Pat Cox served as President of the European Parliament from January 2002 until July 2004. During his Presidency he campaigned ceaselessly throughout Europe to promote the enlargement of the European Union, including vigorous campaigning in the Irish referendum on the Nice Treaty and the subsequent accession referenda throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

As President he made over two hundred visits to thirty-three states including all of the states of today’s and tomorrow’s European Union. He addressed twenty-four plenary sessions in national parliaments, met with the Speakers and European Committees of all national parliaments in the EU and participated in thirteen European Summit meetings. He was the European Parliament’s senior representative on the Intergovernmental Conference leading to the adoption of the proposed new Constitutional Treaty.

Starting in 1989 Pat Cox was first elected to the European Parliament as a Member for the constituency of Munster in the Republic of Ireland. He was elected three times to Parliament and served, among others, on the Economic and Monetary Affairs, Institutional Affairs and Legal Affairs Committees of the European Parliament.