Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-13-Speech-2-069"
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"en.20010213.3.2-069"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, do you sometimes get the feeling that this Parliament suffers from collective dementia, by any chance? We had the self-same debate exactly a year ago, on 17 February. I would not find this disconcerting, were it not for the fact that we also discussed this topic back on 27 October 1999, and I could mention a few other occasions.
Ladies and gentlemen, what is it that Europe needs? It was agreed last year in Lisbon that we want to become the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world, and Parliament has thrown its weight behind this objective, in a spirit of generosity and with a large majority. That is why, on Thursday next, we will hold a debate on a European research area, and the need to invest in research, technological development, innovation and education.
In addition, it is more important than ever for businesses to exploit their competitive potential to the full, because an uncompetitive business costs jobs. Seen from this perspective, it is sometimes unavoidable that businesses have to undergo reorganisation and occasionally take painful measures such as transferring or replacing workers, or making them redundant if the worst comes to the worst. Needless to say, the rights of workers as laid down in the various European directives must be upheld in the process.
You will understand that the Liberal Group cannot endorse the question raised by Mr Rocard or the resolution tabled by the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs as it stands, for it provides renewed evidence of the fact that Parliament has a very selective memory. After all, only the Nice social agenda is discussed in the joint resolution, whilst Lisbon is forgotten for the sake of convenience. We will therefore table a number of amendments in the spirit of the Lisbon objectives. Mr Rocard thinks that not responding immediately to an e-mail signifies automatic acceptance; he is wrong on that score. But we will withdraw our resolution."@en1
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