No ‘politicians’ allowed!

Date: 14/03/1996

Euro MPs who have worked hard to prepare cogent policies for the Intergovernmental Conference have been incensed by their exclusion from the talks on Europe's future which begin in Turin at the end of this month.

After all, MEPs say, they have been directly elected to represent the citizens of Europe and the IGC negotiations are supposed to be all about what citizens want.

Nonsense, says British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind, explaining why directly-elected members of the Strasbourg Parliament should not be represented at the negotiating table. “Members of the European Parliament are no more ordinary people than are members of government. They are politicians!” he said, when nobbled on the issue at last weekend's informal meeting of foreign ministers in Palermo.

Euro MPs are believed to be preparing a withering repost.