Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-03-20-Speech-3-042"
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"en.20020320.5.3-042"2
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"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Madam Vice-President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, I should first like to join with other honourable Members in expressing my grief at the murder of Professor Biagi, and unequivocally condemning terrorism.
With regard to the outcome of the Barcelona European Council, I believe it has been positive, as the Liberal Group stated. The results do indeed fall short of the Presidency’s expectations. On the other hand, enough has been achieved to conclude that definite progress was made. There are also clear commitments to work towards the objectives set at Lisbon. Both the President of the Council and the President of the Commission have already spelt these out.
I should however say that this morning I discussed these issues in the Committee on Economic Affairs with Professor Issing of the European Central Bank’s Executive Committee. We agreed that the progress made is welcome, but we also agreed that it is inadequate. This is because it falls short of what is required to ensure that the Lisbon commitments are met. I refer in particular to the structural reforms needed. It is not yet absolutely certain that the targets set will be met. You will recall these targets, namely a sustainable economy, competitive at global level, based on growth and ensuring economic and social cohesion. The progress made is also insufficient to consolidate the incipient growth currently noted. This growth should of course translate precisely into confidence that those structural changes will be carried out.
I believe I have exhausted the time at my disposal, but I would like to draw attention to the fact that a warning call was sounded at Barcelona. It concerned the alienation of public opinion and what is doubtless a distorted image of the European Union. This came across clearly.
We need to make an effort to put things right. Refocusing the Council’s work is on the agenda for Seville. I believe this is essential. We should also bear in mind that regions enjoying full legislative capacity ought to be involved in order to bring all parties together. After all, they are closer to the citizens."@en1
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