Verbatim report of proceedings

Friday, 20 September 1996 - Strasbourg

12. Biology and medicine

  President . – The next item is the joint debate on the following oral questions:

‐ B4‐0852/96‐0‐0186/96 by Mrs Oomen‐Ruijten, Mr Tindemans and Mr Liese, on behalf of the Group of the European People's Party, to the Commission, on the Council of Europe Convention on human rights and biomedicine;

‐ B4‐0853/96‐0‐0192/96 by Mrs Roth, on behalf of the Green Group in the European Parliament, to the Commission, on the Convention on humans rights and biomedicine.

It is my understanding that the authors have decided not to move their oral questions.

  Dury (PSE). – (FR) Madam President, I heard Mr Martens say that people wanted to vote on the Kouchner report. Could you not put that report to the vote, since we are all agreed on it? We are not asking for a debate, not a word, just put it to the vote straight away!

  President . – All right, so we will vote on the Oomen‐Ruijten question first and then on Mr Kouchner.

I have received seven motions for resolutions pursuant to Rule 37(2) of the Rules of Procedure.⁽¹⁾

We will now vote on these seven motions for resolutions on bioethics.

  Cot (PSE). – (FR) Madam President, this is an important subject. So I trust we are going to have a debate, because it would be absolutely scandalous if were now to rush through a resolution by about fifty votes, changing what was resolved by 400 votes in July!

I therefore ask that the debate should take place. I believe that we can still hold it. At any event, the socialist group cannot lend itself to such a charade.

  Oomen‐Ruijten (PPE). – (NL) Madam President, I very much deplore and am greatly angered by Mr Cot's perception of what constitutes democratic behaviour. Throughout the week efforts have been made to block this debate. Madam President, those who have attended are here in the expectation that this debate will take place. I thus ask you, most urgently once again, to put this motion for a resolution, which has been the subject of so much debate, to the vote.

  President . – Ladies and gentlemen, please do be a bit sensible. We asked the interpreters to agree to extend this sitting on condition that we would only be voting, otherwise the sitting would have ended long ago.

We are ready. We have said that we will vote on this request now and then we will vote on the Kouchner report. We are in the middle of doing that, and I am now asking you to vote on the preamble and recitals. Mr Pelttari.

  Pelttari (ELDR). – (FI) Madam President, in a word, I agree with Mr Cot. I should just like to say what I think about this debate, which is being held here today in connection with the vote. I wish to say this on the record, and in public, because this is the same subject on which a vote was taken here in July on the report which bears my name.

This joint resolution which the PPE, UPE, Green and EDN Groups have put forward as an answer to oral questions is procedurally unacceptable. I wish to point out that Parliament considered the Council of Europe's Draft Bioethics Convention from 26 June 1995 to 17 July 1996.

The Committee on Legal Affairs devoted four meetings to the matter. The resolution which the committee adopted in a vote was too conservative, and was rejected by Parliament. Thus consideration of the matter has been completed.

Contrary to parliamentary usage, you have re‐tabled by means of an oral question a motion for a resolution which Parliament has already rejected. This is procedurally quite wrong.

The ELDR Group naturally cannot cooperate in such a manoeuvre. It will vote against the resolution, which is being tabled jointly, because we cannot approve either of its content or of the procedure followed.

  President . – That has been noted.

  Dell'Alba (ARE). – (IT) Madam President, anything goes, including wringing a text out of a handful of Members. Good luck with your text! I want it entered in the minutes that not only the Socialist Group but also the Group of the European Radical Alliance vigorously protests against this way of proceeding and considers this vote to have been taken unlawfully.

  Dury (PSE). – (FR) Madam President, I entirely agree with Mr Dell'Alba, but may I ask you to vote on the Kouchner report and then move on to the explanations of vote.

That is our customary procedure, which should not be changed, and the Rules of Procedure, and the way we do things. The tradition in this Parliament is that we take all the votes and then move on to all the explanations of vote. That is the usual way we do it. I ask you to put the Kouchner report to the vote. We are voting on bioethics. I think we have done that. Then let us move on to the vote on the Kouchner report. Let's finish the bioethics, then the Kouchner report, then the explanations of vote.

  Schulz (PSE). – (DE) Madam President, I don't like doing this. I asked you to bring voting time to an end, so that we could finish up in a dignified manner. I ask you again to do that, and to stop giving Mr Dell'Alba the opportunity to make more points of order in order to delay the debate which he himself called for, as he has been doing in this House for the last two hours. Also, Mr Cot's behaviour is not undemocratic but legitimate. I just wanted to make that point to Mrs Oomen‐Ruijten. But please, Madam President, conclude the voting now. Because if you give Mr Dell'Alba the floor again after every single vote, we shall still be here next Wednesday.

  President . – I observe that the House agrees with you.

(Parliament adopted the joint resolution)

(1) See Minutes