The President of the European Parliament, Jose-Maria Gil-Robles, was in the Netherlands this month for the signing of the EU's new Treaty of Amsterdam, an event which opens the way to the ratification process in the member states and to which Parliament will contribute its opinion in November.
President Gil-Robles declared that, after half a century of reforms and enlargements, the current system had reached its limits and would need to be revised after the effective introduction of the single currency. However, he believed that simply reforming the procedures would not be enough. "We need to change the climate," he proclaimed, "and not allow ourselves to be carried away by the temptations of nationalist selfishness, based on narrow financial preoccupations."
He argued that the European Parliament should participate to the full in the moves to monetary union, and he promised that it would meet its obligations to implement the relevant provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty at the earliest possible date. In particular, Parliament would act on the procedure for electing MEPs on principles common to the member states, and for having a single and transparent statute for them. He made a plea that the EU institutions should take the opportunities offered by the Treaty to improve decision-making and, above all, better to serve the interests of EU citizens, especially the unemployed.
"Amsterdam took a great step in the right direction," he said. "We must continue down this road. We must tackle the challenges facing us in the light of the common good." President Gil-Robles concluded by calling for "a real sense of inter-institutional co-operation". He was "convinced that Parliament will find that the Council and Commission share with it a determination to work together for the benefit of all Europeans, a determination which will make this Treaty a major contribution to the building of our European Union".
At a later, special meeting of experts and MEPs convened to analyse the results of Amsterdam, there was general agreement that there would have to be a further revision of the Treaty before the next enlargement.