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Embargo: Immediate, 12th April 2000

DUFF: TRUST MUST GROW FOR EUROPE TO GROW

Andrew Duff, Liberal Democrat Euro-MP for Eastern England, has warned the European Parliament that enlargement of the European Union will not happen unless and until Member States learn to trust one another more.

Andrew Duff, speaking in the debate on the forthcoming Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) said;

"The problems of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam -such as voting procedures in the Council and the size of the Commission- have not been solved.

"The Amsterdam Summit exposed both the exaggerated self-importance of small states and the folies de grandeur of big states.

"These problems can only be solved if there is a greater sense of trust between member states.

"Such trust is the essential glue of success.

Mr Duff, speaking on behalf of the European Liberal Democrats, went on to caution Parliament that;

"If the next IGC cannot resolve the Amsterdam issues, enlargement must be postponed.

"This will mean that those who prefer narrow self-interest will have succeeded at the expense of developing European parliamentary democracy."

ENDS

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Andrew's work
in the European Parliament since 1999

Andrew is Vice-President of the European Parliament delegation to the Constitutional Convention on the Future of Europe.

Rights for EU citizens

Andrew drafted the Charter of Fundamental Rights which has strengthened the rights of all the citizens of the European Union.

Turkey

Andrew is working for improved links between the EU and Turkey, to encourage improvements in Turkey's human rights record and to enhance its democracy.

Andrew's campaigning in the East of England

Airport Expansion

Andrew has led calls for the Air Travel industry to be subjected to the same rigorous environmental criteria as other modes of transport