Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-02-19-Speech-2-024"
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"en.20080219.5.2-024"2
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"Madam President, my colleague, Mr Stubb, did let slip that it was my birthday today, so I want to thank all the rapporteurs and all Members, because, as an unashamed enthusiast for the single market and its future, what could be a better birthday present than the approval of this package today? So, we are unwrapping it today, and I thank you for that opportunity – we are unwrapping it from the point of view of consumers and citizens.
My colleagues have paid tribute to everyone involved, and I do not want to take up a lot of time repeating that. However, I want to thank the President-in-Office, in particular, for being here today. That is a clear sign of the importance that the Presidency attaches to this. I also want to thank him for his very strong engagement with the work of this committee in Parliament – it has been very much appreciated. Similarly, this package has resulted from a huge amount of effort by the Commission. I also want to pay personal tribute to Michel Ayral, with whom I have worked not just on this but on many other dossiers. He was also a big enthusiast of the whole better regulation project, which is really part of this as well.
This is very much a scene-setter, in a way, for our debate on the Lisbon Strategy this afternoon, because nothing could be more important to the strategy for jobs and growth than to have a really effectively functioning and competitive internal single market. We want competitive companies and confident consumers, in order to sustain the level of jobs and economic growth in Europe, and that will be achieved by having a really effective single market. We want, as far as products are concerned, regulations that are very clear for businesses, whereby their teams who work on products can get on with the job of producing brilliant designs and high-quality and safe products.
Let us not forget that the vast majority of companies have people with that in mind and they are deeply frustrated by the fact that, in many cases, they have to redesign products or reapply for mutual recognition as it stands at the moment – that is a major step forward.
However, consumers are entitled to expect those quality products and expect us to have the testing procedures to ensure that the products on the market have been through those sorts of approval procedures.
I just want to make a comment in line with what my colleague Mr Purvis was saying, particularly in response to Mr Liese, who is not here: there are many, many companies now which are achieving brilliant standards of design and quality, but are working with Chinese or other suppliers. I just mention to you in the context of my birthday – because one is thinking about nice things – that I recently went to a company that makes well-known brands of model trains: Fleischmann and Rivarossi, which my colleagues from Germany and Italy will know about. They are wonderful, high-quality model trains. Products under those brand names are actually designed in England but made in China, and anybody who doubts that China can produce good-quality products should visit their local model train shop at the weekend and, maybe, like me, buy a present for their grandson."@en1
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