Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-19-Speech-3-023"
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"en.20031119.1.3-023"2
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"Mr Antonione, the Presidency’s position seems to be quite clear and is essentially in line with Parliament’s position; that is precisely why the brokerage endeavour seeking to bring about a high-minded, noble compromise that is in harmony with the text adopted by the Convention must be supported; the overall balance of the text cannot and must not be altered.
Mr Frattini’s statements on the speech you made in this House give us great hopes, as stressed by Mr Brok, of the final outcome of the work of the Intergovernmental Conference: I remain, therefore, one of those who are passionately optimistic. I am sure that we will achieve the goal towards which we are all working; I am absolutely convinced that no one will have the courage, no-one will want to risk being held politically accountable for giving Europe a heart attack and shattering a long-held dream.
Mr Antonione, I believe, however, that it is right to bring to the Presidency’s attention a number of issues, which really do require some thought. Firstly, the role of the European Parliament. It would be a serious mistake to limit the role of the House which represents the peoples of the Union; I believe that the provisions of the text adopted by the Convention are appropriate and should not be altered. Secondly, the composition of the Commission: the accession countries – representatives of which are in this Chamber – have great hopes of the Europe of the tomorrow. We must not let them down by keeping them out of the Executive. That is why it is right for there to be a Commissioner with full rights for each country, at least during the initial phase of tomorrow’s Europe.
Now, Mr Antonione, for a matter which has been the subject of much debate, and I feel that its importance must not be underestimated by the House. I feel – I am absolutely convinced of this, and not because I am a strong supporter of the Church – that the preamble to the Constitution should include an explicit reference to Europe’s Judeao-Christian roots. We must not deny a fundamental part of our history, we must not deny our deepest roots, we must not renounce the Europe of principles, we must not renounce this explicit reference, precisely because we want – and many countries understand this – secular institutions. This has been taken on board, Mr Barón Crespo, by the German Chancellor, the Social Democrat, Mr Schröder, who has decided not to block a proposal which seeks to make the individual, the central importance of the individual, the central importance of the citizen, the focus of tomorrow’s Europe."@en1
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