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PRESS RELEASE

Strasbourg, 14th June 2000

Parliament's Presidency meets demand of Green/EFA Group

EP-Plenary will vote on inquiry committee for Echelon

The Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament were today assured by the Parliament's President that the plenary will afterall vote on an inquiry committee on the Echelon spying system. A list of 180 cross party signatories demanded such a committee back in March.

But the vote will not take place until July- and not this week, as demanded by Greens/EFA.

The announcement, however, gives way to the group's longstanding demand for of all of the
Euro-MPs to vote on the matter, and not an exclusive few as the EPP, ESP and the Liberals' group leaders wanted. They wanted to confine the decision to the Conference of Presidents (made up of the parliament's group leaders and president only) and only wanted to create a temporary committee for Echelon. The Greens/ EFA considered this a wrong interpretation of parliamentary rules.

An opinion by the parliamentary legal services, published last week, clearly stated that a temporary committee would not have the power to investigate. It would only serve as a forum for a political debate. As a result, the Greens/EFA yesterday called for a vote in plenary on setting up a fully-fledged inquiry committee on Echelon.

Paul Lannoye, President of the Green/EFA Group said:

"The decision of the Parliament's Presidency sets an important precedence. By having a vote in plenary, the wishes of 180 signatories of all political groups to have an inquiry committee is treated with democratic respect."



Press Service of the Greens/EFA Group
in the European Parliament

Helmut Weixler (press officer)

phone: 0032-2-284.4683
fax: 0032-2-284.4944
mobile phone: 0032-75-67 13 40
e-mail: hweixler@europarl.eu.int
website: www.europarl.eu.int/greens

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