30 November, 2009
Andrew Duff welcomes 'birth of parliamentary Europe'
On the day that the Treaty of Lisbon comes into force, Andrew Duff MEP (ALDE/UK) is organising a reception in the Parliament for all MEPs and staff who have contributed to its drafting and ratification.
The reception 'Goodbye Nice. Hello Lisbon' will take place on December 1, 2009 from 12.45 on the 3rd floor of the Altiero Spinelli Building. Party group representatives and senior members of the Commission will make short interventions.
In a statement Mr Duff says:
"Today the European Union is turning an important page in its history. This is the birth of a truly parliamentary Europe. Not only does the European Parliament itself gain very significant legislative, budgetary and scrutiny powers, but the Council of Ministers gets to behave like a second chamber of the EU legislature. National parliaments, too, have a new and more important role.
"All this is to the lasting benefit of the citizen. The new system is more transparent and efficient than the old. The EU will be much stronger on the world stage, and more effective at home.
"Lisbon comes into force 11 months late, and a full 8 years after the Laeken Declaration which triggered the process of constitutional renewal of the European Union. The process has been protracted and controversial. Today is a day for celebration."
END
Editors' Note
Mr Duff is co-chair of the Federalist Intergroup in the European Parliament and President of the Union of European Federalists. He was a member of the Convention on the Future of Europe and was one of three representatives of the Parliament at the Intergovernmental Conference, which drafted the Lisbon treaty.
Press contact:+32 (0) 228 45998 | news@federaleurope.org
On Tuesday night, Mr Duff will join the leaders at the treaty inauguration ceremony in Lisbon.
