Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-03-09-Speech-3-077"
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"en.20050309.5.3-077"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, first of all I would like to offer you my sincere thanks for this very committed and, above all, very rich debate in which many of you have taken part.
We will have no growth in Europe without a fully operational internal market. Services account for 70% of our economy. We have an internal market for goods, but still have 25 different markets for services. We therefore need to integrate the service markets, but to do so of course while taking account of the legitimate concerns put forward during the debate on the services directive. That is why the Commission is listening. It wants to work with you. I also want to stress our support for all that Commissioner McCreevy said about the services directive yesterday. We are going to work with you in that spirit. We believe an internal market in services must be established and that it is, at the same time, possible to resolve any problems to which the implementation of that directive might give rise.
We are also very attentive to what has been said about human capital and the priority of human capital. Many of you, Mr Rasmussen in particular, have stressed the importance of human capital, education, research and innovation, and I will also add, as Mr Graça Moura said, culture. Indeed, our concept of human capital is not a technocratic view. Culture is also a part of our objectives for the knowledge economy. That is why we have made concrete proposals: the European technology institute, the new research programme. We have definite programmes to encourage a growth economy, but also a knowledge-based economy, at European level.
In this context, I would like to answer a specific question put to me by Mr Daul – whom I would like to congratulate as chairman of the Committee of 33, together with all the rapporteurs who have made a broad consensus on your resolution possible. For our part, we agree to the holding of a tripartite summit of the presidents of the three institutions to discuss the Lisbon Strategy. I personally am willing to take part and I hope the President of Parliament and the president of the Council will back the idea.
As you know, our medium-term objective is that the three institutions should work together. Having said that, the Lisbon Strategy would gain a lot if there were a greater sense that the institutions we represent were wholeheartedly behind it.
Now we are looking to the European Council in the expectation and, if I may say so, the certainty that it will, in turn, give the necessary political impetus to the relaunch of Lisbon and the preparation of a European strategy for growth and employment.
Many of you - Mr Karas, Mr Radwan, Mr Watson, Mr Titley, Mr Harbour – have stressed how important it now is that the Member States should be committed. Of course, the Commission now feels stronger due to the support which the European Parliament is giving to the new Lisbon Strategy.
The proposals made by ourselves and the European Parliament must not now be weakened when they come to be implemented, the Member States must also be able to commit themselves and national public opinion must understand that the new Lisbon Strategy is not purely decorative but is really at the heart of the programmes for economic reform, social cohesion and sustainable development in Europe.
In conclusion I must say that, for me, the great result of this debate is this willingness to work together, the possibility of reaching a dynamic consensus and also the broad support for the new Lisbon Strategy and, beyond that support, the fact that, for the next five years, it will be at the centre of the work done by our institutions and at the core of the reforms that will have to be undertaken by our Member States.
From it I conclude that Parliament is broadly in support of the new Lisbon Strategy. I am pleased about that. Our very positive exchange of views shows that the Commission can consider the European Parliament a genuine partner for the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy. You have responded positively to my request at the opening of the debate this morning.
In her speech, Mrs Ek almost made a slip of the tongue: speaking of Parliament’s resolution, she almost said revolution. I will not go as far as that, what we are doing is not a revolution, but it is a genuine reform. It is also a revolution in the sense of our partnership: we are going to work together and we are all – Parliament, Commission, Council – capable of reaching a dynamic consensus, not a consensus of inaction or paralysis, but a dynamic consensus for the changes that are needed in our Europe. They are changes that are necessary for a reform that is proactive but has a sense of moderation and balance.
That is why I would like to answer a specific question put to me by Mr Turmes of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance. You asked me, Mr Turmes, where I was when the global strategy for sustainable development was drawn up in Rio in 1992. Well, I was in Rio, but I was not on Ipanema or Copacabana beach! I was the EU presidency’s representative, because at that time it was the Portuguese Presidency. I was then working with the Commission and the Member States, and it was Europe that led the debate on sustainable development at the Rio conference.
I am telling you this to show you my personal commitment and that of the Commission to the objectives of sustainable development. There is no contradiction between social cohesion, sustainable development and growth and competitiveness. I believe that is an obvious conclusion from our debate. As we have always said, they are not contradictory objectives, they are objectives which can reinforce one another.
Having said that, we are all now aware that Europe urgently needs to raise its level of growth. Growth and job creation are particularly urgent objectives. That is why we are sure we are right to concentrate our short-term objectives in that area.
I am of course very pleased with the debate because we have shown that consensus was possible. However, that consensus must go beyond the European institutions, extending to the national level, to the national parliaments and governments. Your positive response increases our joint responsibilities. The Commission, for its part, will do all it can to make the new Lisbon Strategy a success.
The Commission now knows that it can count on the European Parliament for the achievement of this objective. However, Parliament will have to be an active partner, taking account of the Commission’s demands. The Commission and the European institutions must not forget that the time for action has come. In this regard, I would like to highlight the support I have found in this Parliament for the priority we have given to developing the internal market."@en1
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