The strengthening of the role and democratic status of the Commission is a matter of real interest to this country. Over the years, the Commission and the European Parliament have provided the impetus for the Union's most progressive policies. It is the Commission, operating within the framework of the traditional community method, which can ensure that policies such as those for social inclusion and support of the developing world are tabled, promoted and implemented. It would be entirely contrary to the interests of this country if there were to be a move towards more intergovernmental decision-making in an enlarged Union. This would give undue influence to the larger member states and their interests. A balanced EU system in which the Council works with a more open and legitimate Commission, with more influential and involved national parliaments and with the democratically elected European Parliament is our best hope of creating a Union that will serve the real interests of its citizens and of the wider world.