Liberal Democrat Member of the European
Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber
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Diana Wallis Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber |
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| Speech delivered at the Fourth Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region 29/08/2000 |
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Speech by Diana Wallis MEP given at the Fourth Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, Rovaniemi, Finland, August 27-29, 2000
I am attending this meeting, my first as a Member of the European Parliament, and I would like to thank our hosts here in Lapland for making us feel so welcome. In preparing for this meeting I spent some time reading Professor Young's excellent report. I was struck when reading his report and continue to be struck listening to the speeches today, by his concluding remarks about Arctic cooperation, in that the Council needs to ensure the legitimacy of its claim to function as a voice of the Arctic. As a European Parliamentarian I see much that the experience of the European institutions could add to Professor Young's report. Europe has substantial experience working across national boundaries whilst respecting local subsidiarity especially at a regional level. Achieving a direct democratic involvement in an inter-state arena (and here, though not exclusively, I am thinking about the problems of indigenous peoples) Prof. Young illustrates the dangers of the proliferation of cooperations and bodies, which can lead to a loss of accountability and legitimacy. This Arctic Council body has achieved much by flexible and open structures, but as Prof. Young hints perhaps something more is needed. It is clear that we live increasingly in an age of plurality of governance - the EU is an example of that - and of the benefits of drawing a wider grouping to attach global problems with local significance. But the EU does have clear structures that give respect to local democratic legitimacy and accountability. As Parliamentarians, perhaps even more than other participants here, if the Arctic Council is to be an increasingly legitimate voice of the Arctic then we should urge for clear structures. As parliamentarians it is important that within the statement issued from this Conference we address this issue of legitimacy and accountability raised by Prof. Young's report. |
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