Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-05-03-Speech-3-179"
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"en.20000503.11.3-179"2
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"Mr President, the attendance in this Chamber shows that there is no dispute about this agreement, that Members want it, and I am sure we will vote for Switzerland and for this agreement by a great majority tomorrow. We want closer cooperation in Europe. We want more dialogue. We want to analyse problems pragmatically, find compromises, although on the basis of democracy and the rule of law, and we want, at the end of the day, to vote in the proper manner. We often see the Swiss people voting on issues and as a democrat I am constantly delighted by the democratic attitude of Switzerland.
The peaceful settlement of conflict – i.e. democracy – versus the declaration of war. In fact, war never has been a solution for the people of Europe. We need ground rules for democracy, and in the end we must also abide by them. After over 50 years of a policy of peace, the German Foreign Minister acting as President of the Council has called on the military to take a decision. That should set us thinking. I believe it is important that we use democratic methods to safeguard peace. Now he, as President of the Council, and the 12 prime ministers have taken an arbitrary decision without any legal basis against a Member State. It has no legal basis and in particular it goes against the European institutions. The decision with regard to Austria was taken without any
participation by the Commission, without the participation of the Council and, of course, without the participation of Parliament. In my view, that raises a number of problems, especially for Switzerland. And I regard the signs of weakness the euro is currently showing as a judgement by the international community of this conflict within the European Union. The crux of the matter is that this is a conflict between the prime ministers and the European institutions, a conflict that is putting a spanner in the European works and creating insecurity.
In fact, Austria was always seen as the blue-eyed boy in matters of human rights and democracy. I think Austria has fared very well with its neutrality over the past decades, a neutral position between east and west. In joining the European Union we clearly committed ourselves to the west, with the aim of preventing any future military conflicts. But that means talking to each other, meeting each other, analysing things pragmatically, finding compromises. I must say that in Austria, too, it is now time to review the situation for, when it comes to their referendum, the Swiss people will be looking very carefully at how the 14 prime ministers decide.
In Austria, Mr Haider resigned on 1 May. He no longer plays an active role in Austrian politics. I think it is high time the sanctions against Austria were lifted and I believe the prime ministers should also apologise to the people of Europe for choosing to go down a road that is unacceptable to Europe. I demand the immediate suspension of the sanctions against Austria and I believe this decision with regard to Austria will be of the utmost importance to future plebiscites and referenda in Europe."@en1
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