Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-18-Speech-1-022"
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"en.20061218.6.1-022"2
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"Mr President, last week’s European Council was an important demonstration that Europe is moving decisively forward for results. It showed a Europe of consensus and progress, the right kind of Europe to build for the future.
But we should not need the personal tragedies we saw on our television screens this autumn to spur us into change. We need to give ourselves the right tools to save lives, fight terrorism and tackle crime.
It is true that we would have liked the European Council to have gone further in the streamlining of the decision-making process in the area of justice and home affairs. I have to tell you very frankly it is regrettable that some Member States oppose the proposal of the Finnish Presidency, supported by the European Commission, to make use of the
clause that is possible under the current Treaties.
I have to underline once again that we need a more efficient decision-making process in the area of justice and home affairs in the European Union, and not only in that area.
Thirdly, on innovation, I am also pleased to have the support of the Member States for our proposals on innovation and the European Institute of Technology. I know that Parliament shares the conviction that the innovation agenda is central to a competitive Europe and I look forward to our working together on this in the coming months. Concluding next year would mean that the European Institute of Technology could start its work in 2008. This should be our common goal.
Over the last six months we have seen the European Union delivering, showing that it is serious about the twin-track strategy of a Europe of results to move Europe forward, that concrete projects are a way to fulfil the EU-grade projects. We have a springboard to take us forward into next year, with a wide range of new programmes now negotiated and in place, such as the framework programme for research, which I have just mentioned, and the Globalisation Fund which was also approved, not to mention the very important cohesion agenda.
If you look at three key areas – economy, energy and climate, and external policy – you can see the European Union delivering real change on issues that matter for citizens.
On the economy we have had four quarters of significant growth in jobs this year. The fruits of economic reform are starting to be felt, but we should not sit back. Last week’s annual progress report on the Lisbon Strategy showed how much is to be gained from pressing on with the commitments made in the national reform programmes.
On energy and climate change, the Commission is now finalising its proposals and we have received a clear signal from the European Council. Therefore the report adopted by Parliament last week on cleaner, greener energy was excellently timed: it will help us shape our final recommendations and confirms our own conviction that citizens will not thank the European Union for timidity in this matter. The scale of the challenge demands a credible and ambitious response.
Finally, on external policy, we are starting to see the fruits of a new coherence and determination in that policy. In various parts of the world and on a wide range of issues – Lebanon, Congo and the results achieved at long last with our Russian partners on the Siberian overflight issue – the past six months have seen the European Union showing the right mix of political, economic and aid policies. The result has been a positive European contribution to global issues. While we recognise that a lot more has to be done, it is fair to acknowledge that some progress has been achieved.
Last June we agreed our twin-track strategy of a Europe of results. At the European Council meeting we recognised that this kind of policy is going in the right direction. We made this a natural way to progress on the future of Europe and hopefully on the settlement of the constitutional question.
Prime Minister Vanhanen has given you a comprehensive overview of the results of the Summit, to which I fully subscribe. The issues addressed – enlargement, immigration, innovation, climate change – are all long-term issues which require determined, ambitious, persistent action at the highest level. They are not one-minute wonders which hit the headlines for a day and then fade away. The momentum and focus which the European Council can provide is central to their success. So I believe that Prime Minister Vanhanen and the Finnish Presidency are to be congratulated on holding fast to a clear direction for the Union: a Europe of results that is concentrated on delivery. I think it illustrates a general trend towards a consistent approach, building ambitious policy reform for Europe year on year, an approach better suited to the kind of consensus policy agenda we have today.
We have to say once again that the Europe of the future cannot be built with the tools of the past. We cannot fulfil all our ambitions for Europe and concrete results for citizens with the tools and instruments of the past. We need the democracy and efficiency offered by the Constitutional Treaty. At the Summit, Chancellor Merkel made it clear that the time for general debate on the future of the Constitution is over and that she will be focusing on precise questions with Member States in order to determine the room for manoeuvre and the best time for making progress.
It is my impression that there is a gathering momentum and a degree of willingness among Member States to work constructively to find a way forward on the issue of institutional reform. The report made by Prime Minister Vanhanen to the European Council was a very important contribution to the work that should now continue under the German Presidency.
The European Union is well placed to take a decisive step forward in 2007. Let us show that we are up to the challenge. I look forward to working closely with the incoming German Presidency and I should like to thank once again the Finnish Prime Minister, Mr Vanhanen, and all his team for their very serious, very committed and very energetic contribution to the progress of Europe.
Another requirement for making this work is partnership. The achievements of the past year are generally shared achievements of the Council, the Parliament and the Commission. I would like to underline the contribution of the European Parliament. At the European Council meeting we expressed our gratitude for the role that President Borrell Fontelles has played during his period in office, the role he has played while defending the European Parliament in a responsible and constructive way, taking the approach of a good partnership with the Council and Commission.
I think the past year has seen a new phase in the way the European Union operates. We have got away from the idea of the Union as a zero-sum power game. On a whole series of dossiers the past year has shown that this is not how the European Union works. It works through a constructive exchange between a unique mix of institutions producing, hopefully, a win-win situation for everybody.
If you look at what has really happened in concrete terms on the Services Directive, on enlargement, on energy, on REACH (we have just witnessed the signature of the REACH regulation), on the seventh research framework programme (the biggest ever, with a 40% increase in real terms), on the new system for Schengen (especially important for new Member States), on our response on Lebanon, on our response on the Congo (where the European Union was by far the biggest contributor to the successful democratic elections, the first ever in that important African country), on all those issues and on several others we have seen the three institutions much more focused on delivering results to the citizens of Europe and, hopefully, much less on Brussels turf wars.
I think that we can learn some lessons here as we deepen the debate over the future of Europe next year. Today I would like to concentrate on three areas concerning the European Council. Firstly, on what I call a renewed consensus on enlargement. The Commission’s report on integration capacity was praised and, I believe, succeeds in demonstrating that rigour and fairness are at the heart of how the enlargement process works, that Europe is not enlarging by default. There is a common understanding that we need to combine the strategic vision of enlargement – our open Europe – with the capacity of integration of the European Union.
For us, enlargement is not only an important policy in itself, it also embodies some core principles of the Union: that we are forward-looking, open, rules-based, fair and grounded in public consent. The consensus shows that strict conditions must be met, but we must keep the momentum moving forward in relation to our existing negotiating partners and give new impetus to the aspirations of the Western Balkans. This was clearly underlined during the European Council meeting.
It also helps to remind us why, with the right preparation, enlargement is a win-win policy, making Europe stronger, more prosperous and more successful internally and globally. I am glad that the European Commission was able to provide the European Council with the right groundwork to make this consensus possible.
Secondly, in the area of migration the European Council successfully translated common concerns into common action. We have taken real steps to help prevent and address the crisis we saw this autumn. In particular European Union leaders recognise that it was not enough to manage the problem. They acknowledge, rather, that it had to be tackled at source with a new emphasis on development. I am particularly happy that the Council agreed to the European Union Africa Summit next year, which will provide an excellent platform for dialogue."@en1
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