Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-07-02-Speech-3-013"
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"en.20030702.1.3-013"2
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"Mr President, a constantly-changing society demands from politics new debates, the ability to take rapid decisions and, above all, the willingness to reflect deeply, with full knowledge of the facts, on the geopolitical and different economic and cultural situations which, in some respects, contribute to the ever-widening gap between north and south and between citizens.
As a member of the Convention, I would like to express my satisfaction and the satisfaction of the Group which I have the honour of representing in that forum – the Group of the Union for a Europe of Nations – with a text which recognises the value of the national States in the new European Union: a Union which we hope will have stronger and more transparent institutions after the Intergovernmental Conference, which can prove to the world that the European Union exists as a model of civilisation and development. A civilisation which wants to see its values recognised without wishing to abuse the values of other cultures; development which must be compatible with the rate of adaptation of man. It is our hope that, with regard to the preamble, the Intergovernmental Conference will come to an agreement on the acknowledgement of the roots from which the Union has sprung to life. The ancient history of Greece and Rome, the Judaeo-Christian traditions and the secular, liberal values which came gradually to be established cannot be disregarded because it is from them that the future of Europe is drawing cultural and moral strength. We can see, moreover, that it would be appropriate to reflect once again on the need for there to be a European Commissioner for each Member State, in order to achieve greater cohesion between all the institutions.
The Constitutional Treaty will, at last, give rise to a politically cohesive, free, independent Europe which respects the languages and traditions of each nation. The Italian Presidency has some extremely arduous tasks ahead of it and we are confident that, in the spirit of cooperation that it will foster with the other European institutions, with the Members of the European Parliament, the elected representatives of the people, it will give fresh impetus to the process of unifying Europe and to Europe’s role in the world.
The urgency of the migration issue demands an overall view. As I had occasion to write on the eve of the Thessaloniki Summit, only Europe, not least through a new Mediterranean policy and, at last, adopting a new principle of cooperation with the poorest countries, will be able to stop illegal migration of biblical proportions becoming a collective tragedy. I look forward to the European border police corps and the new agreements with third countries, I look forward to reinforced cooperation in combating organised crime, terrorism and fundamentalism, but the issue of a European approach to the globalisation of the markets must be addressed too, to prevent cultures and traditions becoming fragmented and dying out.
A healthy social market economy cannot continue to accommodate unrestrained financial speculation such as that we have witnessed in recent years, which has broken out intermittently without there being any attempt to destroy its roots, to eradicate its causes. The health of the economy also depends on the parameters governing our actions, and one good parameter is that the financial economy must move at the same rate as the real economy. Europe cannot disregard the fact that the mobility necessary to allow the economy to develop further is dependent on two requirements: cultural education, which provides young people of all nations with the basis for mutual understanding – which means the national governments will have to address the need to provide more and better information on the activities of the European institutions – and the question of accommodation, which cannot be the responsibility solely of individuals or the private sector but to which the institutions too must help to find a solution; likewise, infrastructure- and transport-related issues need solutions at both national and European level, and so we would point out again here the need for rapid completion of Corridor 5 and Corridor 8.
To combat the new forms of poverty which are emerging increasingly in the countries of the Union, we feel that it is vital for Europe to have a stronger energy policy which, based on seeking new sources and more efficient use of known sources, goes hand in hand with preserving those environmental values without which the very life of the planet would be endangered. At the same time, the issue of funding for research must be addressed: without substantial increases European research will not reach a level of excellence, with all the predictable ensuing consequences. In this connection, a more effective European food safety policy becomes particularly important in order to safeguard the quality of products and to protect their origins, thus safeguarding the citizens’ health, which is the Union’s main asset.
Today, Europe is called upon not just to uphold the right to life of its citizens and of all human beings but to send out the message that all people have the right to a dignified life. Indeed, in the third millennium, all the most highly developed communities are, in any case, being called upon to take the political, cultural and economic measures necessary both within and outside their states to ensure that the tragedies we are witnessing do not continue. Children in Afghanistan currently have the lowest life expectancy in the world. Like millions of other children – in Africa, South America and the Middle and Far East – they are deprived of the right to life and the right to a dignified life. The relentless combating of terrorism and the consolidation of peace are dependent, not least, upon Europe’s ability to deliver what it has promised over the course of recent years: the right to a dignified life, Mr President, not least in order to put an end to practices involving physical mutilation, to which many women are subjected in their countries of origin, suffering this abuse in Europe too.
The Group of the Union for a Europe of Nations also expects from the Italian Presidency policies seeking to combat forms of discrimination, to crack down on traffickers of arms and human beings and to destroy the arcane, yet powerful world of child abuse. These criminal organisations have unrestricted, unregulated use of the Internet, which they use to spread their evil culture throughout the world. We therefore call for the drawing up of rules to stop a tool which exists to facilitate communication between citizens being transformed into a tool for use by those who violate the laws of the national states of the Union. In order to stop this happening, every technological invention must be subject to a European screening process, a scientific experimental control process which provides the guarantee that it is safe to use.
Mr President, if freedom is to be true freedom, there have to be rules: a small number of clear, enforced rules. We appeal to these rules in the hope that the Italian Presidency will enjoy today the good will and cooperation of the European Parliament, the Group of the Union for a Europe of Nations and of all 25 countries which make up our great Europe."@en1
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