Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-26-Speech-3-037"

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"In general, the Slovenian Presidency has proved capable of focusing on matters that are important to countries and to their citizens. I should like to congratulate it on that. The latest Council, which dealt with issues as important as the Lisbon Strategy, economic growth, employment, the state of public finances and combating climate change, provided confirmation of this ability. I would, however, now like to pose the question as to what this Council has actually achieved for the average citizen of the European Union. Were the tremendous social and economic differences across Europe taken into account when debating the important issues I just referred to? Was ongoing discrimination taken into account too, along with the fact that as we enter the 21st century a very large area of Europe remains in genuine poverty? Sadly, the Council failed to provide answers to these questions. The Presidency Conclusions make scant reference to social policy. In fact, the latter is treated at best as a by-product of this major debate. I suspect that European citizens will not be pleased with such an approach, because it means that one year before elections to the European Parliament we can only offer them three points in these conclusions. These points are: No 14, in which the European Council looks forward to a renewed Social Agenda, No 15, where it urges Member States to take concrete action, and No 16, which is very lengthy and wherein certain solutions are proposed and old and well-known mechanisms advocated. These suggestions will not get through to the citizens of the European Union. The language must be revised. Suggestions alone are not enough: what is needed is action, and that action should start now."@en1

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