Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-07-11-Speech-3-036"
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"en.20070711.4.3-036"2
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"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, I have carefully listened to your speech today and carefully read the speech you made at the Assembly of the Republic in Lisbon. I see that you have set out a wide-ranging programme for the Portuguese presidency and I wish you every success. I would, however, like to give my personal interpretation of your programme, and ask three fundamental questions.
The first and most obvious one is the new constitutional treaty. The German presidency made some progress and managed to put together a difficult compromise. Each Member State may now feel that it has lost something in the negotiating process – that is the nature of compromise. But Europe has gained the chance to strengthen its unity. The mandate, which was unanimously approved, must be implemented, and no country, including my own, should be allowed to back away from its undertakings. The Portuguese presidency now has the difficult task of creating the consensus required to get the treaty approved. I would also appeal, as Barón Crespo has done, to try and put it in a form that would make it as clear as possible to the ordinary European citizen.
The second point is establishing a policy of European solidarity, such as the common European energy policy, which will prove that Europe has profoundly and irreversibly united since the historic year of 1989. Another example of solidarity policy is the historic idea of free movement of people within the European Union, meaning the full opening of the Schengen area to new Member States. Only a Europe without internal borders can be a truly united community.
And the third task is fulfilling Europe’s undertakings towards the rest of the world. Portugal has pointed out the significance of Brazil, which has traditional ties with Europe as well as a vast development potential. However, the presidency’s programme has also ensured renewed dialogue with Africa. This is an extremely important task, arising as it does from Europe’s historical responsibility towards the continent with its unexploited natural resources, but which is currently racked by poverty, disease and ethnic violence.
These are the challenges of our times, which can and must galvanise the process of European integration."@en1
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