Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-09-04-Speech-1-105"
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"en.20000904.7.1-105"2
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"Mr President, I would like to thank the rapporteur for producing this report. As Mrs Carrilho has pointed out, this is the first own-initiative report which this Parliament is approving in the field of external policy during this parliamentary term.
It is odd to hear the interventions of certain MEPs who say that they find this report very timid, and of others who feel that it will put an end to the last redoubt of Member States’ sovereignty. I believe that this report represents a move in the right direction. I believe that it limits itself to adhering pragmatically to the Community method and that it clearly demonstrates that joint diplomacy is one of the fundamental aspects of the visibility of the European Union’s external action.
I do not know if we can speak today of the European Union as the main economic power, the main industrial power or the main financial power in the world. What we can say, without a shadow of a doubt, is that the European Union is today the main provider of development aid, and this means that the European Commission delegates play a very important role when it comes to representing the Community institutions and, in particular, the Commission. This means that their specific importance in many cases, given the significant quantities they have to distribute, is greater than that of the ambassadors and of the Member States. Therefore, Mr President, it is clear that anything which helps to improve the preparation and knowledge of the Commission officials will be an important element for the European Union’s external action.
The rapporteur has explained the main initiatives contained in his report: the creation of a common diplomatic college, the establishment of procedures for Commission delegates to be received in third countries – an initiative which Mr Patten has accepted in general terms and which I am pleased to see included in this report – and also the drawing up of an annual report on the activity of European Union delegates.
I hope, Mr President, that these initiatives will contribute effectively to the creation of a more visible and coherent external policy for European Union action."@en1
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