Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2017-01-17-Speech-2-008-000"
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"en.20170117.2.2-008-000"2
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"Mr President, colleagues, it has been a genuine pleasure talking with all of you during this campaign for the Presidency of the European Parliament, and having listened to you, it is clear that we agree that Parliament needs to change, and the apparent ending of the grand coalition gives an opportunity to demonstrate that we can shift away from electing a usual suspect and maybe even dare to elect a woman from a smaller group – and, if we’re feeling really radical, from the UK, difficult though I know that is for some of you.
We may know later today more about the UK’s proposals for its future relationship with the European Union, but we do know that this Parliament will vote on that final deal and should be involved in those discussions, not least as we have enormous knowledge and expertise to offer. And I believe we agree that, as far as possible, this must be a win-win outcome for all our citizens but does not undermine the European Union. But when we were talking, you were clear about some of the other changes. You wanted independence and visibility of the institution, not least in the eyes of our citizens. You wanted greater inclusion – that Parliament’s President must involve the voices of the different political groups in our decision-making, but also inclusion of the people of Europe, and giving more structure and value to the work that we already do, whether that’s with young people, people experiencing poverty, or initiatives such as the Freedom Drive, but inclusion also in our diversity in that wider sense.
Transparency was also an issue, and Parliament’s President has to carry through the recent rule changes that we have made, as well as doing more on environmental progress and social responsibility. So visibility, inclusion, transparency are important to all of us, but so are the values that underpin our work as Members of the European Parliament and that our President, as our face to the world, has a responsibility to promote. And when I travel outside the European Union, I am often told that our commitment to universal human rights, democracy and solidarity within and across our borders, backed by environmental progress, is what makes the European Union a valued partner.
But of course, it’s not every leader or every country that espouses those values. We are in difficult and shifting political times, but our Parliament has shown itself capable of being critical of some of our own national governments, painful though that is. We have supported proposals for the European Union to act together, to manage the refugee situation (which Council has singularly failed to do), and as Parliament, we have acted to push Council to be a stronger negotiator in the critically-important climate change negotiations. And this week, through our work on the pillar of social rights, we can show that a stable economy does not have to destroy Social Europe.
We face many challenges today. Change is necessary. But I believe we are stronger when we promote the values of democracy, universal human rights, and solidarity on a sustainable planet together, and on that basis, I would be honoured to work with you as your President."@en1
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