[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 12, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E370]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

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                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 12, 2008

  Mr. BERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to call to the attention of 
my colleagues the 50th anniversary of the European Parliament--the 
legislative body of the European Union. It is a great pleasure to 
celebrate this very special day in the history of the European Union. 
Seldom in so short a period as 50 years do we have the opportunity to 
witness the birth and evolution of such an important democratic 
institution.
  In the 25 years that I have served as a Member of the United States 
Congress, the European Parliament has undergone a dramatic 
transformation. It began as an institution whose members were appointed 
by national parliaments, and it played a minor role in the policy-
making process. Today. the European Parliament is a truly democratic 
legislature whose members are elected by the popular vote of the people 
in all member states of the European Union. Furthermore, it has a key 
role in approving the members of the European Commission and in 
adopting the EU budget. As the United States Congress, the European 
Parliament also has significant responsibility for conducting oversight 
of EU executive governmental institutions.
  Madam Speaker, the first half of the 20th century was marked by two 
bloody World Wars that devastated the European continent and produced 
deep divisions between European countries. World War I produced sharp 
national differences among the Europeans, which continued to fester 
even after that war was concluded. At the end of World War II. Europe 
was divided by the ``Iron Curtain,'' which ideologically, and 
politically separated the continent's peoples. During the era of the 
Cold War, the unification of the Western and Eastern Germany seemed 
like an impossible dream let alone the unification of Western and I 
astern Europe. however, the last half-century has seen the remarkable 
growth of an ever closer union of people and states.
  Indeed, the success of the European Union has produced significant 
changes in the make up of Europe. The European Union began as an 
institution for economic cooperation among six Western European nations 
in 1951, but it has evoked into a political and economic union that now 
embraces 27 European nations, including 10 former communist states of 
Central and Eastern Europe. The European Union has brought peace, 
stability and prosperity to almost 500 million people.
  In 1951, Madam Speaker, the Treaty of Paris, which created the 
European Coal and Steel Community provided a minor rule for a 
Parliamentary Assembly. This body evolved and was institutionalized as 
the European Parliamentary Assembly in the Treat of Rome that was 
signed seven years later. the Assembly held its first meeting on March 
19, 1951, under the leadership of its first president and one of 
Europe's great visionaries, Robert Schuman. At that time the parliament 
was only a consultative body composed of 142 members appointed by the 
national parliaments of the member states. The members conducted their 
business in four official languages.
  In 1962, the body became the European Parliament, and in 1979, its 
members were chosen for the first time through direct elections. Over 
time, treaty revisions have expanded the powers of the European 
Parliament over legislation, the budget and executive oversight. The 
European Parliament now has 785 members who work in 23 official 
languages, and it represents the 492 million citizens of the 27 member 
states of the European Union.
  Madam Speaker, I am delighted that the United States House of 
Representatives has a cooperative working relationship with the 
European Parliament. For the last three decades. delegations of our 
respective legislatures have met twice a year to discuss our common 
goals and have endeavored to bring the United States and the European 
Union ever closer together. Currently this exchange--the Trans-Atlantic 
Legislators Dialog, TLD--is led on the United States side by Chairwoman 
 Shelly Berkley of Nevada and Vice Chairmen Cliff Stearns of Florida 
and Jim Costa of Californina. The European Parliament delegation is 
ably led by Jonathan Evans, a member of the European Parliament from 
the United Kingdom.
  Over the last half-century, Madam Speaker, the United States has 
worked with our European allies to promote democracy, the rule of law, 
free market economies and human rights around the world. The 50th 
anniversary of the European Parliament provides an excellent occasion 
for all of us to reflect upon our friendship with our colleagues in the 
European Parliament and to celebrate with them this successful trans-
Atlantic cooperation. The ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon and the 
parliamentary elections in June 2009 should further reinforce the 
European Parliament's critical role in the European Union decision-
making process. I congratulate the European Parliament on its first 
half-century and look forward to continued collaboration in the future.

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