Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-11-18-Speech-2-284"
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"Madam President, since we have decided that I should now present the whole work programme for next year, I should like to answer Mr Schulz’s specific question before continuing my remarks. Today the Commission approved its response to the two reports – the Rasmussen report and the Lehne report – and you can see how we intend to monitor the various elements and how we have already initiated such action. It is a very wide-ranging response and we shall present other proposals, some of which, indeed, we have already presented. When I spoke about the spring meeting of the European Council, I referred to the findings of the high-level group I set up under the chairmanship of Jacques de Larosière. As far as the proposals are concerned, Mr McCreevy, the Commissioner responsible for these matters, tells me that those on hedge funds and private equity in particular, which may be the very proposals you had in mind, can be presented soon; in principle, they will be ready for presentation in December.
Last week’s summit has also strengthened my determination to pursue relations with Russia based on mutual interests. These relations will sometimes prove difficult. There are issues on which we have different positions, but I honestly believe that last week’s summit in Nice confirmed that it is better to engage with Russia than try to isolate it. Russia is also a major partner on the global stage.
Lastly, the intense pressure to which the world has been subjected in 2008 has demonstrated how important it is to share a common vision with the United States. A fantastic opportunity is now opening up with this new administration in the United States. During his election campaign, the President-elect made very clear statements on matters such as the fight against climate change and the adoption of a more multilateralist approach. Let us grasp this opportunity and present ideas for an agenda to deal with globalisation. We face some very formidable common challenges, and I believe that more active cooperation between Europe and the United States can make the world a better place.
Ladies and gentlemen, in 2008 Europe has provided evidence of unity in the way it has coordinated its actions in major crises. Georgia and the financial crisis have made the Union more efficient. A united approach is the only path to pursue if we want to meet the challenges of 2009.
In a few months’ time, 375 million electors will be summoned to the polls to exercise their great democratic right to choose a new European Parliament. Let us take advantage of the momentum that recent crises have lent the Union. They have opened people’s eyes to the merits and the effectiveness of the European dimension as a means of guaranteeing their economic, social and environmental welfare and protecting their interests while reaffirming their values. I believe that today, in the midst of this crisis, clear opportunities are there for the taking. For example, there is a far more favourable climate than there was a few months ago for recognition of the importance of our currency, the euro. Let us therefore seize this opportunity. I believe it is important, at least for all those who believe in the European project – and I think they are in the majority – to be more upbeat in conveying the European message and not to keep succumbing to cynicism or inertia.
To that end, I do believe it is incumbent on our institutions to work together. I know that there are times when the Commission, for example, could more easily court popularity in some circles by making proposals that the Member States would be sure to reject out of hand. That is not the way I look at things. I certainly do favour an ambitious outlook, but it must also be realistic, for we have to act with the other institutions and with the Member States, which are all democracies, otherwise they would not be members of the European Union.
The Commission will continue to play its part, to perform its role as a driving force and initiator, but in so doing it will not act against the Member States and Parliament but rather with the European Parliament and with the Member States. I believe it is increasingly necessary to adopt this attitude. Any other approach would be a form of populism. Making proposals as a mere publicity stunt is also a form of populism. Another form of populism involves making proposals under the guise of Europeanism when we know that they have no chance at all of being approved. Our role in the European Commission, of course, is to act as a driving force but at the same time to seek consensus with the other institutions. That is how Europe can stay at the heart of the action, where it has managed to position itself. Interinstitutional cooperation has enabled it to play a key role in setting the international agenda.
We are at a very important political juncture for Europe, perhaps even a turning point. Europe also carries great expectations. It is by continuing to take initiatives and to plan ahead together that the Union can best meet these expectations, and that is precisely the spirit which will inspire the European Commission in 2009.
