Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-12-18-Speech-2-061"
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"en.20071218.5.2-061"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, to conclude a very interesting debate, I would like very quickly to highlight a point that Prime Minister José Sócrates also mentioned just now, which I think is an important lesson for the future.
I think it is legitimate and fair – I have already done so and not just to be polite – to heartily congratulate the Portuguese Presidency on its work. The Presidency, however, also had the good grace to share the credit for this success with the other institutions and even with other Presidencies, notably the German Presidency, and the fact that we have already worked together with the next one, the Slovenian Presidency. I believe that it is important to reflect on these conclusions of the President-in-Office of the Council, the Prime Minister of Portugal, because, as Mrs Doyle rightly said, we have yet to ratify the Treaty.
We must not split the European camp. In this Parliament, we have several political families, but after hearing some speeches, I had the impression that certain people think that we can now polarise the European debate again. It is natural and legitimate that various paths for the future of Europe should be expressed, and that the various political families should submit proposals that are often contradictory. What seems to me a grave error, which I frankly wish that no one will do again, would be to go back to attacking Brussels, or attacking the European Commission, or resort – on the right or the left – to facile criticisms of the European institutions. It would be a very grave error.
The various political families, the various institutions, must make their proposals, but they must have the intelligence and political strategy not to split the European camp, especially not artificially. As the Portuguese Prime Minister, the President-in-Office, rightly said, there is a time and a place for everything; there is the national place and the European place. If we now split the pro-European camp, which ranges from left to right via the centre, but which is sincerely in favour of European progress, in my view that would be a very grave error. I say this with the authority of a Commission President who has always tried to make a modern agenda compatible with European competitiveness as a social vocation, has even tried to correct mistakes made earlier, not by my Commission, and has endeavoured – working loyally with the Council and Parliament – to reach new consensuses in favour of Europe. That is what I wanted to say, at Christmas time, in response to some speeches rather less in the Christmas spirit, to say that we at the Commission will continue our work fully committed, endeavouring to complete what has been an extraordinary project, that the work of the Portuguese Presidency – and I once again congratulate Prime Minister Sócrates and all his team – has left in a much better state than we have had for some time.
The truth is this: when we think where Europe is today and where it was two or three years ago, we are right to be confident and I therefore wish you all an excellent 2008, full of success for each of you personally as well as for Europe."@en1
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