Lib Dems launch European manifesto

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 20th Apr 2004

Lib Dems Manifesto: Making Europe Work for You

Yorkshire & the Humber Lib Dem MEP, and leader of the Lib Dems in the European Parliament, Diana Wallis, was on hand yesterday to help launch the party's manifesto for the forthcoming European elections.

Diana was joined at the launch by party leader Charles Kennedy, deputy leader Menzies Campbell and London Mayor Candidate Simon Hughes.

At the launch Diana commented: "Liberal Democrat MEPs have worked hard for the last five years to make the difference in the European Parliament. The pivotal position of the Liberal Democrat group means that it is often our votes that tip the balance. Indeed, in a recent Friends of the Earth survey, Liberal Democrat MEPs came out with an admirable record for supporting environmentally-friendly legislation. We voted to tackle water and air pollution and to make recycling a workable reality. By considering the environmental and business impact of legislation together, we have been successful at balancing the concerns of industry with those of citizens.

"Our approach throughout has been pro-Europe and pro-reform of Europe. To that end, I and my colleagues have campaigned long and hard for reform of the EU. We have championed a more open and transparent system of pay and expenses for MEPs. We want to end the costly roadshows to Strasbourg with a single seat in Brussels. We have worked to hold other EU institutions to account. We have pushed for public access to EU documents, and have increased Parliament's scrutiny of the Commission and Central Bank. At the same time, we are not afraid to champion the EU, the European Parliament or indeed our own actions when we achieve real results.

"We believe that the Constitution will do much to increase the effectiveness of the European Parliament and that of the EU itself. For Liberal Democrat MEPs, a Constitution for the EU is part and parcel of our reformist agenda. Now that the EU has grown from 15 to 25 it must be able to function effectively. With the Constitution, MEPs would have more power to scrutinise and reform the Common Agricultural Policy. The Council of Ministers would have to meet in public as we do. And we would know that subsidiarity was working more effectively as national parliaments would for the first time be brought into the process."