The proposal provides for: (a) broader participation by the Judges in cases assigned to the Grand Chamber, allowing them to sit far more frequently than at present. That would be achieved by amending Articles 16 and 17 of the Statute so as to increase to 15 the number of Judges constituting the Grand Chamber and to end the automatic participation of all the Presidents of five-judge Chambers in Grand Chamber cases.

It is lovely to see how this Chamber has been enlivened by symbols of hope, but (the speaker was interrupted by disturbances in the Chamber) . I am asking for your attention because it is important and I feel compelled to tell you what is on my mind.

Furthermore, I should like to call on those Members who are more expert at preparing amendments to the Rules, namely Mr Leinen, and Mr Corbett as well, to prepare an amendment to this rule, stipulating the following: if there is a request for a quorum count and if the person who made the request is not present in the Chamber at the time the count is carried out, they will lose their per diem for that day, and all those who are not in the Chamber, if there is no quorum the count establishes that, shall lose half their per diem for that day, so that we can put paid to this type of tactic once and for all.

For its part, and like the House, the Commission does not support the idea of a new chamber, which would, in reality, be a third chamber.

I often happen to talk to elderly people and pensioners and so I have also discussed the environment with them, which we have regulated so much here in this beautiful chamber in Brussels and in the even more beautiful and larger chamber in Strasbourg.

If one Chamber notices parchment errors in a bill that was adopted in due form by the other Chamber, the Clerk has some authority to make corrections.