The President of the European Parliament Picture of the President of the European Parliament

The President of the European Parliament, Pat Cox, M.E.P.

Introduction to the Euro-Congrès Meetings Guide

I am delighted to have been asked to write the introduction to the Euro-Congres Meetings Guide produced by the European Convention Bureau.
This is an exciting and challenging time to be involved in European politics as we face the challenge of enlarging the European Union to both the east and to the south and the adoption for the first time of a constitution for the European Union.
The transformation that has been achieved in the new Member States since the fall of the Berlin Wall nearly 14 years ago is truly remarkable. The transition from communism to democracy and market economies has required an exceptional effort on the part of the political leadership in these countries and they should be applauded for this effort.
I believe enlargement represents for Europe an extraordinarily positive shared opportunity. It is a moment of renewal and of healing which consolidates European values - the things we believe in that give value and meaning to contemporary European democracy. It will consolidate through a vast swathe of Europe the prospect of a sustainable and viable market and mixed economy with all the additional trade opportunities that this involves for the Member States. It will promote and sustain pluralist democracy, respect for the rule of law, the promotion of human rights and minority rights, sustainability as a concept for the environment, the economy and social solidarity. We need stable, sustainable, multi-party democracies in our neighbours because we benefit too - we just need to look at the former Yugoslavia to know what the dreadful alternative can be.
The Convention on the Future of Europe was launched in the European Parliament in February 2002. Enlargement makes the reform of our Institutions an imperative, but that reform is already indispensable if we are to rekindle support for European integration and heighten respect for our European Institutions.
President Giscard d'Estaing and his colleagues have produced a draft Constitutional Treaty which is clear, balanced, based on a single option, and which, I believe, could work - it is the ultimate vindication of the European Parliament's belief in the Convention method as an open, inclusive, participatory and democratic preparation for an Intergovernmental Conference which will take the final decisions on the wording of the Treaty.
Having the Treaty agreed well before the next European elections is important. Our citizens have the right to know what they are voting for, what role this Parliament is destined to have in the wider Europe. I also hope that the new Treaty can contribute to making the next elections to the European Parliament the first real European elections.
We have to recognise that the European Union faces a mountain of public confidence to be climbed. Whatever the final outcome of the Treaty itself, enthusiasm for the European project will only be rekindled if Europe addresses the concerns of our citizens, and if Europe delivers. Our electors are blithely indifferent to questions of qualified majority voting and subsidiarity; they want action on jobs, on security and on peace.
Europe is in the middle of a worrying downturn in economic activity. The Commission should be encouraged to bring forward a growth action plan to supplement the actions of national governments. While there can be no growth without stability, it is difficult to preserve stability without growth. Of course, growth will not be produced unless Member States take the path of economic reform. Those Member States which have embarked on this process deserve the political and moral support of the European Institutions, because on their efforts Europe's economic recovery will depend.
I am happy, through this foreword, to support the continued good work of the European Convention Bureau as an organisation which aims to encourage the creation of jobs and prosperity by promoting European conference and meeting facilities. This is exactly the kind of outward looking approach we need to attract new dynamism and drive into our economy.
Pat Cox,
President of the European Parliament

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Last Revised 10 February 2006