Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-14-Speech-3-066"
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"en.20060614.2.3-066"2
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"Mr President, I too agree that measures should be taken to bring the European Union closer to the citizens. I therefore support that Europe of results that the President, Mr Barroso, has mentioned today.
The failure of the referendums in France and the Netherlands did not just reflect domestic political issues, but also the fact that some citizens do not sufficiently understand or value the process of European construction.
We must increase the citizens’ faith in the Union, show them its added value, through more effective action on issues such as security, the effective control of migratory flows, job creation and so on. These are issues to which the European Council must pay the greatest possible attention.
We must also better explain how the Union operates and the objectives it pursues. A few days ago, in Aachen, Prime Minister Juncker proposed that young Europeans should visit the war cemeteries so that new generations could fully appreciate the contribution that the Union makes to peace on a continent that has been so blood-stained by past wars.
I believe that the Union should also have a place in colleges and schools. As the Chairman of my party, Mariano Rajoy, proposed a few months ago in Paris, a specific obligatory subject should be created in all colleges and schools in the Member States, which would cover the origin, the objectives and the operation of the European Union's institutions. That kind of education aimed at young people is very important.
We must also explain another great success: the enlargement processes. We must stress that the prospect of accession has been a powerful driving force in terms of the great political, economic and social transformations that have taken place in many countries, which have benefited both them and the Union.
I would like to end by referring to the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, a resolution on which we shall approve today. In recent times, these countries have been making spectacular progress in many areas. They are undergoing those great transformations that I mentioned just now, and in particular I would like to stress the progress that Romania has made in areas such as the reform of the justice system and the fight against corruption.
If they continue with these reforms, I am convinced that both countries will join the Union on 1 January 2007 and I am very pleased that the next European Council will encourage them to focus their efforts on achieving that common objective."@en1
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