Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-11-Speech-2-016"
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"en.20080311.7.2-016"2
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".
Mr President, Mr Nassauer, our Commission President is not so weak; he has already withstood many a criticism. However, I do believe, Commission President, that our common aim – when I listen to your speeches and read your interviews – is that in 2009 we shall also continue to expand a social and ecological Europe in a globalised world.
You know that the social aspects lie especially close to our hearts and you also know that we were particularly concerned, for example, about the conclusion of the European Court of Justice in connection with the Laval case. We hope that we – Parliament and you in the Commission – can work on this together so that citizens do not feel that the social successes we have achieved with some difficulty are being undone again by bogus quantitative competition. We stand by qualitative competition within Europe, competition that Europe, of course, has to drive, taking account of environmental concerns. The social element, however, is central for us as Social Democrats.
On the subject of the environment, I thank the Commission for its proposals, which are very forward-looking. Like you, we declare our faith in the sustainable development of this continent; sustainability for us also applies to Europe as an industrial base – one which has to adapt and take on ecological targets and for which there have to be obligations and incentives. Together we must work to ensure that industry and the economy have a major role in future in terms of production on this continent – in the interest of jobs – because the ecological targets are perfectly compatible with Europe as an industrial base. This is also a task that we must perform together.
We can perform this task only if we also persuade the other partners – the United States, China and India – to take on the same ecological targets. Moreover, we can perform it only if we also reach our neighbours, if we create a common policy with our neighbours. You know that we are not entirely happy with many of the strategies that have been developed.
With regard to the Balkans, for example, we recently proposed that, alongside the Lisbon process, there should also be what is referred to as the Ljubljana process with the Slovenian Presidency, to promote the economic and social development of this region, because the hatred and existing conflicts there can be resolved only if there is also sound economic and social development in the Balkans.
With regard to the Mediterranean Union – now on everybody’s lips, even on those of the Foreign Ministers – we want a clear position on this from the Commission. You have already hinted at this, Commission President, but you must constantly make it clear that we will not consider any union that does not embrace the entire European Union. It must be a community that does not cut straight through the European Union, but includes the European Union with the Mediterranean countries.
Similarly the debate should also surely be about the Black Sea region, and here we are also waiting for the Commission’s initiatives because it is not only about our Southern neighbours, of course; it is also about our Eastern neighbours. We cannot offer new memberships here either in the short term; that is not possible. However, we can offer to develop stronger cooperation, together with these countries, and we expect more Commission initiatives on this than have so far been included in the existing papers.
Commission President, you have commented that it is also an election year. It is an election year and hopefully the year in which the Reform Treaty will enter into force. We do not expect the Commission to interfere in the political debates of this election year, but we do expect a clear vision from the Commission of how this Europe is to function in future as an ecological and social Europe. We expect the Commission to make it clear that it has a strong voice – including in dialogue with our partners. Only when we speak to the United States, China, etc. with a strong voice will we be able to assert the interests of our citizens.
In an election year, we want a strong Commission with visions for the Europe of tomorrow!"@en1
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