Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-22-Speech-3-046"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20050622.13.3-046"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Madam President, the EU is undoubtedly in crisis. The clear ‘no’ votes in the two referenda have plunged the whole of the EU into a kind of vacuum, with great uncertainty about the future. I am naturally sorry that the French and the Dutch rejected the Constitutional Treaty, but ‘no’ votes as clear as that must be respected. It would therefore be wise to stop and think and to devote some time now to analysis and listening and to reflection upon how we might move on so as to implement the reforms so badly needed by the EU.
The crisis was of course exacerbated by the ‘budget fiasco’ but, in many ways, it is better to have no budget at all than a bad one. I do not think that this budget was especially modern. We cannot, however, put the whole of the EU in the deep-freeze and wait for the distrust felt by many towards the EU suddenly to disappear. More than ever, there is a need for leadership and for someone who dares to stand up for visionary ideals and for European cooperation and to defend the decisions taken in Brussels. In that context, the President-in-Office of the Council deserves all credit, partly for his candid speech and partly for his attempt to reconcile desires that are very much at odds with each other.
We cannot allow the muggy haze that has descended over the whole of Europe to put a stop to cooperation. We have an enormous amount to do. We have the Lisbon process and the myth-enshrouded Services Directive, which are genuinely needed. We must combat cross-border crime. We have the ambitious environmental work involving REACH, and there is an enormous amount to do within the foreign policy field. The list of foreign policy measures – 33 pages of the Council’s conclusions – was certainly compiled before the Council meeting even began but nonetheless gives the appearance of high ambition and a large degree of unity, something that is extremely commendable. The EU has, and must continue to have, a large role to play in the surrounding world.
I am concerned, however, about enlargement, which is passed over almost in silence in the conclusions from the Council meeting. We cannot use the referenda as pretexts for putting enlargement on ice in any way. The enlargement of just over a year ago to include ten new Member States is a brilliant success for the whole of the European idea. Unifying East and West is the best thing we have done. The European home, which does not at the moment perhaps feel so warm and cosy, must be open to our neighbouring countries when they fulfil the necessary requirements. We cannot convey the impression of the enlargement process too being put on hold and of their having to wait. In many ways, Europe is the answer to what is at issue in these countries, even if it does not perhaps quite appear to our own people to be the answer to their questions.
Soon, it will be the summer recess for all our institutions. There is perhaps more need than ever to take a few weeks’ rest, to pause for reflection and to reflect upon how we are to move on. I believe that, in the long run, something good will prove to have come out of this crisis. Europe is worth it, but in that case we must really make an effort and ensure that the current hiatus in the ratification process does not also extend to the whole of European cooperation, for that would be disastrous."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples