European Parliament
Raffaele Baldassarre  (PPE ).
(IT)
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, firstly, I would like to sincerely congratulate the Danish Presidency on its excellent work and on the significant results achieved in the context of the European Semester. In particular, I offer my congratulations on its excellent negotiating skills which helped, albeit in a somewhat convoluted manner, to end the vulgar and absurd diatribe concerning the location of the European patent court.
As rapporteur, I agreed, with regret, to postpone the final vote following the Council’s unilateral proposal to amend the proposal for a regulation, but I must point out that this way of operating is unacceptable. It seriously undermines the constitutional balance of the EU, especially in an area and a measure that are fundamental to boosting economic growth in the European Union in key sectors such as innovation. This is a measure in which Parliament took a programmatic, constructive approach.
I would therefore like to express my deep bitterness over what happened and call on the Council of Ministers, represented by the Cypriot Presidency that has now taken over, to find a solution with regard to the substance and the procedure as soon as possible. It will not be Parliament that causes a project that we have been working towards for over 30 years to fail, nor shall this Parliament allow the rules governing interinstitutional relations to be unilaterally modified by any institution.

