2. Statements by the President

Verbatim reports

The President made a statement outlining Parliament's activities over the coming year. He reiterated Parliament's wish to see the Treaty of Lisbon enter into force on 01.01.2009 as a priority objective. He referred in particular to the opening, on 21.12.2007, of the borders of nine Member States that had acceded to the Union on 01.05.2004, the introduction of the euro in Malta and Cyprus on 01.01.2008 and the launching of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue on 09.01.2008 in Ljubljana.

Recalling the incidents that marked the signing ceremony of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU in Parliament on 12.12.2007 (Minutes of 12.12.2007, Item 4), the President condemned certain Members' conduct on that occasion and concluded with the following words: 'This occurred in contravention of the Rules of Procedure and is totally unacceptable. I will therefore take the measures provided for in the Rules against the Members who, despite several appeals for order, continued to disrupt the sitting. The same will apply to the Members who behaved appallingly towards our ushers, who were simply doing their job.'