Press declaration 2006/006 - Tobias Pflüger (MEP) - Strasbourg, January 18, 2006

On tomorrow's vote in the European Parliament on the report Duff/Voggenhuber concerning the future of the EU Constitutional Treaty, the European deputy of the Left fraction, member of the foreign relations committee, Tobias Pflüger, declares:

Almost treacherous is the language of the report submitted that will be put up for debate tomorrow. Thus, there is defended in the report the opinion on the EU Constitutional Treaty that “a positive result of the reflection phase could consist in holding on to the present text, although this would only be possible, if important measures for calming down public opinion were linked to that.” Obviously, the responsible EU officials are simply trying to pass over the result of the referenda in France and in the Netherlands. That can't be done. Come hell or high water, the Austrian Council presidency and the Duff/Voggenhuber report want to keep up the neoliberal and militaristic spirit of the EU Constitutional Treaty. Whether by way of the anti-social harbour or Bolkestein directives or the extension of the EU Arms Agency and the EU Battle Groups, the public will be really “calmed”, may be doubted. The EU Constitutional Treaty must finally be put ad acta, so that a perspective for a social and civil Europe may be opened.

Strasbourg, January 18, 2006
Translated by Carla Krüger, January 18, 2006