Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-18-Speech-3-264"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060118.20.3-264"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, the Constitutional Treaty is dead, long live the Treaty. Although it is true that the Constitutional Treaty has been rejected more on account of context than text, it is also true that the text of the Constitutional Treaty proved too weak to solve the problems in context. It lacked a sufficient number of bold and engaging ideas.
Why do we not give the citizens real power and get them to directly elect the President of the Commission, for example, or create the possibility of a European collective referendum – so not 25 or 27 small referendums, but a true European referendum – or why do we not create a truly European political space, in other words a European
?
With regard to context, the Dutch citizens – like, I assume, those in most other Member States too – do not in any event want to discuss the institutions for the moment, thank you very much. What they do want is a Europe that becomes competitive, creates jobs, combats terrorism and cross-border crime, that pursues proper external policy, and that, at long last, simply does what it is expected to do. If we do not succeed, then, breathing new life into a Treaty review is like flogging a dead horse and all talk then becomes academic.
Certainly, we need a new Treaty in order to make Europe more democratic and more efficient, but there is no rush. Some of the many excellent ideas which our rapporteurs have floated are intended to extend the period of reflection to late-2007, to keep more options open and also in general, I welcome a method to indicate how we should hold the debate. What we do not need, though, is a document entitled ‘Constitution’ which frightens people off rather than involving them. After all, a rose smells just as sweetly under another name. As a result, holding onto the name and the text for dear life is for my group an insuperable problem.
If the solution is to submit an improved text – and I truly hope we will succeed in this, for it is important – then I am in favour of submitting it to all European citizens in a referendum, to coincide with the next European elections."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples