Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-20-Speech-2-014"
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Mr President, I wish to begin with an apology as, contrary to all principles, I cannot stay until the end of the debate, because I have a long-standing commitment to be present in the Belgian Parliament, where I shall meet both chambers – the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The Commission will be represented, as usual, until the end of the debate and we are always ready to answer any of your questions.
The Council also restates that the future of the western Balkans lies in the European Union. As I said to you last week, we must ensure that the European Union does not simply enlarge by default. We must ensure that the Union is able to function politically, financially and institutionally. The European Council faced this issue head-on and later this year we will have a detailed debate to clear the air and to leave no doubt about how we can build a strong Europe with enlargement.
We took a first step towards enlargement of the eurozone as well. Slovenian membership of the euro is a real sign that the dynamism of European integration remains strong. It is, of course, very important for Slovenia, but it is also important for the European Union as a whole. The enlargement of the eurozone to include one of the new Member States is an extremely important and positive step in the European Union’s economic and monetary integration.
There was also a commitment to get the most out of our external policies through more efficiency, coherence and visibility. This is not just political correctness: the Commission’s proposals in its ‘Europe in the World’ document can play a real part in helping to realise Europe’s global potential.
I also warmly welcome the fact that the European Council agreed on a programme of transparency, including legislating in public on all legislative acts to be adopted by codecision. The Council also endorsed the Commission’s policies on better regulation and the role of national parliaments, important measures to improve the way we do our work and to make the Union function better. All these areas – transparency, better regulation, subsidiarity – are crucially important to show that the European Union is not, and should not be, the bureaucratic thing that our opponents sometimes present and that we are not remote and we really wish to engage with citizens. Because, as I have often said, we have to understand that today the only way to build Europe is not in a bureaucratic or technocratic way, but in a really democratic way.
By any reckoning, this is a Europe of results, a Europe making a real difference on issues facing Europeans every day. But where the European Council took a new direction was in showing that the institutional issue is not dead, dormant, asleep, or whatever word the euro-pessimists might use. There is no question of abandoning our conviction that institutional reform is essential. Everyone around the table in the European Council recognised that the case for institutional change has not changed; it is just as pressing as when national leaders put their signatures to the Constitutional Treaty. The European Council confirmed, as I have said very often, that the Nice Treaty is not enough, that we need an institutional settlement for our enlarged European Union.
As the Commission set out last month, we should take a
. After all, that was always the method in the European Community since it was founded almost 50 years ago.
The European Council has asked the forthcoming German Presidency to present a report to the June 2007 Council, which will contain an assessment of the state of discussions and explore possible future developments with a view to concluding the process by the second half of 2008.
I welcome the endorsement by the European Council of the Commission’s idea of a political declaration to be adopted in Berlin on 25 March 2007. When I speak about the institutional rules, I have to be very clear. What we need is not just a change of the rules to be more efficient, but also a confirmation of our values, and this is, of course, the substance of the Constitutional Treaty.
The Berlin Declaration of March 2007 must be more than a commemoration of past achievements. It must be a restatement of and a recommitment to our values and ambitions, looking to the future for an enlarged Europe. It must include a commitment to deliver. We do not need a long text – that is why I have always spoken about a Messina-type declaration, because it was a very short, well-written text – but we need a deep reflection and a real debate about the priorities of Europe.
Let me start by telling you that I think this last European Council confirmed that we are really moving forward in Europe. Last week here in the European Parliament we discussed how this European Council offered a real opportunity. It gave us all a chance to confront the sense of pessimism sparked by the ‘No’ votes on the Constitution and to challenge again the mistaken perception that Europe is at some kind of standstill. Yes, it is true that we have problems and we have important problems to solve, but it is not true that we have been paralysed. So this European Council was important to show the way forward to a solution to the institutional issues we still face; to give our citizens a clearer idea of how to move ahead to a more democratic and more effective Europe. The European Council confirmed that we are now moving from a period of reflection to a period of engagement. It set out a series of key actions which add up to a major programme of action and it agreed how and why we should take the next steps towards an institutional settlement.
Europe has moved on hugely in recent years and we need to set out the highly political nature of European integration today. I believe that it is critical that we will sign this together as a collective act of will, and that the European Parliament will sign that declaration, alongside the Member States and the Commission, as proof that the European Union and its institutions are working together towards the same goals. We have to build this Europe in a spirit of true partnership.
We cannot be complacent. If we are to use these opportunities and to take the steps needed, we must be more active, we must look for creative solutions to the institutional questions, we must continue and intensify dialogue with our citizens about where Europe is going next. We must press ahead with a vigorous policy agenda: a Europe of results delivering the policies our citizens need.
Last week’s European Council gave us renewed confidence that solutions are forthcoming. I should like once again to thank the Austrian Presidency, because it is true that Europe is about an internal market; it is true that Europe is also about a political project; but the Austrian Presidency reminds all of us that Europe is not only about the market, or about regulations: Europe is also about values, music, literature, culture and our European way of life. As I said at the start of the Austrian Presidency – when our Austrian friends chose that beautiful logo with so many colours – it was crucially important to change from the dark grey of most of the discourse in Europe to a more confident colour, not because we are irresponsible optimists, but because if we want to lead we have to lead with confidence. We cannot lead if we are pessimistic, and that is why we need to show Europe a new way of defending our values in a more globalised world. I believe that is the right way for Europe to move forward.
I should like to pay a very sincere tribute to Chancellor Schüssel for steering the European Council so effectively. I should like to congratulate him, all his colleagues, the members of his government, the permanent representative – all his team – for a very successful Presidency. I think, with the great Austrian sense of composition, the Austrian Presidency made a very important contribution to our common project. I think – and I have said it before – that it was a Presidency full of substance and style, and I thank you very much for that, Chancellor Schüssel.
I am also proud that the Commission was able to contribute so much to this European Council, feeding the debate with ideas and pointing the way forward. The European Union is now pursuing the twin-track approach that was set out by the Commission in our document of 10 May: first, pressing ahead with delivery of concrete action in strategic policies; and second, drawing on the lessons of the past year, moving ahead on a step-by-step approach towards an institutional settlement. It paved the way for action across a wide range of policies. To pick just a few of the points, security, freedom and justice for our citizens constitute a real priority for the European Union.
Member States agree that more needs to be done at European level addressing problems such as illegal immigration, trafficking of human beings, terrorism and organised crime, while guaranteeing respect for fundamental freedoms and rights. As Chancellor Schüssel said, there was a first orientation debate – which was very useful – regarding the issues of migration and integration.
Unanimity is holding up moves to make security and justice more effective and fairer across Europe. I should have liked the European Council to agree without delay the use of Article 42 in the existing Treaty. That was not yet possible and I regret that. However, it was possible to leave the door open to use the bridging clauses for freedom, security and justice. Of course, we shall have to look at this on a case-by-case basis. I have no problem with that, because the argument for change is compelling and I am convinced that change must also include moves to codecision to allow proper democratic scrutiny.
The momentum was stepped up still further on our economic, social and environmental agenda. There will be much more to come on this between now and the end of the year on innovation, energy, emissions trading, the European Institute for Technology and on very important projects for a Europe of results. For instance, as Chancellor Schüssel has already said, some of those projects will be followed by a group made up of the forthcoming presidencies. For instance, our European response for civil protection will be based, hopefully, on the very good report presented at my request and at the request of Chancellor Schüssel by Michel Barnier.
In particular, the European Council endorsed the Commission’s proposal for a fundamental review of the single market and the programme on sustainable development. The Council rightly stressed the social dimension of the Union’s actions and welcomed the Commission’s intention to take stock of social realities in the European Union. This work is already under way and during the first half of next year we expect to present, together, our fundamental review of the obstacles still remaining to the internal market and our assessment of the social situation in Europe, which, of course, also includes an analysis of the demographic challenges that Europe faces. We are, as you know, already working hard in that area.
Enlargement is a profoundly important issue for our Union. I welcome the fact that the European Council reaffirmed the common objective to welcome Bulgaria and Romania in January 2007 as members of the Union if they comply with all the conditions that were clearly set."@en1
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