Article for Liberal Democrat News

12.00.00am GMT Fri 2nd Mar 2001

I am writing this article on the day Robin Cook will sign the Nice Treaty. I tend to agree with The Independent's editorial 'a missed opportunity but still worth signing'. However there is a strange alignment of forces that don't want to see it signed.

Firstly Mr Hague - hardly surprising perhaps - but secondly some of his MEPs' colleagues in the European People's Party in the Parliament who argue against signing because of the regression back to inter-governmentalism.

One of them even said that the peoples of Europe should be taking to the streets because of the failure of democracy in the Treaty! How these people work with the Tories is beyond me.

In Yorkshire and the Humber we shall be doubly glad of the Treaty. The Humber ports stand to gain much from enlargement towards the east by re-establishing their traditional trading links with the Baltic. Whilst the people of North Yorkshire around Fylingdales and Menwith Hill, some of whom have already indicated their willingness to take to the streets if 'Son of Star Wars' is developed, can celebrate the emergence of a European defence identity which should spike Bush's plans.

As an MEP I have mixed feelings; glad that enlargement will happen, concerned that Parliament's position and therefore democracy might be sidelined. Yet for all that Nice may threaten the so-called 'Community Method' it does not seem like that at present. I spent the first two days of last week in Stockholm, as the Swedes currently have the Council Presidency - the Council being that secretive body we have constantly rallied against.

However my experience of the Swedes was, in a series of meetings, an eagerness to know what parliamentarians thought and how we could work together. I am sceptical enough to put some of it down to window dressing but on the other hand it was real openness - I cannot imagine the same scenario at Westminster during a British presidency.

So whatever the actual wording Robin Cook signs there are still positive developments and we have a Belgian presidency with a Liberal Prime Minister to look forward to next.

The most encouraging sign I found, having spent the rest of the week in my constituency, is a growing awareness of the European Parliament and Europe, although given the intensive lobbying during the passage of the Copyright Directive (I think I was contacted by every librarian in the country at least twice) this has its downside!