Sir, - I refer to Patrick Smyth's review of the parliamentary hearings of the incoming European Commissioners (European Diary, September 11th). Many will agree with much of his analysis, but two points deserve comment.
The suggestion that "the next battle [will be] to make the Commission the servant of the Parliament" is quite inappropriate. Parliament has no such ambitions. Rather it seeks to establish relationships between the institutions - Council, Commission and Parliament - which reflect the fact that democracy is a founding principle of the European Union.
The five points of procedural agreement between Parliament and the Commission are not simply a "face-saving" arrangement. On the contrary, they constitute an important step towards parliamentary democracy in Europe. - Yours, etc.,
Jim O'Brien, Head of Office, European Parliament Office, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.