Notes transmitted by the Parliaments represented in the  Working Group

 DENMARK

 Remarks on the Draft Memorandum (August 2000)

From the Folketing's point of view it is of great importance that the issues of quality of legislation and of the co-operation between national Parliaments are debated.
The contacts that have been established in the working group have already created a network that can contribute to the interchange of experience and knowledge at a more informal level. The Folketing supports a development and strengthening of the co-operation between the parliaments and their administrations.
Concerning the draft Memorandum of August 2000 the Folketing agrees on the in-troductory remarks and on the statements under section a, b, c and d.
Concerning section d the Folketing would appreciate if the remarks regarding strengthening links among the Committees of the national Parliaments and of the Euro-pean Parliaments were readmitted. (I.e. the Fiesole memorandum, section 2.2.d.).
Concerning section e, Exchange of information among Parliaments through new technologies, the Folketing still takes the view that it is a very ambitious plan. However, the Folketing has noted that the proposal is reformulated into a request that the admini-strations of the parliaments carry out a feasibility study concerning exchange of infor-mation through new technologies.
From a Danish point of view there is a danger of formalising routine exchange of facts, which there is no current need for. What matters is exchange of information con-cerning exact issues being debated in Parliament. It must also be emphasised that ex-change of information has limited value if it is given without the possibility of clarifying the context of which it is a part. The Folketing knows from experience shared with the Nordic countries how important it is that exchange of information takes place within networks. Such networks can be composed of speakers, committees or administrations.
Concerning the tasks of the Conference the Folketing cannot agree on the recom-mendation concerning the OECD and the European University of Florence. The Folket-ing agrees that the OECD and the European University Institute of Florence have made an excellent work supporting the activities of the working group. However, it must be up to the institutions themselves whether to continue this work. The Parliaments, there-fore, must be in charge of the follow-up on the recommendations and on the character and content of this new type of inter-parliamentary cooperation within the EU.