Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-18-Speech-1-072"
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"en.20061218.6.1-072"2
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"Mr President, we in the Commission are used to having the more difficult questions to solve!
Finally, since we now know that Mr Poettering has addressed us for the last time as the Chairman of the PPE-DE Group, let me also express my gratitude and recognition for everything he has done as leader of such an important group in the European Parliament and say how much I appreciate his sincere commitment to our European values. I hope that the commitment he has shown in leading such an important political group will be maintained in future for the service of Europe, so we shall not say goodbye or
but just
. I wish you all a merry Christmas and a very good 2007.
This was indeed a successful Presidency and, as someone said, it was the last Presidency of a European Union of 25 members. On 1 January 2007 we are going to welcome Romania and Bulgaria. One of the achievements of these last six months was the finalisation of all these processes – the ratification in the Member States. The good work that has been done was important, as was the election, with a great deal of support, of the two new Commissioners from Romania and Bulgaria. Once again, I would like to thank Parliament for its support. It was a very clear signal of this Parliament’s support for the enlarged European Union.
Regarding Russia, I think the debates we have had over the past six months have been helpful in establishing the basis for our relationship with Russia. Russia is a very important partner, a close neighbour and a partner with whom we want to have a strategic long-term relationship.
We should avoid two risks. One is the ‘business as usual’ approach, pretending that everything is going in the right direction. It is not. There are some concerns. Another risk is a kind of confrontational position with Russia. I do not think this is in our interests, nor is it in the interests of all those who want a democratic, progressive Russia.
We should have a constructive, positive engagement with Russia, trying to make it a win-win situation, namely on the energy issue. I have said before that we were divided from Russia and the Soviet Union for so long because of our ideologies. Let us not now be divided from Russia because of energy. Let us make it a positive factor. They need a stable market as much as we need a stable supplier, but at the same time, while we are engaged with this constructive position, we should also be very firm on matters of principle, namely on human rights. On this matter we have to tell our Russian partners that this is non-negotiable. That is the position we have been taking publicly and privately in the talks with our Russian partners.
When it comes to Russia, we will be able to control some events but not others. The future of Russia will depend mainly on the dynamics of Russia. It is a huge country. It would be a mistake to think that we can control its future. We do not and should not control that.
However, there is something we can control, which is solidarity among our Member States. We have to ask all the Member States to keep a united and coherent approach to Russia and not give in to any pressure to divide us, for instance on the issues that are now on the table. That depends on us. We can have a common approach to Russia if we really want to. There have been some attempts to divide us but at the Lahti Summit we were able to speak with one voice on energy. Now, in the face of an embargo on one of our Member States, we can also express a common position.
We hope that common position is maintained when it comes to the mandate for the future framework agreement with Russia. I hope that matter can be solved. I hope the Member States will be unanimous in supporting a mandate so we can continue with the strategy I have just outlined as a good position for Europe and a position that is also useful for the future of our relations with Russia.
This principle of solidarity has to be a cornerstone in our external relations and also in how we build the European Union."@en1
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"Auf Wiedersehen"1
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