Paris, 2 October 2007 – On 1 October 2007 the Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker received the President of the Assembly Jean-Pierre Masseret at the Prime Minister’s offices in Luxembourg. President Masseret was accompanied by a delegation of Assembly parliamentarians composed of Mike Hancock MP (United Kingdom, Chairman of the Liberal Group), Marcel Glesener (Luxembourg, Vice-President of the Assembly and Vice-Chairman of the Federated Group) and Charles Goerens (Luxembourg, former President of the Assembly). Their discussions focused on issues of European security and defence policy and the work being done by the Intergovernmental Conference with a view to reaching agreement on a Draft Treaty amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community (Reform Treaty).

Mr Juncker, a declared “Friend of the Assembly”, took the opportunity of this meeting to reiterate his support for the work being done by the Assembly as regards scrutiny of the European Security and Defence Policy. He remarked on the “highly informative” nature of the Assembly’s reports and expressed his attachment to the modified Brussels Treaty and its solidarity clause.

The Prime Minister was critical of the remarkable lack within the EU of a proper interparliamentary structure for the scrutiny of the European Security and Defence Policy, which remained within the intergovernmental sphere. He therefore encouraged the Assembly to actively continue its work, while stressing the importance of developing closer cooperation with the European Parliament. He said that as the acting European Security and Defence Assembly, the Assembly was a unique interparliamentary body and deserved stronger backing from the national parliaments for its efforts to support the ESDP.