Speech by Mr
Raymond FORNI, President of the National Assembly,
at the dinner given for the members of the
23rd Conference of European Affairs Committees
- H�tel de Lassay, 16 October 2000 -
Messrs Ambassadors,
Messrs Speakers,
Mr Mayor,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Conference of European Affairs Committees has already been meeting for more than ten
years in the countries holding the European Union presidency. And the French presidency
gives me the privilege of welcoming its members here, in the H�tel de Lassay, right next
to one of the places at the centre of French democracy. I am pleased of the fact not only
because the COSAC sprang from a French initiative, but also because it exemplifies what
parliamentary diplomacy can accomplish.
Your Conference has become an original cooperation structure between European parliaments.
That's its main raison d'�tre: promoting between parliamentary committees an exchange of
information and experiences and setting up a forum for interparliamentary dialogue on
European Union related matters. And the COSAC has indeed created excellent habits between
the members of its member assemblies. It has facilitated multilateral and bilateral
contacts, allowing closer personal ties to be formed. The participation of a delegation
from the European Parliament has eliminated the prejudices that, for a time, opposed that
Parliament against the national Parliaments. The COSAC has therefore woven the network of
relations between parliamentarians which was missing in a truly democratic Europe.
Your Conference has progressively gained its legitimacy. It has contributed to showing the
importance of parliamentary scrutiny over Community legislative activities. The
seriousness of its debates and the precision of its work no doubt prompted the negotiators
of the Amsterdam Treaty not only to include its existence in the European Union's founding
treaties but also to entitle it to contribute to Union work. More specifically, the COSAC
can today examine proposed acts related to the area of freedom, security and justice,
thereby participating in the protection of personal rights and freedoms in Union
legislative work.
Improving cooperation between judges, strengthening the ties between national police
forces, bringing migratory flows under closer control: the debates you participated in
this afternoon have shown how decisive this vast legislative worksite is in promoting
European citizenship.
The COSAC democratic forum has opened up to Europe as a whole. Since your Luxembourg
meeting, the parliaments of countries that are candidates for accession to the European
Union are represented in your conferences as observers. I wish to salute in particular the
presence this evening of a few ambassadors and heads of delegation from these countries
because their participation is a form of preparation for enlargement.
This participation is essential for us who are already part of the Union. It indeed allows
us to gain, through their representatives, a better awareness of the desires of peoples
wishing so strongly to join us.
This participation is no doubt also very useful for you who represent these peoples. It
allows you to get a better understanding of the reasons for the slownesses Europe
sometimes suffers and the difficulties we must overcome in the process of European
construction. I am thinking in particular of the required institutional reform which we
absolutely must complete not only `beforehand' but above all `in order to' be in a
position to welcome you into the Union.
Participation in the COSAC by the parliaments of candidate countries above all expresses
for us all what Europe is fundamentally about. Europe above all stands for value we
share--those of democracy, human rights and freedoms. The peoples of Serbia, by seizing
their Parliament, gave a symbol of this a few days ago: joining Europe is above all a
matter of regaining democracy. The road along which the peoples of Serbia have just
started is one you have travelled for a long time. It was fair and essential to
acknowledge the fact by welcoming you to this assembly.
We must make the COSAC even more efficient. Together in Helsinki in December 1999 you
revised its rules of procedure to take account of the new powers the Amsterdam Treaty
confers upon it. You have adopted the rule of consensus governing the adoption of your
decisions. But some of your members regret that this rule may slow down the adoption of
stronger texts and more incisive contributions.
The solution to my mind resides in the deepening of interparliamentary cooperation. A
consensus is reached by more frequent discussions, by striving to convince and by
listening, by examining in greater depth often highly technical matters. You could, as
suggested by the French presidency, accomplish this work in specialist groups meeting
between COSAC sessions. Your discussions should firstly address topics close to the
concerns of our fellow citizens. Social Europe appears to me to be one of these topics.
Start with that if such is your desire.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Before giving the floor to Mr S�ren LEKBERG, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on EU
Affairs in the Swedish Parliament, who will take over from Mr Alain BARRAU on 1 January
next year, I would like to recall these words by Jean MONNET, one of the `founding
fathers' of Europe, who according to him summarises all its action: `get men to work
together, show them that beyond their differences and borders they have a common
interest'. That's what you are still doing today. This work is essential. In this manner
you contribute to better airing the concerns of the citizens of our countries, replacing
Europe at the centre of the democratic debate and laying the foundations of a political
Europe. May your work therefore be a complete success.
