Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-06-02-Speech-1-143"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030602.9.1-143"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, I had not intended to respond as, until Mr Berthu's speech, all of the speakers had essentially confirmed our deep-seated agreement on the principles.
I should just like to say a few words in reply to Mr Berthu on the subject of whether trade policy should be decided by unanimity or a qualified majority.
Today, Mr Berthu – and this will probably be increasingly true in the future – we live in a world of elephants and in this world power struggles, particularly over trade matters, are largely determined by the weight of the participants.
If the Union wishes to bring its full weight to bear then unanimity is not the way to do so. Experience has shown this. The situation is very simple: in this field either we want to carry weight in the world in which we live and will continue to live, and in that case in a Europe of 25 we need qualified majority voting, or we do not want to – and I certainly understand that this might well be Mr Berthu's point of view; it would not surprise me in the least – in which case we should indeed maintain unanimity.
The idea that unanimity is the best guarantee of sovereignty is something that Mr Berthu has just reiterated. I am not surprised by this and I wanted to draw your attention to it. It is true today where cultural matters are concerned, as it is in other areas."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples