Duff calls for deep reform of EU

12.00.00am GMT Sun 5th Dec 1999

Andrew Duff Liberal Democrat Euro-MP for Eastern England, has called for the UK government to strengthen its commitment to the democratic reform of the European Union.

Speaking last week in the European Parliament on behalf of the European Liberal Democrats, in advance of the European Council in Helsinki, Andrew Duff called on member states to "square up to the challenge of enlargement."

He argued for the new Intergovernmental Conference to revise the Treaty on European Union to be bold and far-reaching in its proposals.

Mr Duff told the Parliament:

"Enlargement would make it very difficult to change the Treaties in the future.

"It would be better to entrench the important decision-making powers of the Union now but to lighten the procedure by which future changes to policy could be made. This would avoid paralysis.

"Where Europe stops 'how far enlargement should proceed' should not be a matter of geography but of liberal values and democratic practices.

"The threshold for EU membership should be high, but the step must be brightly illuminated and sharply defined so that candidate countries could know where their European journey will take them."