Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-27-Speech-3-012"
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"en.20070627.3.3-012"2
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".
Mr President, my fellow Members, ladies and gentlemen, just a few days after a memorable European Council, I would at this point first like to bring back into memory our celebration ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome in Berlin in March. On that occasion we reminded ourselves that 50 years of the Treaty of Rome, 50 years of peace and freedom, democracy and the rule of law, are after all no more than the blink of an eye in terms of history. Whether, some day, they are to be more than that, we do not know.
At the same time, the Reform Treaty achieves significant advances in the European Union's capacity to act. We have gone further even than in the EU Constitutional Treaty in some areas. The issues of climate protection and energy solidarity were raised; national parliaments are becoming even more heavily involved in the shaping of national policy on Europe; the lines between the authority of the EU and of the Member States will be even more clearly demarcated; it is now easier to meet the conditions for increased cooperation, particularly in the spheres of justice and home affairs.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Reform Treaty realises three elements essential for the future of the European Union. Firstly, it strengthens the EU's capacity to act, both internally and externally. The Union's single legal personality and the extension of qualified majority decision-making in the Council play a part here. The revision to a double majority, giving the demographic factor greater weight, will, however, come into force only in 2014, that is, at the same time as the first slimmed-down Commission, and with a transition period until 2017, but it will become reality. This is European progress that cannot be overestimated.
The Council’s work will also achieve greater continuity through a European Council president and the team presidencies with the coming into force of the new treaty. At the same time, the Reform Treaty brings policy progress, for example in the sphere of the European Union’s external activities.
A coherent foreign policy, speaking with one voice, becomes ever more important for a Europe that wishes to assert itself in the world. We will appoint the High Representative of the Union for Foreign and Security Policy, he will lead the Committee on Foreign Affairs, he will be supported by a European diplomatic service and he will be a member of the Commission, namely Vice-President of the Commission. This is a political quantum leap for Europe.
In the spheres of justice and internal affairs, an area in which people are extremely interested, important progress is being made, for example in the common fight against cross-border crime. Proceedings will also be significantly sped up by the new process of decision-making by qualified majority.
In addition to this, we will be able to make clearer that the transfer of authority is not a one-way street, through which the European Union just takes on more and more responsibilities. There can also be situations where authority can be handed back to the individual countries, where necessary. It is a commonly expressed wish of the people that there should be more European participation in some important areas but also less participation in domains that the Member States can manage perfectly well on their own, and we are accommodating this desire.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Reform Treaty also makes a second thing unmistakably clear: there will be greater proximity between Europe and its citizens. To this end, a European citizens' initiative will be introduced, as envisaged in the Constitutional Treaty. Progress will be made in the social sphere and there will be well-defined regulations in the area of public services. In addition, the Intergovernmental Conference will determine its own protocol, where services of general economic interest will be highly valued and it will be made clear that the Member States have substantial freedom of scope in the non-commercial domain.
I am very pleased, and I think the majority of us are in agreement on this, that we were also able to find a solution for the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Charter will strengthen the rights of citizens in relation to the institutions. It preserves legal obligations, which, in my view, is fitting for a Europe with a sense of values.
At the ceremony in March, we made it clear that none of this, peace and freedom, democracy and the rule of law, none of this can be taken for granted. It must all be strengthened and defended again and again. To stand still is to go backwards. It takes decades to build up trust but it can be destroyed overnight. Yes, overnight. Any rift would have Europe out of step faster than some might think.
We know that the United Kingdom, with its own legal tradition, has chosen its own path and we must respect that. The alternative would have been to restrict the legally binding nature of the Charter for all, which would, however, have been unacceptable for the majority of the Member States. It is good, therefore, that this was avoided and I believe that this is the majority opinion of Parliament.
Ladies and gentlemen, finally, the third element where progress will be seen through the Reform Treaty is that of more rights for parliaments. With the reform of the Treaty, the European Parliament will, as a rule, be an equal co-legislator and in future the European Parliament will elect the president of the European Commission. At the same time, many Member States thought it important to give more recognition to the role of national parliaments. This will be put into effect in a new article. We also agreed to strengthen the parliaments under the subsidiarity control mechanism; although in doing so we have respected the European Commission's right to make proposals. In future, individual national parliaments will have no power of veto, which I also think is absolutely right.
Ladies and gentlemen, the reform of the Treaty was one of the goals of the German EU Council Presidency. The other goal of the European Council Presidency was the reorientation of the European Union towards that which we can achieve only as a united Europe. For I am wholly convinced that only if we act jointly and purposefully can we achieve tangible progress for our citizens.
Of course, there will always be exceptions, which we saw as recently as at the time of the EU Council rulings. There will always be new cases of individual Member States deciding that they do not wish to participate, or at least not initially, in particular policies, whilst others lead the way, although within the scope of the treaty. This, however, is not a so-called ‘two-speed’ Europe. Allow me to be quite clear on this: I do not think much of it.
This must not be the aim of our policies; otherwise we will open up new rifts in Europe and weaken the European Parliament. It is worth all the trouble and effort to keep on searching for a common path for all the Member States of the European Union. There is an African saying that if you want to travel fast, walk alone; if you want to travel far, walk together. I think that in this African saying lies the wisdom underlying the concept of European integration. Only if we act jointly and purposefully can we preserve the great, the unique idea that has shaped the concept of European integration for over 50 years: peace, freedom and legal certainty for the citizens of Europe.
