The last – and probably the most important – point is transparency vis-à-vis the citizens. Our role as a Parliament is accountability vis-à-vis the citizens. We cannot, and we must not, say to the citizens that the big common policies, like the external and defence policy, will lie outside the democratic control of our Parliament. So for those four important reasons of principle, we believe that we must vote in favour of postponement.
ΑΠΑΛΛΑΓΗ 2007 : ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ (ΣΥΖΗΤΗΣΗ)
Στρασβούργο, Τετάρτη 22 Απριλίου 2009
Απαλλαγή 2007: Συμβούλιο (συζήτηση)
Costas Botopoulos, on behalf of the PSE Group. – Mr President, the decision that we are about to take is a very important one. The Socialist Group is in favour of postponement for four reasons of principle. The first is the credibility and the role of our own Parliament. It is very important to say, from the outset, what Parliament can and cannot do. What it can and must do is control democratically the accounts of the Council, too, notwithstanding the gentlemen’s agreement that has been put in place.
The second reason is interinstitutional equilibrium. It is important that we do not do something that we cannot do as a Parliament, but it is also very important to say that it is our right to have a view, to have an opinion on the Council’s accounts, when these accounts are operational and where these operational accounts must be accounted for. This is the democratic principle and this is what we are about to do. So we are not saying we want to do something else. We are saying we want to do our duty.
The third reason is the respect and the preparation for the Lisbon Treaty. You know very well, colleagues, that, with the Lisbon Treaty, the common external policy acquires much more depth and much more momentum. It is a much more important common policy and we cannot from the outset say that Parliament will not have a bearing on that policy at all. We must have the opportunity now to say what the role of Parliament is.
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