Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-12-03-Speech-3-041"
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"en.20081203.12.3-041"2
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"Madam President, President of the Commission, Group Chairmen, honourable Members, firstly, I refer to what Mr Daul said and like him I wish to pay tribute to the work which has been done by the Commission, particularly with regard to the strengthening of financial architecture: in fact, there are now four major directives, which were able to be tabled by the Commission and approved by the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers within a very short period of time since September.
I wish to say to Mrs Dahl that we will act in conjunction with Ireland, to whom we of course must show solidarity, but that each side must show responsibility and indeed reassure Mr Allister of the fact that we can take effective action in these various areas.
To end my speech, as regards what has been said by the various speakers and President Barroso, listening to these debates, I am struck by the overwhelming need to remain unified and demonstrate our solidarity: solidarity and coordination in economic and financial matters; solidarity in the face of the climate threat; solidarity towards the countries experiencing the greatest difficulties in the area of energy security; solidarity also in any defence issues; solidarity also towards developing countries and the South – the direction of the Union for the Mediterranean; solidarity with Ireland but also with a responsibility to find a solution and act so that the Treaty of Lisbon is implemented as soon as possible; solidarity also towards the East and neighbouring Eastern countries, following the Commission’s Eastern Partnership initiative, which I am sure will be approved at the next European Council. This is what seems to me to be important in our response to the challenges we currently face.
Joseph Daul was absolutely right to highlight this work and also quite right to highlight the need to restore confidence and provide a show of confidence by our attitude. This confidence will be found, as several honourable Members have indicated, in unity and coordination.
I should like to reassure Mr Daul, I know him well, and I know that he is much closer to the values of the social market economy and is not in any way an unbridled capitalist. I wish to reassure everybody, the briefest of contact with him would confirm this. Therefore, I should like to thank him on this count and also say that we have indeed initiated the institutional road map and that I have seen the concerns he expressed and the concerns of his group in this area.
I should also like to say to Mr Rasmussen that the aim as regards employment levels of course is at the heart of the French Presidency’s concerns, that what he said and which has also been highlighted by other honourable Members, that is to say, that we are aware that with greater coordination we will double or even more than double the added value that we can bring and that with regard to the method, in other words, the launching of specific projects, practical goals and a time frame, we are in agreement with Mr Rasmussen’s comments.
I should also like to assure Mr Graham Watson who has an extremely pragmatic and punctilious turn of mind; Mr Watson quite rightly highlighted the fact that we still need to act quickly. I do not think that I need to say it again to the President-in-Office of the Council, but I shall ask him to act even more quickly. I do not really think that he has forgotten the need for this rapid action. I should like to reassure Mr Watson that the urgency has not disappeared, we are fully aware of it, similarly, as you said, we must not, particularly as regards the battle against climate change, and also Mrs Doyle who is in the Chamber, sacrifice what are long-term demands, as also highlighted by Mrs Harms, in favour of short-term interests, nor must we give in to the self-centeredness expressed by some instead of showing our solidarity, namely for our Central and Eastern European friends, in particular, Poland, the Baltic States and other States, and this issue will also be discussed at the European Council on 11 and 12 December.
I have told Mrs Harms that we must not backtrack on these goals. In no way is it the intention of the Presidency to backtrack on its goals. I said that the package from the Commission was consistent, that it contained several goals that had been fixed at the appropriate time, not by the French Presidency, and that these goals will have to be respected. This is a moral imperative in the current crisis; we cannot enter into international negotiations believing that it is developing countries that must make all the running. We likewise owe a duty of solidarity in this area towards developing countries.
Regarding the agreement which was reached as part of the trialogue with the European Parliament, for which I thank your House, I believe that it is a balanced agreement and a very precise long-term goal that has been established for cars, and secondly, a progressive and fully incentivising penalty system is in place, which has also been produced for manufacturers, and thirdly, the promotion of green innovations has been included.
Concerning the financial markets, I refer Mrs Harms to what I said in support of what Mr Daul presently highlighted. I welcome Mr Crowley’s reference to necessary coordination. I understand what he said concerning the initiatives taken by the Irish Government. We are in close cooperation and monitoring this very closely, and you can count on the Presidency to demonstrate understanding and tolerance, as you indicated.
I wish to say to Mrs McDonald that we are familiar with the electoral and social context in Ireland, that we can equally understand Ireland, and that no cynical manoeuvring is involved in all this or in the dialogue we have had with the Irish authorities and that each side is trying to be constructive so that, as highlighted by President Barroso, we can stay on course, a course which, as the crisis clearly demonstrates, is still absolutely necessary with regard to the institutional context and the Treaty of Lisbon."@en1
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