Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-02-Speech-3-080"
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"en.20000202.6.3-080"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the Portuguese Council Presidency’s account has given me the distinct impression that we are approaching this Intergovernmental Conference with well-considered ideas and a high degree of openness. We as a European Parliament will use these opportunities to see that our issues are given the attention they deserve. The preparations the Commission has made so far are on the right track, although they do not go far enough if the European Parliament’s motions are anything to go by. There is more to be said on that score.
It is crucially important for this Intergovernmental Conference to score a hat trick; that of the power to act, democratic legitimacy and transparency. In the end, it is only by having these three things in place that we will be able to achieve acceptance amongst the citizens. At the same time of course, we need to create the power to act in order to facilitate the enlargement of the European Union. If we have been having a different debate here in this Chamber today then that only goes to show how important this is. The European Union must also have the power to act in the event of a government electing to impose a total blockade. This is an important sign that majority voting is a crucial pre-requisite to the European Union’s being able to function come what may. This is particularly important where enlargement is concerned, and legislation and in relation to treaties, which entail changes being made to legislation. Of course we also want to extend the European Parliament’s corresponding powers in this area.
In addition, we as a European Parliament are going to have to take action in relation to Economic and Monetary Union, for there is a lack of supervision in this area. The Finance Ministers behave as if they were in an intergovernmental meeting, when in the Ecofin Council and in the Euro 11 Council, which is an unacceptable way to go on. Unlike Mrs Kaufmann, I am not in favour of extending supervision over the European Central Bank as I am an advocate of independence for the European Central Bank. However, there must be an appropriate level of supervision on the political side. Furthermore, the tripartite relationship of Commission, Council and Parliament must be restored to the sphere of foreign and security policy, where hitherto the Council was in sole charge far more than should have been the case, especially in relation to the crudely fashioned crisis management measures, for which the Commission alone has responsibility. The overall plan failed to do justice to any of this. We must examine whether any changes are needed to this end which would fall within the scope of the Intergovernmental Conference. The Portuguese Presidency has agreed to initiate deliberations on this matter, perhaps to extend the mandate.
There is another point I would just like to draw your attention to. The debates we are having these days, on a certain European country’s government, for example, show, do they not, that we must place the spiritual, moral, constitutional, community and common welfare-orientated leanings of the European Union on a firm footing, and that legally binding fundamental rights must also be incorporated into the Treaty for the same reason, as this will be a crucial stabilising factor. I would urge those who are still very hesitant in this respect to consider whether now is not the time to make this connection and perhaps pluck up the courage we need to make suitable progress in matters of fundamental rights.
The European Union needs few, if any, new instruments, and it does not need any new competences. What it does need are instruments that will enable it to put its competences into practice. For this reason, we must ensure that the instruments have the effect of enabling us to carry out, on behalf of the citizens, the tasks we have already formally been set in the Treaty. In my view, that is the most important issue this Intergovernmental Conference has to concentrate its energies on. If we succeed in making progress here, then we will also be ready for the historic task of enlarging the European Union. This is the crux of the matter. Mr President-in-Office of the Council, I am confident that this will be tackled in a suitably positive manner under your tutelage."@en1
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