Andrew Duff MEP for East of England

Andrew Duff Calls For No Backtracking On Treaty Deal

1.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Sun 22nd Jul 2007

On the eve of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) to draft the Reform Treaty, Andrew Duff MEP has issued the following statement:

"The job of the IGC is to transform the mandate of the European Council into a proper Reform Treaty that can be brought into force as soon as possible. Having debated and negotiated these constitutional matters since the Declaration of Laeken in 2001 there can be no excuse now for further delay or backtracking. Europe urgently needs a better system of government and a greater capacity to act at home and abroad.

"The Reform Treaty promises to be a great step forward for parliamentary democracy, for citizenship based on a modern regime of fundamental rights and values, and for stronger leadership at the European level.

"The Reform Treaty will be based on the best features of its constitutional predecessor, and will include some real improvements notably with respect to the energy, environmental and enlargement policies of the Union.

"I look forward to contributing to the important work of the IGC which is to iron out any ambiguities in the mandate, to refresh the political consensus behind the package, and to ensure legal certainty. Everyone in the IGC, not least the three Members of the European Parliament, has the duty to explain and justify the new treaty before public and parliamentary opinion."

Andrew Duff (UK) is one of three representatives of the European Parliament at the IGC. He is Spokesman on Constitutional Affairs for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE).

ENDS/...

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Previous news story: Andrew Duff Blames Government for 'Hopeless Inertia' Over East-West Links (Thu 19th Jul 2007).
Next news story: Cheaper calls from the EU from tomorrow (Mon 30th Jul 2007).

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