Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-21-Speech-1-085"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20050221.13.1-085"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
Madam President, I should like to bid Mr Barroso good evening, but oh dear, oh dear! Here we go again! This legislative programme has been shaped largely by the annual policy strategy, which was published by the last Commission in February 2004. The European Commission is the unelected government of the EU, but what other government anywhere in the world would have its legislative programme set out by its predecessor? The UK Independence Party has complained before that the Commission is unaccountable, but this demonstrates just how undemocratic things are. We will be lumbered with policies framed by people who are not even in office any more!
On 26 January Mr Barroso spoke to Parliament in Brussels about this programme, but Mr Prodi and his team put it together. The new Commission's central policy objective is economic growth. This was also the central objective of the old Commission's document, drawn up last February. Indeed, Mr Prodi made it one of his key objectives when he first came to office in 1999. A fat lot of good it did, as EU growth is lower now than it was then. Fortunately for Mr Prodi, he is safely back in Rome and is no longer answerable for his failures.
The document states that, due to the institutional changeover in 2004, a lighter procedure than usual was adopted for the European Parliament to consider the policy strategy. That procedure was concluded last April – in other words, even before the election of the present European Parliament. We all know this is a phoney parliament, but this demonstrates just how pointless it is.
Europhiles have been complaining that the British people will not be properly informed about the EU Constitution. The Spaniards have just voted on the Constitution, but the fact is that 90% of Spaniards – whom the Europhiles think were well informed about the Constitution – told Spain's state polling organisation that they had little or no knowledge of it, and less than half of them bothered to vote.
What the citizens of Europe should be informed about is not the impenetrable Constitution, but the mountain of EU legislation which will pass through the EU's institutions this year – legislation dreamt up by a defunct Commission and approved by an expired Parliament, both of whom are no longer accountable to the people this programme will affect. However, the citizens of Europe – especially those in Britain – are waking up to what is going on. Soon, not only will the last Commission and the last Parliament be defunct and expired, but so will the whole EU project – and the sooner the better!"@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples