Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-01-23-Speech-3-010"
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"en.20080123.6.3-010"2
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"Madam President, Mr President of the Commission, Mr President of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, today is an historic day. It is a day that will influence our way of living and thinking, what we do and what we do not do.
Without wishing to denigrate its other merits, this Commission will undoubtedly be remembered in the future as the Commission that enhanced European integration with a new dimension, as the Commission that established the package on climate and energy. It is a plan whose foundations were laid during the German Presidency under the impetus of Chancellor Merkel and that we in the PPE-DE Group have always supported.
Europe is making it clear today that we are not afraid to take responsibility in the area of energy and climate and that we can act as a global pioneer. It now falls to us to reconcile ambition and feasibility. Let us not deceive ourselves, ladies and gentlemen: accomplishment of the 20/20/20 goals will in the short and medium term demand difficult decisions of us all, and will require great efforts from everyone concerned and to have even agreed on them is a significant step forward.
Mr President of the Commission, the action plan you have just outlined is a well-considered one. The PPE-DE Group supports your five key principles, but as the responsible Group we naturally need the flexibility to examine whether each proposal put forward by the Commission is fair and feasible for every Member State and for the sectors that will be most affected.
In order to succeed, a comprehensive approach is indeed required, allowing our ambitious energy and climate targets to be reconciled with our objectives in the areas of economic growth and employment. At the same time Europe must secure our energy supply and become self-sufficient.
The PPE-DE Group supports the differentiated approach. We know that we will now be bombarded with questions suggesting that it be toned down. It is also our responsibility to listen carefully to the comments from the national and regional authorities and from a cross-section of society. Nevertheless, our starting principle is that it is not the one who shouts the loudest who goes the farthest. We must strive for a differentiated approach based on transparency, objectivity and fair criteria, and do so on the understanding that it costs more not to act than it does to act wisely.
In addition to our mutual solidarity, the geographical and economical capacity of the Member States must be the primary consideration when dividing up the cost. The measures already taken and industrial capacity for future innovation must also be taken into account. Under no circumstances can renounce these principles. The PPE-DE Group’s final assessment must deliver a win-win situation. On the one hand, we must fulfil our climate objectives, and on the other hand, we must maintain a successful economy in order to create jobs. If the balance sways to one side we risk losing both, for instance if the economic sector were to move to areas where there are not even CO2 limits.
Finally, the PPE-DE Group understands that it is vital for Europe, but also for the rest of the world, to succeed in breaking their energy addiction. The time has come to learn how to consume on a large scale in a low-carbon manner. All of us – employers and citizens – must turn things around."@en1
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