Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Barnier repeats rejection of second chamber

The EU commissioner responsible for institutional reform, Michel Barnier, repeated on Monday his objections to British Prime Minister Tony Blair's idea of a second European chamber drawn from national parliaments, reports the Guardian.

In a personal note of Michel Barnier dated 17 October wrote: "I am not in favour of creating a new chamber - whether this be a chamber of representatives of the national parliaments or a new structure based on the Committee of Regions."

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The EU commissioner was in London on Monday to hold talks with the British foreign secretary Jack Straw and his remarks "effectively sound the death knell of the British proposal", reports the Guardian.

Mr Barnier, a former French Europe minister, said the British idea of a second EU chamber would, in reality, represent a third chamber alongside the European parliament and the Council of ministers. The new chamber would not have legitimacy since it would be indirectly elected.

The ideas of a second chamber were presented for the first time last year by Mr Blair in a speech to the Polish Stock Exchange in Warsaw on 6 October 2000. "The time has now come to involve representatives of national parliaments ... by creating a second chamber of the European Parliament," said the British prime minister.

A second chamber would "not get involved in the day-to-day negotiation of legislation - that is properly the role of the existing European Parliament." Rather, its task would be to help implement "the agreed statement of principles; so that we do what we need to do at a European level but also so that we devolve power downwards." Such a second chamber could also "help provide democratic oversight at a European level of the common foreign and security policy".

Barnier: exit-clause needed for EU member states

The reforms of the European Union will fail unless a common European project is defined before and the political will to support the project is gathered, according to the European commissioner in charge with EU reforms Michel Barnier. In a paper drafted ahead of the EU Summit in Ghent, Mr Barnier points out that the debate on the future of Europe must above all frankly answer the question "what do the EU member states want to do together?" and only then adapt the institutions to that European common project.

Blair speech in Warsaw

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's speech to the Polish Stock Exchange in Warsaw 6 October 2000

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