Danish parties agree on No to Schröder plan

A categorical No to Chancellor Schröder's proposal for a common central European government is the reaction from all Danish political parties, writes Danish daily Berlingske Tidende.

"Mr. Schröder must be slightly tone deaf," says spokeswoman for the Conservatives, Lene Espersen, continuing: "In an enlarged EU the federal thought has been buried for good. In an EU with 30 members, the only model is one of co-operation between independent nations. What would be most useful just now would be to give national parliaments greater influence."

Lene Espersen's views are backed by Venstre (Liberals), Social Democrats and Socialists in Enhedslisten. Keld Albrechtsen from Enhedslisten says, according to Berlingske Tidende, "the German proposal is a very marked step towards a federal state which has clear boundaries between the competencies of the union and the state - just as on the German level - but the price will be that the central point of gravity will be moved on to a suprastate institution, the European Parliament. The nearness that is needed can only be created by taking away power from the Union, says Keld Albrechtsen, who will ask Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen to state that he rejects the proposal for a two chamber system.

Charlotte Antonsen, spokeswoman for Venstre, agrees with the Germans on the desirability of more decentralisation, but like the Conservatives and Social Democrats she points to a strengthening of COSAC where six representatives of each member country convene informally twice a year.

However, Kristian Thulesen Dahl, spokesman for Dansk Folkeparti (Danish People's Party) fears that a strengthening of the co-operation between national parliaments will turn out to be an attempt to introduce the German two chamber system through the back door. According to Politiken, he says, "I think that both the Government and the Liberals speak with a cleft tongue. They want a catalogue of competencies and accept a fundamental treaty, but at the same time they are against a federal construction. On this issue, the Germans are far more honest."

Social Democrat spokesman Claus Larsen-Jensen, does, however, repudiate the German notions of a two-chamber system. According to Berlingske Tidende, he says, "Mr Prodi is madly enthusiastic on talk of the Commission as a European government. But that dream is farther away than ever. The important thing now is to see that what we do will be firmly grafted on the national parliaments. And we shall put forth a joint Danish-Swedish proposal. There are other roads than Schröder's."