Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-18-Speech-2-013"
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"en.20031118.2.2-013"2
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"Mr President, my group, too, would like to express its sorrow and sympathy after the tragic events of recent days. It was silly to think that an unfounded war could miraculously produce peace and democracy. The Middle East is a daily reminder that one of the reasons that peace and democracy now seem increasingly distant possibilities is the international community’s inability to achieve genuine cohesion.
The Commission President started his speech today with an optimistic reference to the economy and told us that the goal of a larger Europe which is capable of responding to the challenges of our time is within our reach. I agree, but I am afraid that, in some cases, the methods proposed reflect a somewhat conformist political and economic approach which is not centred on the most innovative and bold options open to the Union today. Mr Poettering, I can assure you that the approach underpinning the work programme is identical to that of President Prodi’s manifesto. Since our business is politics and we consider ourselves to be a genuinely European political force, our considerations apply
to both documents. As the Commission itself admits, it has pursued only the economic aspects of the Lisbon strategy with any determination. President Prodi, that is not good enough! We fear that behind the politically correct concept of sustainable development lurks the concept of continuous development. The environmental dimension continues to do a disappearing act at the crucial moments where existing practice and instruments are concerned. As you are aware, we believe the Growth Initiative to be very important, but we really cannot bring ourselves to share the general enthusiasm over the list of roads, airports and high-speed trains costing billions of euro, most of which are still at the planning stage. Something we see as crucial is the imperative need for greater transparency as regards the European Investment Bank funding criteria and greater involvement of the European Parliament in establishing those criteria.
We are not convinced by the Commission’s continuing reluctance to launch an energy efficiency plan which turns its back on the nuclear sector completely. What we lack today is a convincing framework for investment in technologies which can save
resources and focus on social cohesion, education and innovation. Considering, in addition, the delayed presentation of the Commission’s proposals on reforming the Structural Funds, we can only harbour some doubts as to the Union’s ability to respond to the challenges of growth and enlargement in due time. The success of the Growth Initiative depends, not least, on discerning implementation of the Stability Pact – and we would like to hear your opinion again on this, President Prodi – and on a proper programme for observing the Kyoto Protocol. If the majority of the Member States do not change course, the Union will not be able to fulfil its obligations.
A few months ago, President Prodi, we proposed the launch of a Climate Stability Pact, but I am afraid that we have not received any response. We are just a few weeks off the start of the COP9 in Milan and we would like to put this proposal forward once again. Just as in the matter of the deficit, it is the Commission which has the responsibility of calling to order those Member States – in particular Spain, Italy and Portugal – which, as things stand, will prevent us from achieving the Kyoto objectives.
There are some points missing from your legislative programme. I do not have time to go into them all so I will just mention two. Commissioner Reding, the European Parliament has been calling for almost two years, genuinely united in its desire, for a proposal for a directive or, at least, a Green Paper, on media concentration and freedom of information. It is clear from your manifesto that you attach great importance to this issue. Why, then, can the Commission not manage to take action on this matter? Lastly, a couple of months have passed since the failure of Cancún, yet we have absolutely no idea what conclusions and what lines of action the Commission intends to follow, and there is no link with the Millennium Goals either, Commissioner Lamy.
Lastly, the question of Eurostat. President Prodi, you said you had learned a number of lessons from the Eurostat affair, but your text fails to mention one that is genuinely important: the Commission must pay greater heed to Parliament. The recommendations in the discharge reports are not just friendly advice – they are provisions which require the Commission to act and to do so in useful time. We used to have an unresponsive Commission and now we have a Commission which is capable of responses, and we do acknowledge this. Now, you have a year in which to make it capable of adopting decisive initiatives. We welcome the reform of the code of conduct and the improvement of the information channels between OLAF, the Commissioners and the Directorates-General, and it will not surprise you to hear that we also welcome the recognition of the role of whistleblowers. Moreover, many of these measures have already been called for by Parliament. We would remind you, however, President Prodi, that transparency is a good way not just of combating fraud but of preventing it too, and it is my genuine hope that, next year, in welcoming the new Members with open, transparent institutions as well as open arms, we will be able to put the events of recent years behind us.
In any case, President Prodi, I would like to say in conclusion, on behalf of my group, that the report still fails to express awareness of a certain sense of responsibility and to acknowledge the errors made. As you, yourself, admitted, the initial signs were there before May 2003: it was a question of seeing them, and we feel that this is something we can be forgiven for expecting of the Commission, particularly after the events which marked the term of office of the Santer Commission."@en1
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