Brendan Ryan (Labour)

When Mr. De Rossa and I arrived in the Houses, at around the same time, we were both on the Euro-critical wing of politics. Our views on Europe have not changed much since. We are still concerned about the same issues – it is a question of perspective.

Perhaps Mr. De Rossa will elaborate on the extending of the Petersberg Tasks, as Senator McDowell mentioned. Second, how does he see something like last week's decision from the European Commission which, independent of all member states, negotiated a huge change vis-à-vis the USA in terms of data protection and the submission of individual data? I do not want to talk about the issue but about the competence of the Commission which needs to be clarified.

Without betraying any confidences, will Mr. De Rossa tell us about the mood and feeling of the Convention which are important? Is it confrontational or collaborative? Is there a feeling that people genuinely want to get a job done that desperately needs to be done?