My friend Michael Palmer, who has died aged 81, was the consummate European. He was born in London, but after getting a first at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and a spell at the thinktank Political and Economic Planning, he worked successively for the parliamentary assemblies of the Council of Europe, Western European Union and Nato before becoming a director in the European parliament in 1973, based in Luxembourg, when the UK joined the European Economic Community.
He later became director general of research and documentation in the parliament, but his most outstanding work was in the committees, where his vision for Europe and how it might be attained, together with his linguistic skill, influenced many reports drafted for members of the parliament's political affairs committee.
For example, he drafted a report containing a resolution, which was adopted by the parliament, on the decisions taken at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (known as the "Helsinki process") held in three stages between 1973 and 1975. The EEC had participated as a member of the conference, thus entitling the parliament to pronounce on its decisions. Parliament's report pointed to the openings given by the decisions of the conference to central and eastern European countries to take a stand for democracy and the "four freedoms". As a result, Václav Havel and others in Czechoslovakia founded Charter 77 to fight for these objectives, a challenge that eventually helped to achieve the fall of communism in Europe.
After Michael's retirement, a connection with the Central Bank of Luxembourg opened up what almost became a second career. He wrote the English version of the bank's history and functions, published in 2001, and gradually became expert in many of its activities that involved the use of English. Latterly he was involved in the setting-up of the Luxembourg Forum, bringing together Luxembourgers and people of other nationalities to discuss topics of current interest.
Music was his constant companion, his tastes ranging up to the contemporary. His Christmas music quiz aroused eager anticipation and much research. In art, his highly developed interest and expertise led to his advising the Belgian Kredietbank on augmenting its collection, and producing two volumes on Belgian art. A special edition of these works, in French, was requested by the Belgian king for presentation to foreign dignitaries.
He is survived by his wife, Karin, whom he married in 1983.
