candidate, which allows the two big political groups at the Parliament, PES and the EPP-ED to share the presidency of the institution between them (EUROPE 9306). They also consider that this leads to a “coronation and not an election”. This is why they have come up with five proposals that certainly do not have a chance of changing the direction of things by 6 January, the date of the election of the president of Parliament, but they do allow for a debate to be opened with the secret hope of having an impact in the next legislature. Firstly, they propose the total abandonment of the system of agreements between the big political groups at Parliament. They state that a “pluralist, multinational assembly like the European Parliament deserves better than presidents who are obliged to serve the structures that nominated them”, adding, “we deserve an electoral system where the most qualified candidate for the job has a fair chance of getting elected”. They also ask for the calculation system to be got rid of which is used for making up the composition of the EP office, which they believe benefits the big parties, especially the PES and the EPP-ED. Other demands include: an end to commuting between Brussels and Strasbourg by choosing a “parliamentary seat”, better preparation for elections and, above all, more debates during plenaries where “all members of the EP have the chance to speak”. More information on this campaign: http://www.fairchair.eu (dt)