"In a free and democratic process, the British people have expressed their wish to leave the European Union.

20. Welcomes the conclusions of the International Donor Conference ‘Together for a New Mali’, held on 15 May 2013; stresses that donors have undertaken to donate EUR 3.25 billion to Mali in the next two years, with the EU leading the pledges with EUR 520 million; commends the Malian Government’s Plan for the Sustainable Recovery of Mali (PRED); welcomes the particular attention given to ensuring the transparency of public accounts and those of the extractive industries; supports the Malian Government’s approval of the draft law against illicit enrichment, and emphasises the importance of carrying out the Donor Conference commitment t ...[+++]o monitor carefully the law’s systematic application once it has been adopted; regrets that the conference conclusions did not reflect the stated EU commitment to move towards a rights-based approach in development cooperation; calls on the EU and its international partners to implement their mutual commitments as part of an effective and coordinated follow-up to the conference; reiterates the need to link aid with institutional reform and discernible social and political development; commends, furthermore, the constructive involvement of regional actors; calls, bearing in mind the extent of the widespread corruption within the Malian authorities, for all the necessary assurances and safeguards to be put in place in order to ensure that the sums paid out can be used as soon as possible to help the Malian people;

20. Welcomes the conclusions of the International Donor Conference ‘Together for a New Mali’, held on 15 May 2013; stresses that donors have undertaken to donate EUR 3.25 billion to Mali in the next two years, with the EU leading the pledges with EUR 520 million; commends the Malian Government’s Plan for the Sustainable Recovery of Mali (PRED); welcomes the particular attention given to ensuring the transparency of public accounts and those of the extractive industries; supports the Malian Government’s approval of the draft law against illicit enrichment, and emphasises the importance of carrying out the Donor Conference commitment t ...[+++]o monitor carefully the law’s systematic application once it has been adopted; regrets that the conference conclusions did not reflect the stated EU commitment to move towards a rights-based approach in development cooperation; calls on the EU and its international partners to implement their mutual commitments as part of an effective and coordinated follow-up to the conference; reiterates the need to link aid with institutional reform and discernible social and political development; commends, furthermore, the constructive involvement of regional actors; calls, bearing in mind the extent of the widespread corruption within the Malian authorities, for all the necessary assurances and safeguards to be put in place in order to ensure that the sums paid out can be used as soon as possible to help the Malian people;

The reason the Irish Parliament had a right and a duty to do what they did is that the sovereign people of Ireland gave them that right and duty. From the high turnout and overwhelming ‘yes’ vote, it is clear that the democratic will of the people was served.

That is why, by fully respecting the differences of opinion and the specific national situations, my group is going to show the same determination as it has in the recent past and make a huge effort to provide information, to clarify the issues at stake and to compare ideas about the content of the future treaty with the same, EU-wide, democratic demand: that the people of Europe be consulted in practice. In a few days’ time, the Intergovernmental Conference will begin its work but, with the benefit of experience, I am convinced that ...[+++]the die has not been cast: it will be soon.

Before I conclude, the question of consultation with national parliaments is one that we continually stress here in Parliament. That is because we recognise that parliaments, by their very nature, are the true democratic representatives of the peoples of the Member States of the European Union.