He promised to give the parliament a stronger voice in the EU's law-making procedure, receiving warm applause from much of the parliament.

BBC: Democracy Live site links

In the French parliament, Mr Raffarin received warm applause for an impassioned speech warning against early war.

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Strachan made a surprise appearance at the tribute match to take a bow and was given a warm round of applause by home fans who had not been unanimous in their support for the former Aberdeen and Manchester United midfielder despite his success with the club.

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Sir Jeremy Beecham, who was acting as Mr Blair's warm-up man in the main hall, thanked Mrs Stihler and her campaign team, eliciting a ripple of applause from the hall.

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