LAST week I cast my first vote as a new member of the European Parliament. Those who accuse the Liberal Democrats of being too close to Labour might like to know that on this occasion I voted to elect a president of the Parliament, Nicole Fontaine, who belongs to the same group as the British Conservative Party.
Over the next five years, the 50-strong Liberal Democrat group will often hold the balance of power. We want to make sure that the European Union's institutions become more democratic and accountable by ensuring that the Parliament is genuinely independent, and quickly carrying out essential reforms such as ending the potential for abuse of MEPs' expense allowances.
A majority of the new European Commissioners were appointed by left-of-centre governments. Their boss, Romano Prodi, has got off to a good start by insisting they set higher public standards than ever before.
By giving the right-of-centre group in the Parliament an extra boost, I hope the Liberal Democrats have helped ensure they will be kept on their toes.
CHRIS DAVIES (Liberal Democrat MEP for the North West). Higher Kinders, Greenfield, Oldham.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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