Moving on to the Commission’s work programme for 2009, it is, as I have said, inextricably bound up with a specific political context. I must tell you that the financial storm is still raging, that it is not yet over, and that we are on the verge of a serious economic slowdown. This is why we must waste no time in pursuing the efforts that have already been launched to adapt to the globalisation process and to modernise. It is not a case of our having just discovered the need to respond to globalisation. I must emphasise that, within this Commission over which I have the honour of presiding, we have been referring for a number of years to a new era. What this means specifically for Europe is that we must promote our values and defend our interests in the context of the globalisation process. It is precisely in this context that we must present ambitious proposals. The present crisis, however, must not distract us from the other priorities of our work programme, which, in fact, are also priority responses to the challenge of globalisation. I refer especially to the struggle against climate change and the pursuit of sustainable development. These are priorities for 2009, which assumes special importance as the year of the Copenhagen Conference.
May I warmly commend the huge volume of work that the European Parliament has been putting into the climate and energy package. We face exceptional circumstances, and I am proud to see the response of the European institutions, which have risen to the challenge. I firmly believe that, by working together, we shall achieve our common goal of a political agreement in December. To be perfectly honest, I am convinced that such an agreement will also serve as a catalyst for a European strategy designed to obtain an ambitious agreement in Copenhagen.
I have no wish to exaggerate what is at stake, but we must all be aware that Europe is putting a great deal of its credibility on the line in this debate, in which it is the main driving force. It was Europe that launched the global debate on the fight against climate change. It was we who told the US Government that it needed to do more. We have said the same thing to the Russians, the Chinese and the Indians, telling them that we must not give up at a time when the prospect of better cooperation with the new US Government is on the horizon. Let us not give any sign of being about to scale down our ambitions. I believe that would seriously dent our credibility.
Tomorrow we shall propose a truly golden opportunity, and we have no right not to seize it. For this reason, our response to the economic crisis must demonstrate that programmes to fight against climate change can also be part of an economic response strategy. I should not like to see the kind of stand-off that sometimes surfaces between those who champion the economy or industry and those who promote the sustainable-development agenda. In actual fact, the two things go together, and I must applaud what some of you have said to that effect.
Another priority is a people’s Europe. In 2009 the Commission will devote itself particularly to the quest for progress in the European area of freedom, security and justice, for example, by establishing the common immigration policy and integrating it into the broadest policies of the European Union, such as its growth, competitiveness and social-inclusion policies, by making the European immigration network operational and finalising the common European asylum system for 2010, by reinforcing compliance with the rules governing consumer protection in Europe, by improving mutual recognition of certain instruments of civil and criminal law, such as judgments and inheritance settlements, and by combating new forms of criminal activity, such as child abuse and cyberattacks.
The other priority for 2009 – and I am moving on very quickly, of course, because of the time factor – is Europe’s role in the world. Here, too, challenges await us, namely the enlargement process and reinforcement of the neighbourhood policy, as well as the establishment of closer relations with developing countries, especially those in Africa. This is a categorical imperative, and I must remind you of the need to approve the Commission’s proposal on agricultural aid in developing countries. It is a question of credibility. Once again, we cannot confine ourselves at major summits to the discussion of financial matters. We must show that we do not hold discussions with the large emerging powers alone but that we are also concerned about the developing countries, especially the countries of Africa.
Our relationships with these countries are also an important factor in the resolution of a number of global issues. Let us not forget that we have major meetings like next year’s Copenhagen Conference to enable us to engage more effectively with them on common issues such as energy security, the fight against climate change and migration, as well as the completion of the Doha Development Agenda and the pursuit of bilateral trade negotiations.
It clearly emerged from the Washington summit that there is an urgent need for a global trade agreement. Doha, moreover, besides being a trade agenda, is also a development agenda. I believe that we are now closer to the right track, for the real alternative to Doha is not the
but rather, because of the present financial crisis, the option of turning in on ourselves, the possibility that countries in various parts of the world will take backward steps on tariffs and enact unilateral measures to protect some sectors of their economies. In that case, economic nationalism would resurface on a grand scale, with a return to protectionism that would damage the global economy and, I need hardly add, the European economy too. As you know, Europe is the leading power in terms of trade."@en1
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