Following the end of the Period of Reflection and plans by the German Presidency to present a road-map on the structure of a revised Treaty, the European Parliament tomorrow will adopt its opinion on the future institutional changes which will be the subject of an Intergovernmental conference later this year.

Andrew Duff MEP, (UK, Lib Dem) and ALDE Constitutional Affairs Spokesperson, has welcomed the European Parliament report discussed this afternoon in plenary and expected to be supported by a clear majority of MEPs tomorrow.

"As the period of reflection comes to a welcome end, we can get on with re-negotiating and re-packaging the constitutional treaty with an aim to its substantive improvement.

"The constitutional treaty in an amended form has to do one thing and do it well. That is to strengthen democracy: democracy inside the institutions as well as democracy between the EU, national, regional and local levels of government.  

"We must also devise more flexible ways and means of revising the treaty in the future.

"This means recognition by those who still wish to reject the constitution that, although they might still have the right of legal veto, they will have neither the moral authority nor the political power to block progress for the rest of Europe.

"Moves by President Sarkozy to inject a new pragmatism into the constitutional debate, coupled with softening of attitudes in the Netherlands, are to be welcomed. One hopes they can be matched by a similar positive attitude from Gordon Brown when he becomes UK Prime Minister later this month."

The resolution is available here.