Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-02-01-Speech-3-020-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20120201.12.3-020-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it has been made clear today in the media that the unemployment rate in the euro area has reached its highest level for 13 years. What is the Council offering us? A Treaty outside the normal community method with the wrong objective and with no certainty as to whether it will ever come into force. The divisions and the uproar within the European Union are continuing.
Finally, I would like to give my sincere thanks to President Buzek for pushing to ensure that a team from Parliament was involved in the negotiations. I would also like to thank the negotiators. They have been able to prevent a few serious mistakes from being made. Above all, however, I would like to thank President Schulz. You have found the right words and the appropriate tone to ensure that we in the European Union are heard, as Mr Barroso has said. This will allow us to work together to prevent the mistake that has been made with this Treaty from becoming the general rule. If it is ever accepted and comes into force, it must remain an exception. Against this background, Mr Schulz, some people may be regretting who they voted for. Those people who did not vote for Mr Schulz may be regretting that they did not. A strong voice will enable Parliament to be heard more clearly in future.
This is highlighted by the fact that someone came up with the crazy idea of appointing an EU commissioner or a national commissioner for Greece who would undermine Greek democratic institutions. My group is strongly opposed to the appointment of a commissioner who would weaken democracy and make decisions on behalf of the citizens of Greece. We need to make this clear.
However, the situation is also a consequence of the way in which Ms Merkel has misunderstood the leadership role played by Germany. I am in favour of Germany playing a leading role because it is a large and powerful country both in political and economic terms. However, this should involve bringing the EU together and not introducing further divisions. As the Handelsblatt, which really is not a left-wing newspaper, said: ‘The German way does not currently lead towards Europe, but it should do!’
I would like to give Ms Merkel one piece of advice. She should start looking around for a new partner, because the future President of France is François Hollande. We support the future president and we are particularly in favour of his intention to renegotiate this Treaty. Mr Sarkozy’s election campaign appearances are no longer helping him and are only causing further harm to Ms Merkel. We need a change of direction here.
However, the content is also causing problems. We only need to look at the most recent developments in Portugal. These Council resolutions are not helping to increase stability in the countries which are in difficulty or in the markets. We need to move money from the financial markets into the real economy, primarily by means of a financial transaction tax. We must give the European Investment Bank more opportunities for lending. We must also make more money available to people in the lower income brackets. They need the money and they would also be prepared to spend it. That is the direction we should be moving in.
Mr Van Rompuy, I do not deny that there have also been a few positive developments. You are finally getting to grips with unemployment, in particular among young people. However, can you explain to me why there are binding Treaties and sanctions for the Member States with high budget deficits? When it is a question of youth unemployment, you can only come up with feeble explanations and recommendations. We cannot accept an unbalanced situation of this kind."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples