Liberals and Democrats unanimous in rejecting censure motion on Barroso

11.10.49am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 25th May 2005

Graham Watson (UK, Lib Dem) will be speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the plenary debate this afternoon on the motion for censure tabled by 77 Eurosceptics. Whilst taking the general view that receipt of hospitality benefits should be treated in exactly the same way as any gift over a certain value, the leader of Parliament's third political group will reject the attempt to use the censure motion as a vehicle of reproach.

"There are plenty of other parliamentary and political means to raise concerns of conflicts of interest that do not require use of a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Abuse of a censure motion like this means it loses its significance when it really matters."

"In a reversal of common legal practice Mr Farage and the extremists who have signed this motion are assuming the guilt of the Commission President until proven innocent. Whilst there is a case for clarifying the Commissioners' code of conduct, I do not believe it merits dragging the Commission through the mud" he said.

Graham Watson will use the opportunity to attack eurosceptics and their so-called "wrecking agenda" which serves only to poison the political atmosphere in Brussels. "There is nothing wrong with holding alternative views on Europe's future but they should be presented and argued in an honest and open manner rather than in the pernicious and misleading fashion that typifies much of the UK Independence Party's tactics", stated Watson.