The formal presence of Herman van Rompuy today in the European Parliament's plenary session to evoke the conclusions of the last European Summit, poorly mask his trepidation with regard to Parliament´s representation. Andrew DUFF (LibDem, UK), ALDE coordinator for the Constitutional Affairs Committee, can testify after being refused a simple response to a written question on the rules of procedures linking the European Council Presidency to the European Parliament.

"The legal argument given by M. van Rompuy´s service is at the very least misleading: true, the Treaty does not oblige the European Council President to respond to members of Parliament, but it certainly does not forbid it. And consequently it seems evident to me that the same rules should apply to the Permanent President of the European Council as those that are and always were applicable for the Council President", declares M. Duff. "The practice that M. van Rompuy is trying to establish seems very much to be a regression in democratic procedures, taking us backwards which is something we cannot accept."

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Neil Corlett: +32-2-284 20 77 or +32-478-78 22 84

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