Only if we act jointly and purposefully can we strengthen the rights of citizens within the European Union, for example, by integrating the Prüm Convention into the legal framework of the EU. This facilitates increased police cooperation in the cross-border fight against terrorism, criminality and illegal migration in the EU. Only if we act jointly and purposefully will we improve Europe’s competitiveness as a place for business. An example of this is the Roaming Regulation that we have signed here today. Only if we act jointly and purposefully can we take on one of the major challenges for mankind, the danger caused by climate change.
The decisions taken at the Spring European Council for an integrated energy and climate protection policy are groundbreaking. They were, incidentally, also the prerequisite for reaching an agreement at the G8 Summit that we need a follow-up undertaking within the scope of the Kyoto Protocol under the auspices of the United Nations, and that all G8 participants have declared their support for this. This would not have been possible without the Spring European Council and the support of the European Parliament. This is a great example of defending European interests.
In short, European integration must repeatedly be worked at and safeguarded. I am therefore very grateful that we were able to achieve exactly this with the outcome of the last European Council. We set the course for a renewed, common foundation of the European Union; we overcame the standstill. In the end we did not destroy trust; we avoided a rift. In short, with the outcome of Saturday evening, Europe will find a new, common energy.
It is only right, therefore, that climate protection will now be included among the goals of the European Union in the new draft treaty. Only if we act jointly and purposefully do we Europeans stand any chance of bringing our concerns to bear in the world. This was also demonstrated by the summits we held during our Presidency with our non-EU G8 partners: the US, Russia, Japan and Canada.
In addition to decisions on climate protection, further agreements of long-term importance were also reached at these summits: with the US and Canada we agreed to strengthen regulatory cooperation; with Russia we agreed to establish an early-warning system for energy crises and to open a dialogue on investment; with Japan we agreed to enforce the protection of intellectual property rights more effectively.
Ladies and gentlemen, all institutional progress and the reorientation of the European Union are ultimately possible only if we Europeans are conscious of our values, indeed, if we make these values the guiding principles for all our actions. I believe that these guiding principles can also help to convince our citizens about Europe, namely by raising awareness of our common goals, by making it clear that we are acting together in the world on the basis of our values.
Europe does not mean doing as we please. Europe is an obligation to help ensure that our Earth remains a habitable planet, that fewer and fewer people are forced to leave their homes as a result of violence or war, that diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis can be fought successfully. Thus, the German EU Council Presidency comes full circle.
The Reform Treaty is necessary so that Europe can hold its course. The European Council hopes that the Intergovernmental Conference can be convened before the end of July, which is why I would like to ask you today to submit your statements as soon as possible. As does the German Presidency, you want us to be able to say to people in the 2009 European election campaign: This is the only way for Europe to move forward. This is why it is good that the European Parliament repeatedly gets involved in debate on these matters and seeks a dialogue with civil society, as it will demonstrate at an agora event in the autumn.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like, at the close of the German Council Presidency, to quote once again from the book ‘Werte. Von Plato bis Pop’ (Values – From Plato to Pop) by the German author Peter Prange. You may remember that I quoted him in my speech here in January at the outset of my Council Presidency. Prange writes that everything we Europeans have ever achieved, we owe to the contradictions within us, the eternal conflict within ourselves, the constant jostling between opinions and conflicting opinions, ideas and opposing ideas, theses and antitheses.
Allow me to add a few words of my own. We owe it all to our ability to withstand these inner contradictions and to our ability, after countless wars and untold suffering, to allow something as awesome as the work for peace in Europe to succeed. We citizens of Europe have truly united for the better. My wish is that in 50 years' time, in 2057, the citizens of Europe will say: back in 2007, after strength-sapping, nerve-racking discussions, the European Union at last set the right course; back then, in 2007, the European Union set off on the right path to a prosperous future. That was, is and will remain our mission, our mission for the future, to which Germany will stay wholly committed even after its Presidency ends. Thank you.
Today, I do not wish to rake over the draining negotiations of recent weeks and months, as we all know only too well that even the starting point was difficult. On one side we had the states that had ratified and fully supported the Constitutional Treaty and on the other side the states requiring extensive changes because of criticism from their people.
Let us not fool ourselves, there is always a danger present: the danger that the state of paralysis and the tendency for division continue. Of course, had the European Council not achieved the desired outcome, it would not have signified the end of Europe, but it would undoubtedly have had almost indescribable repercussions. It is therefore of great significance that we managed to avoid this situation.
The Brussels Agreement enables us to retain the substance of the Constitutional Treaty. I think that ultimately we are all agreed that the outcome of the European Council is a success. A success for Europe and also a success for the European Parliament.
You have always defended the substance of the Constitutional Treaty and now the Reform Treaty can come into force in time for the European elections in 2009. This is of extreme importance for all who will stand before the citizens of Europe.
With the Reform Treaty, we have taken into account the concerns of citizens about a would-be European superstate, about surrendering too much of the identity of the individual states. I do not share these concerns, but I needed to respect them and respect them I did. We decided, therefore, to refrain from mentioning any symbols or designations similar to those of the Member States in the Reform Treaty."@en1
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"(The Members of the House stand up and there is prolonged applause)"1
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