By Martin Banks - 1st April 2009
This is a squalid attempt to stifle freedom of speech
Chris Davies
A row has flared over an attempt to block French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen from opening the new session of parliament after June's elections.
It comes after a meeting of the constitutional committee on Tuesday agreed to propose a possible change in the assembly's rules of procedure.
An oral amendment will now go to next month's Strasbourg plenary giving MEPs the chance to scrap the time-honoured tradition which states that the oldest sitting MEP presides over the first session.
If Le Pen is, as expected, re-elected in June he is likely to be the oldest deputy. Currently, he is the second oldest member.
At the plenary meeting, deputies will be asked if they wish to change the rule which would enable deputies to elect any MEP, irrespective of age or length of service, to open the meeting.
The proposal was put forward by Spanish EPP member Inigo Mendez de Vigo.
Committee member Jo Leinen, a German Socialist, said he fully supports efforts to stop Le Pen from assuming the status of parliament's elder statesman.
However, UK ALDE deputy Chris Davies has launched a blistering attack on moves to block the controversial Le Pen from presiding over the inaugural session.
He told this website, "This is a squalid attempt to stifle freedom of speech.
"Changing the rules specifically to stop Le Pen from opening parliament would be a betrayal of all that this institution is supposed to stand for.
"It is cheap, squalid and should be resisted."
Meanwhile, the committee also held a heated debate on a report by UK Socialist Richard Corbett on key changes to parliament's rules of procedures.
One area of disagreement came over a proposal from Corbett, parliament's rapporteur on the issue, that the commission president should be elected by MEPs in a public ballot.
UK ALDE member Andrew Duff said he favoured keeping the present system under which the commission's top official is elected in a secret ballot.
Duff said, "If it is a public vote, then MEPs are going to come under an awful lot of pressure.
"I argue that MEPs should be freed from the tyranny of the political groups and their national delegations in order to exercise their discretion to decide for themselves who is ghe best candidate for the job."
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