EUROPEAN CONVENTION: MEP TABLES IDEAS FOR POLITICAL REFORM OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT.

• Position: Member of European Parliament Alain Lamassoure

Alain Lamassoure remarks from the very outset of his contribution to the Convention that "Parliament is not fully adapted to becoming the forum for final decisions". He outlines three axes for profound reform of the institution:

- A ceiling on the number of Members. Mr Lamassoure argues that the current 626-Member Parliament is close to the maximum workable size for a legislative assembly. Recalling that the two chambers of the United States Congress combined have just 535 members, he recommends a revision of the Nice Treaty on this point in order to avoid the European Parliament becoming a mere talking shop or even a shambles. Mr Lamassoure proposes a threshold of 650 MEPs, better reflecting the demographic weight of each of the Member States, with representations to be reviewed every ten years.

- Switch over to a single form of voting. Mr Lamassoure believes the Council Decision endorsed by Parliament (see European Report 2657 and 2692) amending the Act concerning the election of members of the European Parliament still leaves member States too much margin to permit talk of a uniform electoral system, and calls for an electoral system to be set down in the Constitution, with proportional representation...