Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-14-Speech-3-060"
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"en.20060614.2.3-060"2
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"Mr President, the Euro-pessimism that President Barroso spoke about seems to be a much more contagious disease than avian flu. It is serious, because it provides a good excuse for many political leaders not to face the challenges of changing Europe. If it continues in this way, this situation will remind me more and more of the old Soviet joke from the 1970s: the Soviet economy was in stalemate and the train was not moving, so the order was given to draw the curtains, rock the carriage to and fro and pretend the train was moving at high speed.
Clearly we need a political solution, not in the form of first division and second division Europe, but with a new quality of political leadership that would be worthy of the founding fathers 50 years ago. Can we really restore trust and generate inspiration among the voters if we continue to conduct our policies from one national election to another, finding in them a good excuse not to apply the common policies?
I think people can easily differentiate between far-sighted, compassionate and courageous leadership and the petty and patronising approach of those whose main aim is to retain control of the situation. If the name of the Constitution is an obstacle, then I am prepared to change the name. We could streamline the format, but we need to retain the substance of the Constitution, otherwise we cannot successfully apply the common policies of enlarged Europe. We cannot apply the solidarity which is a guiding principle of all our efforts."@en1
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