Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-11-Speech-3-072"
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"en.20050511.12.3-072"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it was 15 years ago, in 1990, on the eve of a Luxembourg Presidency, that my father Grand Duke Jean had the privilege of addressing this distinguished forum. Some of you were already sitting on the benches of the European Parliament at that time, and I congratulate them particularly on the constancy of their commitment to serving Europe.
We have abolished our internal borders, opening up to 450 million citizens a single area of freedom and security.
In accordance with their alliances, Member States have intervened autonomously in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Our troops have taken over from NATO in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In Afghanistan, the European presence is essential in driving the country’s transition to a true democracy.
In the face of globalisation, we have always endeavoured to make Europe a centre of excellence in relation to the economic giants of the United States, Japan, China, India and Brazil. In parallel with that, we have been able to make the motto ‘strength through unity’ our own with respect to appearing in the world as a credible reference in terms of democracy and of solidarity with developing countries. Finally, I could mention the huge progress made in food safety. Following long and arduous negotiations, the hygiene of the food eaten by 450 million consumers will be governed by the same standards.
I am sure you know that I could continue listing examples. Let me mention here that the European Parliament’s role in achieving these successes has been decisive in many respects. Sometimes with a carrot, sometimes with a stick, your Parliament has been able to take a vital place in the institutional balance of our Union. In so doing, the European Parliament has adopted the observation made by the late Jean Monnet, and I quote: ‘We only have the choice between changes we are forced to make and those we wanted and were able to achieve’
This reminder of those undeniable successes and the homage thus paid to the MEPs does not prevent me from noticing very clearly that many of our fellow citizens, including many young people, feel uneasy about European integration. We cannot fail to notice that, in the new Member States, the freshness and enthusiasm about belonging to this large family are still obvious.
However, egotism has a tendency to get in the way of the dynamism that drove the fathers of Europe. The debates now taking place in the Member States concerning ratification of the Constitutional Treaty are very revealing in that regard. Many contributors give the impression that they feel marginalised with respect to the challenges of the integration process. They claim to feel disillusioned with politicians. Nevertheless, in the absence of a credible alternative, nobody has yet been able to suggest another model.
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Indubitably, faith in this integration has waned. As a very wise chronicler observed: ‘The post-war foundations – reconciliation, solidarity faced with the danger of Communism, reconstruction – have become nothing but ornaments’. Confronted with this air of gloominess, our democratic structures often give an impression of stagnation and powerlessness.
How can we explain these doubts, this confusion, these negative assessments? Some philosophers, such as the Frenchman Marcel Gauchet, tell us that it is due to the times we are living in, in other words that our era is undergoing a paradigm shift.
When the pace of change is relatively slow, as was the case during the 1970s and 1980s, it is not too difficult to adapt. In contrast, when it results in the overturning of traditional reference points, as we have experienced in particular with regard to globalisation, it is quite another matter! We need to assimilate the breakdowns, recreate new reference points, reconstruct instruments. In short, we need to redefine our perspectives and our vision.
Mr President, your kind words just now about my country have touched me deeply. Along with the Grand Duchess, and on behalf of all those who have accompanied us on this visit, I thank you for welcoming me with such warmth.
On this subject, I would like to recall a comment by Michel Rocard. He said: ‘One of the tragedies of Europe is that it is doomed to administration’. Indeed, we must recognise, with the former Prime Minister, that it is saddening and thus very demotivating for the spirits of our citizens, in particular for young people, for the EU to be dominated by money, capital, investment, standards and subsidies.
We must admit that these are areas that, although very important, are just too dull to excite much emotion. Let us remember that, right from the start of European integration, nothing would have been possible without the combination of a heartfelt vision and competence.
As this greater Europe emerges, has the time not come to ask ourselves the central question that always remains the same: why do we want to live together and share all or part of our destiny?
The answer is certainly not self-evident. It is 450 million human beings, with their own decisions and ambitions, their own weaknesses and passions, but above all with their own strengths and their tremendous qualities, who are really at stake. However, these human beings are supposed to share one historic destiny on one territory: our Europe.
The European adventure can only come together around peoples and nations, a translation of our great diversity. Each of these nations represents a territory with its own beauty and richness, but also with its own scars that time has etched on our memories.
In dividing what needs to be preserved and what must be regarded as obsolete, the first task of our Union is to reconcile the heritage of the past with the challenges of the future. It is from itself, from the way it moves forward and builds itself, that it must now create its legitimacy.
Faced with these powerful centres of development, how can we overcome the risks of a decline that no one would be able to stem individually? But above all, how can we bring together the conditions for new growth? Put in those terms, this rebirth of Europe – which must be identified as our common ambition – should be the social project of the generations who are preparing to take over the controls.
