DEFENCE: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TO BE GIVEN A SAY IN EU POLICY.

The commitment was given in response to a question from UK MEP Andrew Duff, constitutional affairs spokesman for the European Liberal Democrats. Mr Duff welcomed the decision as "a real constitutional breakthrough" for the European Parliament. "We can use the presence of Mr Richard to enforce a real scrutiny of the EU's emerging defence dimension", he said. "If public confidence in CESDP is to grow, parliamentary participation is essential."The theme of parliamentary involvement in EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and CESDP was also at the top of the agenda of Javier Solana, EU High Representative and Secretary-General of the Council, when he addressed a special parliamentary encounter in Paris on 5 July, where the French national assembly's...