Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-12-17-Speech-1-035"
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"en.20011217.3.1-035"2
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"Madam President, the Belgian Presidency assumed the Presidency of the European Union at an extremely crucial time. The tragic terrorist attacks in America last September highlighted the need for European Union Member States and our international partners to bolster cooperation to defeat the evils of international terrorism. European Union leaders confronted these new challenges with vigour and determination and we are all collectively intent on tackling the scourge of terrorism.
The European Union has brought forward proposals to prevent our financial systems being used for money-laundering to fund terrorist activities. We must all continue to cooperate more closely in the future to ensure that the twin evils of international terrorism and international criminal activities are defeated.
The Laeken summit last weekend had to address a whole series of wide-ranging political issues. I note with interest that in the final text of the Declaration issued by EU Heads of State, they say “The European Union is a success story but 50 years on, however, the Union stands at a crossroads, a defining moment in its existence”. I fully agree with this political sentiment. We have to be sure that any changes which are brought about within the European Union in the future command the goodwill and support of the citizens of the Union. This is a very tough challenge indeed, not only for European Union governments but also for the European Commission, and indeed for ourselves in the European Parliament.
As the European Union develops more closely, we must guarantee that the citizens of the EU support these new developments. Without the political support and the goodwill of the people of Europe, the EU as a political and economic entity will be badly weakened. I hope that this is one of the core issues which will be addressed by the new Convention which has now been set up by the EU leaders.
There will be broad-ranging representation at this Convention which will afford all participants a time for real reflection as to the direction that the European Union must take in the immediate years ahead. How best to sell the message that the European Union is a positive force for the people of Europe will be a central challenge for the participants of this Convention.
I support the European Union. I believe that the European Union has helped to improve living standards within the European Union and it has helped to improve our quality of life. But not everyone is convinced of this argument and we must persuade the opponents of the European Union of its benefits. The difficulty of this task should not be underestimated.
The European Council decided to participate in international efforts to restore stability and peace to Afghanistan. This was an important decision, affirming the EU’s readiness to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the people of Afghanistan. I welcome our political support in this regard but any future actions which are taken on this issue must be strictly dealt with under the auspices of specific United Nations mandates.
I also welcome the strong support given by EU leaders to Yasser Arafat’s role as "Israel’s negotiating partner both to eradicate terrorism and to work towards peace."
EU leaders have rightly called on the Palestinian authorities to dismantle terrorist networks run by Hamas and Islamic Jihad and to arrest and prosecute all such suspects and end the armed
. Equally, European Union leaders are right to call on Israel to withdraw its military forces, stop extra-judicial executions, lift closures and restrictions on the Palestinian people, free settlements and end operations directed against Palestinian infrastructure. I welcome the fact that European Union is prepared to play an active role in third-party monitoring operations in the Middle East and I believe that the European Union must and should play a stronger role in any future talks that may take place in the Middle East region."@en1
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