Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-14-Speech-3-014"
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"en.20070314.3.3-014"2
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"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Madam Vice-President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, ever since it was formed, the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats has always advocated a more integrated, more united Europe. We have always worked to strengthen Europe and to create a political, ambitious Europe. What has always united us is the safeguarding of values and the promotion of freedoms, not least the freedom to do business, to work and to benefit from the fruits of one’s work, as well as the guarantee of security.
Ladies and gentlemen, those are the values that we are handing down after 50 years of European integration. Those are the challenges that we have to address from a fresh perspective. As far as we, the PPE-DE Group, are concerned, it is only by having faith in their abilities to create and adapt that future generations will be able to develop and thrive in this new world. Our role is modest, admittedly, but it is demanding too. In this period of transition, let us avoid standstills, let us take the right path and, together, let us lay solid foundations. A task such as this requires not only clear thinking, but also political courage.
The Treaty of Rome is the foundation for the European structure. It is what has ensured that war between our countries is from now on not only impossible, but also unthinkable. For me, as a child, war was simply a reality. I am pleased and proud that, in our part of the world, and because we wanted it to be so, war has become an abstract concept. As I say to our young people, nothing is ever won forever, just as nothing is ever lost forever.
However, we are not all equal where this success is concerned. While all the nations of Europe fought for freedom, peace and prosperity, a number of them had to endure 50 years of dictatorship, loss of freedom and insecurity under the yoke of Communism. The countries of central and eastern Europe did not rest until they had bridged this artificial gap, their aim being to re-integrate their birth families and to allow Europe finally to operate at full strength.
I should like to pay an admiring and affectionate tribute in this House to the nations and citizens of these countries. Without them, without the 1956, 1968 and 1980 revolutions, Europe would never have been able to experience that ‘velvet revolution’ of the end of the 1980s. And the Berlin Wall would no doubt still be the disgrace of our continent.
We should also remember that the year 2007 marks not only the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, but also the 60th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. Without the help of the Americans, without their decisive commitment to help Europeans, the Schuman Declaration and the Treaty of Rome would have encountered further obstacles. The last 50 years have been a success, and this story has had a happy ending with the reunification of the continent. Nevertheless, I believe that, if we so wish, this century can also be a largely European century. As the foundation of the European Union, the Treaty of Rome is history’s most successful undertaking in terms of encouraging people to live together. Our continent has thus become a place not of division, but of similarities and reconciliations.
Indeed, the European Union involves more than just the export of goods and services. It also conveys our values. We act as a stabilising force. Was it not the prospect of closer cooperation that led to peace being restored in South-East Europe? The next 50 years will, however, be full of fresh challenges for all our countries. We are not starting from scratch, far from it.
The first condition of success is to restore our confidence, to be aware of our strengths and to draw on our resources. The second condition of success, in an unstable, globalised world, is to be realistic, to make firm, enthusiastic efforts to adapt and to do so without delay. However, adapting does not mean grovelling and giving up on who we are. Reforming does not mean grovelling and letting ourselves be deprived of our identity. Europeans have a highly developed sense of human dignity and of respect for the individual. Moreover, with the social market economy, Europe is presenting an idea for organising society that is very far removed from the ‘every man for himself’ approach and from the excesses of a consumer society.
The decision adopted during last week’s European Council is to set common and ambitious objectives in the field of energy and climate change.
The current context is characterised by five key challenges: demographics, globalisation, multipolarity, energy and global warming, without forgetting the fight against terrorism. In a globalised world in which new focal points are emerging rapidly – I am thinking of Asia, and also of Brazil – Europe must react by means of economic and social reforms. Europe must make the most of its history and develop its social model. In an uncertain world, in which terrorism has become an everyday reality, Europe must show both firmness and determination; it cannot be held hostage by terror."@en1
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