Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-24-Speech-2-034"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20001024.2.2-034"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, the Informal Council Meeting at Biarritz raised hopes that in-depth consideration would be given to the preparation of the Nice summit, which is to lead on to the reform of the European institutions. Besides the external issues that punctuated this meeting, nothing else emerged from it bar the genuine inability of the European institutions to make any headway on institutional matters. It was as if the idea was to better conceal the absence of any consensus on this issue and the inability to form a diplomatic counterbalance to the United States, which is acting as a mediator in the Middle East, even if it is quite laudable to want peace in the world, not least in this war-torn region.
Above and beyond this bitter admission, this Europe so often promised, which seeks to be close to and receptive to the peoples of Europe, would actually seem to me to be moving further away from this goal. Is wanting to get involved with everything and everyone, beginning with what is happening outside our border – when even the United Nations, whose task this actually is, cannot successfully do this – not a negation of this Europe which is supposed to be closer to the citizens? We would like to see similar zeal for action in the field when there are disasters in Europe, such as the storms of December 1999 or the sinking of the Erika.
One might wonder whether such an approach is relevant in terms of coming up with real solutions. As is the case at every summit, the newspapers reported on the hope and anguish raised by this summit, the prelude to the Treaty of Nice. Our debate today also has the same ring to it. The negotiators see the fact that there are malcontents on both sides as proof that they are on the way to striking the right balance. But in the end, as Commissioner Barnier has said, the aim is not to enhance the lives of our fellow citizens but to ensure the survival of the Community structure.
Four revisions in fifteen years have not improved matters, and now we are expected to believe that a charter or a constitution might do something to change things. On this basis, how can the Community act as a diplomatic entity on the international stage?
In conclusion, let us begin to do together those things that we can do well or better in line with our peoples’ wishes. Then and only then will it be time to deal with everything else."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples