PAVOL Hrušovský, the speaker of the Slovak parliament, said on April 20 that national parliaments must be granted greater influence over common European legislation, the private news agency SITA wrote.
"After uniting Europe, it will be very important to think of greater responsibility for individual national parliaments and to strive for the ability of national assemblies to influence the legislation that is adopted by the European Parliament and other institutions," said Hrušovský, following a meeting with the speaker of the French Senate, Christian Poncelet.
Hrušovský, therefore, thinks the new European Constitution proposal is insufficient.
Poncelet proposed the expansion of the European Parliament by an upper chamber. The chamber would bring together representatives of the EU member state parliaments. He acknoleged that the Constitutional Treaty draft, which was created with substantial influence from European Convent chairman Valery Giscard d'Estaing, was not perfect.
"I am aware that the draft constitution is not perfect, but it is necessary to have a constitution," he told a press conference in Bratislava.
26. Apr 2004 at 0:00 | From press reports
