Ms Viviane Reding:

Regarding my proposal to grant the European Parliament the power to elect the President of the Commission and the Commissioners themselves, it is important to note that the Parliament already has a function in this area. As it stands, the Parliament elects but does not nominate the President of the Commission. The Council of Ministers - that is, the bosses - presents a candidate and the Parliament can choose to accept or reject that candidate, just as it can reject a proposed member of the Commission and has done exactly that several times in the past. In other words, the Parliament has a negative power, namely, the power to reject a nominated candidate.

As members know, the political party groupings in Europe - the European People's Party, socialists, liberals, communists and so on - are not merely organisational groupings. When the Parliament is sitting, Members are seated according to political grouping rather than country. In other words, it is a political group fight that is taking place in the European Parliament. What I expect will happen in the next election is that the national parties - say, for example, the party that is aligned to the EPP in this country, will present their candidates for the European elections on the basis of their membership of the national party.

At the same time, if we get the power at European level then our candidate for President of the Parliament will be someone that we will all, as members of the EPP, have chosen together. The socialists would do the same.

The election campaign would then go beyond purely national candidates for the European Parliament and would add to this the European dimension of what the parties are doing. One can only have influence in the European Parliament if one has access to the allies of the other parties with which one is working. This is one possibility of how to proceed and it would reinforce the idea that the elections to the European Parliament are not solely national in nature. In many member states, people vote on purely national grounds and the European dimension is lost as a result. We must bring that dimension back to the elections relating to the European Parliament. In order to achieve this, we must work together. That is why in 2013 we must inform the people about what is going to happen in 2014 when the political parties engage in that election campaign. We must also make clear to them for what they will be voting.

I was very taken with what the ten Foreign Ministers did. I actually pushed the entire thing when I published an article containing my five-point plan. The German Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Guido Westerwelle, then brought his colleagues together in a reflection group. This is very important and we need many such reflection groups in order to prepare for the future. I do not know the choices we will ultimately make in the context of our common future. However, we must begin the discussion now. The fact that this discussion is starting everywhere shows that Europe goes beyond both national borders and also the market. However, the market is of utmost importance and the Internal Market is the real wealth of the European Union. That is why, for example, one of the highlights of Ireland's Presidency will be to bring to completion the projects I have put on the table in respect of justice for growth. In this regard, I refer to how, with justice, it is possible to open the Single Market to the benefit of consumers. This matter can be seen from different points of view but it is necessary to go one step further.

I was asked what the national parliaments are doing in the context of this debate. I spent ten years as a Member of my country's Parliament. I was also a Member of the European Parliament for ten years before I became Commissioner. I am, therefore, quite well versed in how national parliaments function. It is important that national parliaments understand that they are de factoEuropean parliaments. This is because the decisions which can be channelled through a national parliament will have an influence on European policy. If I am not mistaken, a national parliament has a major task in the context of controlling the government. That is the essence of what a national parliament should do.