Diana steps down from Presidency of Delegation to Switzerland, Iceland and Norway

5.24.39pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 5th Sep 2007

Diana Wallis MEP has stepped down from the Presidency of the European Parliament's Delegation to Switzerland, Iceland and Norway and the Joint Parliamentary Committee to the EEA today Wednesday. This was a move planned to take place at the beginning of the year once Diana was elected to become one of the European Parliament's Vice-Presidents.

Unfortunately, the handover to the Delegation's new President - a Bulgarian Liberal - became complicated as fresh elections were held in Bulgaria in the spring. The matter now being resolved, Mrs Bilyana Raeva from Bulgaria's National Movement Simeon II party, was elected President of the delegation this afternoon.

Ms Wallis was a Vice-President of the Delegation from 1999 to 2004 and has been its President since 2004. She will remain a full member of the delegation.

After today's meeting Diana Wallis said:

"It has been a very interesting time to be on the delegation especially the ongoing integration of Switzerland towards EU membership and the significant economic, environmental and geopolitical activities in the Arctic. Of course, the Northern Dimension has also been a topic my delegation has been very involved with and I was delighted that earlier this year the European Parliament was able to host the first Northern Dimension Parliamentary Conference.

"On a more domestic note, my time on the Delegation has confirmed my view that the eurosceptics in the UK have got it horribly wrong if they want us to follow the path of Norway and Iceland in their relations with the EU.

"I look forward to working on the delegation with the new President who has shown a real interest in the work of the delegation. I will maintain an outlook on developments in this area through my work as a Vice President."