Blair plan for second chamber ‘fatally flawed’

Date: 10/01/02

UK PRIME Minister Tony Blair's plans for a second chamber in the European Parliament have been branded an 'unreal solution to some real problems'.

The European Union Committee in the UK House of Lords says Blair's suggestion will not solve the 'democratic deficit' in Europe and is fatally flawed.

It argues that a second chamber would come into conflict with the existing European Parliament; would not do anything more to help people understand European institutions and would be too time-consuming for already busy members of national parliaments.

Instead, the peers recommend that:

• national parliaments strengthen scrutiny systems, including setting up offices in Brussels;
• the case for making the Council of Ministers more transparent be reviewed and
• parliaments should pay more attention to scrutinising subsidiarity.

Committee chairman Lord Brabazon of Tara said: 'I can see why a second chamber might seem attractive on the surface as helping to reconnect the citizens of Europe with their institutions. But when you look into it, the practical and constitutional problems are too great.'

Reaction to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's plans for a second chamber in the European Parliament.