James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I compliment Mr. De Rossa on his informative and interesting presentation. EU regulation is seen as over-bureaucratic. Mr. De Rossa addressed this earlier but what is the EU doing to minimise bureaucracy? Regulations and documentation arrive in bales and there is nothing to condense them into simple language. That is a problem but the EU is not moving to deal with it.

Mr. De Rossa talked about the extension of funding for the Forum for Europe. Does he not believe that membership of the forum should be broadened to include representatives of civil society and local and regional authorities? What is the future for the development and enhancement of local government in Europe?