Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-23-Speech-2-280"
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"en.20030923.8.2-280"2
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"Mr President, few things concern the European citizens more than the health of their pensions, few things in their family life or their social life demands such constant attention throughout their lives, perhaps because for millions and millions of Europeans pensions are the only significant asset they accumulate and the only security they have against the risks of biological life or economic life.
This excellent report by Mr Andersson is the culmination of a legislature of the European Parliament during which we have brought our agenda into line with the agenda of the citizens. This is an important legislature because the European Parliament, also following excellent communications and excellent initiatives from the Commission, has introduced the issue of pensions into the Community agenda for the first time.
We are extremely happy that at the end of this legislature progress has been made on a philosophy which has radically increased the appreciation of this phenomenon. It is no longer just a concern inspired by financial considerations or the balance of public finances. We now have a doctrine, a strategy, which together with this important issue, we have enriched and supplemented with the objectives and needs of the European citizens.
We are therefore pleased that this report and the Commission's Communication have analysed the strategies of the Member States, taking account of financial viability of course! Perhaps in this way we are also demonstrating that we are responsible politicians. There are basically two categories of politician: there are irresponsible politicians, who only think about the next elections, and there are responsible politicians who think about the next generations.
The Andersson report is thinking about the next generations, but is also thinking about bringing things up to date so that social security, pensions, fulfil our objectives and combat poverty. It also thinks about modernisation and categories of workers, particularly women, who face such risks in the new social order and the labour market.
What does the Commission tell us about the situation of our Member States? We can see that there is a will, but we can also see that there is sometimes apathy and a lot of prudence; and I would also add that there is fear of reform in the Member States, perhaps because the population is afraid that reform may in fact be an excuse to talk about cuts in their social rights.
It is therefore very important that we help to overcome these fears amongst the population by presenting reforms which are not just cuts, but which are aimed at satisfying their current and future needs within a more secure, fair and equitable framework.
Tomorrow, the Socialist Group will support the Andersson report and the work of the Commission because we believe that in fact the changes proposed are not frivolous, or opportunistic, but that they respond to our social commitment to this generation of workers, to these citizens, and also to those who will live in Europe in the next generation."@en1
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