Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-07-05-Speech-2-227"
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"en.20050705.26.2-227"2
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"Circumstances have conspired to ensure that this debate on the future of economic and social cohesion is taking place at a particularly crucial time for the European project. If we are to emerge from this crisis, the European Institutions, and in particular the Council, must draw up a regional development policy that is characterised by the kind of vision and solidarity needed to meet the enormous challenges facing the EU.
Accordingly, the United Kingdom, which has just assumed the EU Presidency, has a huge responsibility. I view this Presidency with a mixture of apprehension and hope. I feel apprehensive because the United Kingdom is, as we know, one the six countries seeking to restrict the EU budget to 1% of GDP, which I feel runs counter to a strong cohesion policy and to the ambitious objectives for future EU action that we wish to set. I also feel apprehensive because of the UK Government’s stance on the renationalisation of the European economic and social cohesion effort, which, were it to happen, would amount to a terrible lack of solidarity not only with the new Member States but also with certain regions that are still in need, namely Portugal, Spain and Greece.
Along with these concerns, however, comes a great deal of hope, in that the United Kingdom is known to be in favour of attaching priority to strengthening the EU’s competitiveness, without which there can be no strong economic growth, and to ensuring that it is at least equal to that of the United States of America. This will in turn enhance job creation. We will not fulfil this objective if we do not have the courage to implement the Lisbon Strategy in full. A strong, revitalised European cohesion policy with adequate financial resources is one of the crucial factors in meeting the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy.
In the least-favoured regions of Europe, there is enormous potential for competitiveness and development that needs to be tapped. This should be one of the main objectives of European cohesion policy."@en1
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