By Martin Banks - 24th January 2008
Parliament’s president Hans-Gert Pöttering has “totally” refuted claims that his powers have been increased.
The allegation was made following a vote on parliamentary rules in the constitutional affairs committee on Wednesday.
The committee vote was taken after a group of MEPs from a range of countries, including UKIP and some Tories, protested about a "lack of transparency" in parliament and the way the EU had "pushed aside" any requests for referendums on the reform treaty.
Following the vote, UK MEP Nigel Farage, co-leader of the Independence-Democracy group, said, “From now on the president of parliament has the power to interpret the [parliamentary] rules as he sees fit.
"He can rule out of order any action that opposes the status quo in any area of policy.
"In practical terms this means, for example, that if there were another massive fraud case in the commission, debate could be quashed on the word of the president."
Farage said the committee move would allow the president to "forbid certain members from procedures, including roll-call votes, to let the public see who had voted for directives, explanations of vote and points of order".
Farage, also leader of the UK Independence Party, branded the move as a "dark day for democracy".
He added, "The fact that Hans-Gert Pöttering asked for these powers was astonishing. The fact that British politicians enabled him to have them is a disgrace.
"By their actions they have shown that to all intents and purposes the EU is now a one-party state.
"The committee by this action has exposed the parliament to be the sham we have feared it to be. It can no longer describe itself as a functioning democratic forum," said Farage.
However, a spokesperson for Pöttering said he "totally" refuted any suggestion that his powers had been increased or changed in any way.
She said, "The fact of the matter is that the committee vote was merely concerning an interpretation of Rule 91, which relates to the duties of the president.
"There is no more to it than that and the powers of the president have not changed in any shape or form."
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