In order to convince our citizens, let us remind ourselves that the well-being and prosperity of a people cannot be assessed purely in terms of GDP. We must therefore take care that we do not construct a Europe that is beneficial for some but where, at the same time, social exclusion, violence in all its forms, unemployment and lack of interest in the conservation of our environment proliferate.
Let us also remember that a better growth curve will have little benefit if it does not translate into better access to the basics of education, culture, health, social justice and, above all, work!
1990 – 2005: what changes, I would even say what upheavals, have taken place during that time, including in this wonderful town of Strasbourg! The splendid new building we are now in and the size of the benches in this hemicycle are a tangible manifestation of the historical changes that our continent has undergone. Let us remember the tremendous hopes cherished by some and the serious anxieties felt by others in view of the scale of the challenges presented to us by the end of Communism and the reconciliation of our continent. Has the time not come to look back at how far we have travelled since then, recognising as we do so our undeniable successes?
The best method for defining this social project is still democratic debate. This debate can obviously not be limited to Parliament, as, moreover, you quite appropriately hoped in your resolution on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe.
As that Treaty states, we need to promote, with the help of civil organisations and of our societies, the active involvement of citizens in the discussions on ratification. I am delighted to see that your message has not gone unheeded. On the contrary, we must recognise that the debates have been animated. The arguments presented and the options put forward sometimes, it is true, give a disproportionate place to demagoguery or even to untruths.
I can only hope that the honourable Members of this Parliament will get directly involved and that, going beyond political loyalties, a single ambition will emerge: to make Europe the author of its own history. I will simply repeat what my father said on this subject in 1990: ‘You are the elected representatives of our countries. You must be able to mobilise and bring with you all the creative energy’
If we are to be able to live together, we must understand each other better. To do so, we need to draw the benefit from our differences.
The people of Luxembourg are, in view of their particular sociological features, ‘condemned’, so to speak, to be open to others. That is equally true with regard to its prosperity. On the innumerable journeys I have made during the last 25 years, which have taken me to every continent, I very quickly learned that the Grand Duchy
could not on its own arouse the interest of potential investors.
In contrast, the fact that my country, although modest in size, is at the centre of the EU and firmly embedded in this important forum has often been decisive in our moves to modernise and diversify our economy.
For that reason, Europe is the natural choice for Luxembourg. History has shown us that, if we remain isolated, the existence of our nation could be called into question at any time, that it could have disappeared and it knows it. We are well aware of our privileged position as a founder Member State of European integration.
I would like to conclude by leaving you to consider a comment by Milan Kundera, who said this very soon after the fall of Communism: ‘It often seems to me,’ he said, ‘that the well-known culture of Europe conceals another unknown culture, that of the small nations.[...] It is assumed that the small nations necessarily imitate the large ones. That is an illusion. They are actually very different. [...] The Europe of small nations is a different Europe – it has a different outlook and its thinking often forms the true counterbalance to the Europe of the large nations’
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The fact remains that over the last few months, on the occasion of the ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the war, we have been happy to remember that what brought this venture to fruition was a desire to make war between us impossible in the future.
My intention today was thus to remind you of this individualism. Thank you for your attention.
(Parliament stood and applauded His Royal Highness Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg)
Like you, Mr President, I went to Auschwitz where, with a number of Heads of State and Government, we wept in silence, remembering the millions of innocent victims who died or were mutilated in the most appalling conditions. I would also like to note the presence that day
so significant
of the leaders of the political groups of this Parliament.
It was the duty to remember that brought us together that day, and it is with renewed vigilance that this duty must continue to inspire our commitment to European integration, so that history does not repeat itself. Against this background, I am delighted to have the opportunity today to share with you some reflections that, for obvious reasons, go beyond the programme of our Presidency.
Mr President, my considerations lead me first of all to remember our achievements. Any observer will recognise that the path we have taken over the last 15 years is littered with undeniable, some would even say spectacular, successes. Thus, Europe now seems stronger, because it is united around the common values that it is able to promote in the world. Together, we have been able to avert the danger of seeing our Union degenerate into just a free-trade area. Following the reunification of Germany, coming hot on the heels of the Single European Act, which was itself preceded by a very successful enlargement to the south, we have together created, in difficult circumstances, a single currency that today demands respect and admiration.
Our Union has been able to enlarge to the east. Let me share with you the emotions felt recently in Luxembourg when the highest representatives of Bulgaria and Romania, in their turn, signed the Act of Accession for their countries. Europe has thus been able to respond to the legitimate aspirations of these people who have suffered so much under an ideology that, for forty years, refused to recognise their most basic rights.
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