Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-05-31-Speech-3-057"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2006-05-31"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Debate on the future of Europe with the participation of the Belgian Prime Minister, Member of the European Council (debate)2
dcterms:Language	"en"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20060531.9.3-057"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2006-05-31-Speech-3-0582
lpv:speaker	lp:Timothy Kirkhope2
lpv:spoken text	"Mr President, Prime Minister, sadly I have to decline the generous request for solidarity on the Constitution, but I am glad that we can now have a serious debate on the future of Europe. Europe needs a debate and European leaders need to hear and understand what people are saying to them, especially following the meeting of Foreign Ministers at the weekend. Apparently no one at that meeting pronounced the Constitution dead. However, the Dutch Foreign Minister has said on a number of occasions that following the ‘no’ vote in his country’s referendum last year, that is in fact the position. Who is right? We need to know. The Ministers agreed to let the discussion run for at least another year. I think that is a mistake. No one seriously believes that the Constitution can credibly be presented again to the peoples of France and the Netherlands, who have already spoken. That would only serve to fuel the sense among our peoples that the EU remains oblivious to their concerns and priorities. The whole point of the Laeken declaration in 2001 was that the EU needed to find ways of getting closer to its citizens and making the institutions more transparent and accountable. The Constitution sadly failed those basic tests. However, I am glad that the Foreign Ministers agreed that there would be no Constitutional cherry-picking while the debate goes on. Of course the future of the EU is a very important subject: the kind of Europe we want to live in is important for our countries and peoples. I have a very positive vision of a Europe of nation states working ever more closely together. I want to see the EU move on to a new agenda: a reforming agenda that tackles effectively the sense of alienation between the institutions of Brussels; a reforming agenda that works for fundamental economic reform through liberalisation and more open markets, and puts growth at the forefront of its priorities. I also want to see greater and more effective intergovernmental cooperation in tackling environmental challenges and fighting the scourge of terrorism. The great error of Europe’s leaders is to assume that none of the great challenges facing us can be met without a Constitution. I think that they can."@en1
lpv:spokenAs	member; LIBE (2004-07-21--2007-01-14)3 unknown; Conservative and Unionist Party (2004-07-20--2009-07-13)3 substitute; Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners (2006-01-19--2007-02-14)3 substitute; AFCO (2004-07-22--2007-01-14)3 substitute; Delegation for relations with Switzerland, Iceland and Norway and to the European Economic Area (EEA) Joint Parliamentary Committee (2004-09-15--2009-07-13)3 member_of_the_bureau; EPP-ED (2005-03-09--2008-01-07)3 member; Delegation for relations with the People's Republic of China (2004-09-15--2007-03-13)3
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata	"Timothy Kirkhope (PPE-DE ). –"1

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