Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-12-14-Speech-3-054-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20111214.5.3-054-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, honourable Members, I would like once again to express my sincere thanks for six months of work together, and also for this debate today, both for the voices which have focused on the effort and the results of the Polish Presidency, but also for those voices which have expressed criticism. I and my team find satisfaction in being persuaded that the critical voices were in a clear minority, but I hope you will allow me to refer to some of them very explicitly. I would like to stress once again that what is most important is bold thinking and bold action for strengthening the Union. This is important not just from the point of view of the Polish Presidency, because it is a job for the next Presidency – and I have spoken about this with the Prime Minister of Denmark – as well as for future Presidencies and, in particular, for all the European institutions. It is also the most important effect of our debate today. In relation to this, I would like to accentuate very clearly that I do not agree with the words of one of my opponents, Mr Poręba, who said – and this may serve as a symbolic digest of this debate – in commenting on the last European Council, that ‘you need to have courage and a sense of self-respect to say no to the European Union’. That is an exact quotation. Well, I would like to say that today, you need to have courage, a sense of self-respect and imagination to say yes every day to the European Union.
I also want to explain to you, Mr Poręba, that your criticism that the Polish Presidency was not the host of the meeting on Libya in March this year is inaccurate, because the Polish Presidency began on 1 July. It would have been very difficult for me to take the role of initiator and host of such a meeting at that time.
As for the kind but also at a certain point critical words about Durban which we heard from our friend, Mr Eickhout, from the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance: it is no secret that Poland is not at the forefront of the movement for climate protection. It is true that no one is perfect and not everyone is going to be ideal in a particular role, and this is understandable. I would ask for understanding here. In the case of Durban, just as with all other action for climate protection, but particularly when we are talking about matters such as those which were being decided in Durban, the Polish Presidency wanted most of all for Europe not to be isolated in its efforts for the adoption of pro-climate measures. We think – and I will always stress this – that climate protection measures constitute an absolute priority for the European Union, but they should not be naive measures, and they would have been naive if we had taken on challenges which were not global challenges, by which I mean if they were not being taken on by our partners from outside the European Union. This is why I do think we made a step forward in Durban. Once again, it was too small a step, but it was a step nonetheless: we managed to build a collective decision, not only within the Union, but on a global scale, and this was a step forward. You are right, Mr Eickhout, that it was inadequate, but I am hoping that in the future, it will be possible to build an agreement on climate not just within the European Union, but that we will be able to be increasingly effective in encouraging other countries to join us, including Russia, China, Brazil, India and the United States, so that we will not be alone in this effort, because if we try to do this alone, we will perhaps pay a price which is too high, particularly at this critical time.
I am pleased, too, that mention has been made here of things which we have done but which I did not intend to mention. One speaker said I should have given a report on what we had planned to do. That report, please believe me, would be a long one. I think the Polish Presidency – this is testified to by what has been said here – has accomplished the specific tasks to which we committed ourselves, and we have done so in a way which has been truly effective and which has brought truly good results. I did not want to take up your time by giving a day-by-day or month-by-month account of all the efforts which have been crowned with success. I am pleased that one thing has been highlighted which for us, too, was very important – the protection of people who are excluded. Not just the protection of weaker Member States, but also the protection of people who are excluded – the weakest groups of people. Yes, one of our initiatives – and I am very enthusiastic about this issue – was the protection of children, not only from poverty, but the protection of children from violence and sexual abuse. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all those who have helped the Polish Presidency take that further clear step for the protection of children who have been the victims of such violence.
The same applies to the proposal concerning the scheme for food distribution to the most deprived persons. It has been possible, literally in the last few days, to achieve what the Polish Presidency wanted. This scheme is going to be in operation for the next two years, if I remember rightly, and it is something which is very important, too, during a crisis. I would like to thank everyone very warmly once again for their support and cooperation on these specific projects.
Please allow me to do one more thing as I close. I think it is understandable. I would like to thank the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek. Yes, these six months have, in a certain sense, been six Polish months in the European Union. The head of Parliament, the Polish Presidency, but also – I think I can say this – that Polish pro-European optimism, which, in spite of the difficulties, in spite of the crisis, has been in evidence, both here in this Parliament and around us. I hope it will be possible to retain this pro-European optimism and energy, because they are going to be very much needed. They are perhaps the most important tools for a crisis. It may be they seem lightweight and hard to quantify, but they are perhaps the most important: energy, optimism, trust; and I hope everyone can have them. Thank you very much, Jerzy, for your help – we have always been able to count on you. I would also like to thank José Manuel. You have been a great friend of this Presidency, and truly without you, this Presidency would not have ended with such results. Thank you so much. Finally, I wish every success to the Danes, the Danish Prime Minister and the Danish Presidency. We will be at your service and at the service of all those who want to make Europe stronger. In this work, you will always be able to count on the Poles. Thank you."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples