Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-18-Speech-3-043"
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"en.20080618.2.3-043"2
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"Mr President, as Martin Schulz has kindly pointed out, there are indeed many heads of government from the PPE-DE, and that reflects the fact that the PPE-DE is closer to citizens and therefore wins more elections. Nonetheless, the fact of the matter is that there are a number of indications that we need to strike a balance between rational economic policy and social policy.
I fully respect the outcome of the Irish referendum. What I do not respect, however, are the campaigns of lies conducted by certain people on the left and the right in an attempt to mislead the people and set them against this united Europe: a united Europe which is the most successful concept in the history of this continent, one which has achieved peace, freedom and prosperity.
What we must recognise is that this Europe is of particular benefit to the smaller nations. They sit with us around the table, they hold seats in this Parliament, and nothing can be decided in Europe without their say-so, whereas previously, the large nations were able to ride rough-shod over the smaller ones. That is the difference: in our Europe, all the nations are equal, and that is what you are trying to destroy, Mr Farage, with your British imperialist notions!
We need this Treaty so that enlargement can function effectively and so that we can achieve more democracy, by closing the democratic gap and strengthening the national parliaments. We need this Treaty to safeguard the subsidiarity clause and to enable us to master the challenges of the future, from the energy crisis to organised crime, and give us the capacities to respond to food and oil prices and other similar challenges. All this will be destroyed if we do not equip ourselves with the instruments provided for in the Treaty of Lisbon, especially those pertaining to social rights, namely the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the 'social clause', which states that social issues must be taken into account when defining and implementing all policies.
Twenty-six Member States can now ratify the Treaty, and every one has undertaken to do so. It was the United Kingdom which taught me that in a representative democracy, Parliament can speak for the people, and I will not let UKIP destroy what I have learned from the UK. These 26 Member States can ratify the Treaty through a parliamentary process, and if that process is brought to a successful conclusion, the Irish people can then reconsider. We will expect some proposals from Ireland to preserve the cohesion of our Community of 27, because I do not want to see a divided Europe and I do not want to see a core Europe. I want to see a Europe which remains a unity of equals, with 27 countries, and that is why I support the Treaty of Lisbon."@en1
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