 | Home |
| What's New |
| Speeches & Articles |
| Newsletter - Apr 2008 |
| Biography |
| Diary |
| Contact Information |
| Photo Album |
| Parliamentary Highlights |
| Publications |
| Links |
| MEPs' Transparency |
| Conservative Party |
| Latest News from Conservatives.com |
| Conservative Party Website |
 |
|
EU's Berlin Declaration: 50 years of failure
Friday, 25th March 2007 Today the European Union celebrates its 50th Birthday with a huge street party in Berlin, which will set the tax-payer back by £1 million. It will also issue its heavily-trailed Berlin Declaration, celebrating the achievements of its first fifty years, and looking to the future. The declaration will contain a vague and tangential reference to the proposed revival of the European Constitution, which EU institutions are determined to bring back, but are reluctant to talk about for fear of an adverse public reaction. East Midlands Conservative MEP Roger Helmer takes a much less positive view of the celebration. He believes that the EU is doing more harm than good and points out that it is expected that only the heads of the Commission, Parliament and Council will actually sign the declaration. This is because the current EU President, Angela Merkel of Germany, feared she could not get agreement, even to this anodyne text, from 27 Heads of Government, one or two of whom have deep reservations about EU plans for further integration. Commenting on the Declaration, Mr Helmer said: "It looks as though Tony Blair will be let off the hook, and not required to sign". Mr Helmer has also been asked by The Parliament Magazine in Brussels to provide his own alternative Berlin Declaration, in no more than 150 words. He sent them the following: BERLIN DECLARATION according to ROGER HELMER MEP
|