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Kate and Gerry McCann are
travelling to
Strasbourg
to try and boost their attempts to establish a European wide
missing child alert system.
The couple visited
Brussels
in April to ask MEPs to back a written resolution calling
for the initiative, but their trip was overshadowed by the
apparent leaking of their police statements made shortly
after Madeleine disappeared.
Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley in
Leicestershire, have one month left to get the majority of
MEPs to give their support.
They have 211 signatures already and need
another 182 names to ensure that their written declaration
is sent to the EU President and published.
Even with the support required, such a
declaration carries no legal weight in the European Union
but the McCanns believe it would help them win the moral
argument over whether such a cross-border system is needed.
They hope that their presence in
Strasbourg
will help them reach the 393 mark.
Clarence Mitchell, their spokesman, said:
"Kate and Gerry are confident that this can be achieved but
they accept that there's a lot to be done. They remain
confident but they are not naive."
Mr Mitchell said Mrs McCann had led a
"sustained email campaign" as part of the effort, sending
messages urging MEPs to sign up.
The couple believe a child abduction alert
system - similar to the United States'
Amber Alert - would have helped the search for their
three-year-old daughter in the crucial hours after her
disappearance.
Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday
apartment, in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May
3 last year |
