Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-02-05-Speech-2-024"
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"en.20020205.3.2-024"2
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"Mr President, not many Members of this Parliament are attending the debate today in this House. And this debate is probably not going to be treated as a priority interest by the media. Nevertheless, and I am addressing the public who are in the galleries, this is a very important debate for European citizens.
I hope that today, after many months of work, negotiation and seeking a consensus, this Parliament will take a decision on the report which has been admirably well drawn up by Karl von Wogau, and which represents one more step forward in the process of constructing an economic and monetary Europe, and furthermore, is an important step within the framework of the process started at the Lisbon European Council aimed at achieving greater flexibility, competitiveness and growth and creating jobs. I also hope that this process will include other important decisions at the next European Council in Barcelona.
At a point when the euro and its implementation have been a great success, this Parliament, the Commission and the Council must demonstrate that they are fulfilling the obligations laid down for them in the Treaties. Mr President of the Commission, you have done this recently – and I thank you for being here today – by adopting the appropriate measures and reproaching those countries which are on the point of exceeding the criteria established in Maastricht in the field of deficit.
This is a good decision, and I am therefore deeply disappointed that the German Commissioner has shown a lack of solidarity in certain comments made in
. I do not approve of this, because what we want is to maintain the internal cohesion of the European institutions and the balance between all of them.
In this respect, this exercise is politically positive, because Parliament has had to fight hard to gain its competences, like all parliaments. Therefore, having gained them, we want to keep them, since that is what the people demand. Baron Lamfalussy’ proposals, which we all agree are needed, also mean, in the long run, putting our trust in the European Commission.
On behalf of my group, I would like to tell you that we have always defended the European Commission, because it is at the heart of the Community institutions and is the most obvious motor for integration. However, as Mrs Berès and Mrs Hautala have quite rightly said, we must take precautions. We neither can nor want to give anybody a blank cheque. That is why this negotiation has gone on so long and has involved so many people. And I would like to acknowledge, not only the rapporteur, whose work we have all praised, but also Mrs Randzio-Plath, Mr Napolitano, the coordinators of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Mr Bolkestein and his team, as well as Mr Rato.
Mr President, we have finally achieved a text, whose declaration you have read today and which, in the judgment of the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats, fully satisfies – and I say this emphatically – our expectations: we are going to be treated on an equal basis with the Council, our rights of codecision and the transparency requirements we demanded are going to be guaranteed and there is a formal commitment from the European Commission that, in the next reform of the Treaties, which the Convention is going to analyse, there should be a modification of Article 202.
Today is therefore a good day for European integration: we are sending messages to the markets that we are prepared to make even more progress in realising all the aspects of economic union. It is also good news for the citizens, who, thanks to our choosing this method, are going to see the disappearance of much rigidity, which will give us hope for greater growth and employment in the future.
Congratulations, Mr Prodi and Mr von Wogau. Congratulations to all of you."@en1
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