Allister faces Juncker with failure
23 June 2005
During a debate in the European Parliament today on the Luxembourg
Presidency, in which Prime Minister Juncker strongly attacked the
British stance at last weekend's Summit, DUP MEP Jim Allister
characterised Juncker's Presidency as one of failure. In a hard-hitting
speech, the DUP MEP said:
"For those who still cling to the European dream, your Presidency has
been a stunning failure.Under it, the precious Constitution has shipwrecked on the rocks of
rejection and the budget is an unmitigated shambles, with rancour - as
in your speech today - being its currency.Out of this though, good could come.
If the effect was to jolt European leaders into the same reality stream
that many of their people already occupy, then a workable Europe could
emerge. Root and branch changes are essential, in which the primacy of
the Nation State should be re-established and Brussels' centralisation
reversed, with wide-ranging powers repatriated to national governments
and parliaments.A Europe built on sovereign states, training and co-operating for mutual
benefit and not for the purpose of an unwanted and unworkable
"ever-closer Union" has some hope of success.This present Europe - as your Presidency demonstrates - cannot work."
