Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-01-14-Speech-3-006"
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"en.20040114.1.3-006"2
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Mr President, Prime Minster Ahern, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that the best way of opening this debate is to make final assessment of the future, given that events of future months will shape the course of the Union for many years to come. I am referring to the key institutional events, such as the parliamentary elections in mid-June and the completion of this Commission’s mandate at the end of October. Furthermore, negotiations are about to start on establishing the Union’s future Financial Perspective, and the Commission will soon be presenting its proposals. Finally – and here I am moving on to the issues that I will discuss today – this Presidency will see the completion of enlargement and progress will have to be made on the Constitutional Treaty and on our strategy for growth. So, ladies and gentlemen, the best wishes that we have exchanged over the last few days are especially valuable and I am sure that Mr Ahern and his colleagues will employ all their determination and ability to ensure that this Presidency is a successful one.
I will start my brief speech by referring to enlargement. After years of meticulous preparation, 1 May 2003 will really be a day of celebration. I am glad that these celebrations will be centred on Dublin, because the Irish people are known for their exuberance and conviviality. I am pleased that this celebration will be geared towards young people in particular, from whom we have a lot to learn, especially in times of difficulty when there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm about the future. Enlargement will bring about significant changes for all our institutions. At a practical level, work will continue on the internal organisation of the Commission, and I will report back to you on this in good time. Furthermore, I am stepping up my consultations with the governments of the new Member States in order to appoint new Commissioners. Work is progressing very quickly and so I can confirm that at the end of February – as early as was called for by Parliament – I will let you have the names of the Commissioners so that you can duly proceed to the hearings that have been proposed. The aim is, of course, to integrate the new members of the College as from 1 May 2004, after they have been approved by Parliament.
The celebrations in Dublin will be a symbolic moment, which will open up new horizons. This monumental step is like a mountain pass: when we get there, a new landscape will of course unfold before us. We will see the final frontiers of the Union, which will be complete when it welcomes the countries of the Western Balkans. From this height we will be able to see the new neighbours of the enlarged Europe with whom, as Mr Ahern mentioned, we want to create an area of cooperation, stability, security and peace. We have already embarked upon this task with the circle of friendly countries, which increases the possibility of far-reaching and systematic cooperation with the European Union from the Mediterranean to Russia.
We propose the European model as a way of structuring relations between countries outside of Europe; everyone is hugely interested in this model: in Asia, in Latin America, everywhere. In recent years, the world, which has become less secure, has gone through a period of profound uncertainty. I am therefore pleased by the call from the Irish Presidency to promote strong and effective multilateralism, respect for human rights and conflict prevention: these principles are European principles. The Union must indeed strengthen relations with the United Nations and try to find more common ground with all the major players on the world stage, starting with the United States and Russia, and thus we are right on track. We must work together with the Member States to help Secretary-General Kofi Annan – whom we will meet in two weeks time – to push ahead with the reform of the United Nations, an organisation that we want to be strong, effective and present wherever peace is under threat, where people are in need of aid, where human rights need protecting.
Ladies and gentlemen, threats to security and world peace are not posed simply by armed conflicts and groups that are prepared to fight to achieve their goals. Whilst we must show determination in opposing and neutralising terrorist organisations, conflict situations must be resolved at political level. I therefore agree with the proposals made by the Irish Presidency to concentrate Union measures on humanitarian aid, respect for human rights and on the political, economic and social factors that fuel war and violence.
I would now like to turn briefly to the issue of the Constitutional Treaty, which was the thorniest issue on the agenda of the Presidency that has just concluded. Firstly, I would like to say how satisfied I am with the Presidency’s announcement that the work of the Intergovernmental Conference will begin again. For the Commission, adopting this Constitution is an absolute priority: both the Irish and the Dutch Presidencies can count on our continued support. 2004 must be the year of the European Constitution. The December summit clearly showed that the existing stumbling blocks would not be insurmountable if the Member States made a further effort to extend the consensus – which was huge – on the Convention’s proposals. If this development occurs – and I know that Mr Ahern is a master of patience and persuasion – then agreement may not be far away. The cost of slowing down the process of integration is too great. Clearly, there are risks involved in any situation and the Commission insists that we all move together towards a form of integration that is more solid and which enjoys broader agreement. If the efforts to this end were to fail repeatedly – and I do hope that this does not happen – then we could not, of course, oppose better solutions from other quarters but, I repeat, this does not apply to the historic phase in which we are currently working: we are now working towards us all having a Constitution shared by all the Member States.
Mr President, I would like to finish my speech with the European measures for economic growth, to which you referred very clearly. On this subject, your programme contains a wealth of ideas and is also ambitious; it could not be otherwise, since this Presidency will host the Spring Summit, which is the main meeting to set out the economic strategy. After several difficult years, the economy finally seems to be picking up: not too enthusiastically, but at least there has been some improvement. The climate is becoming favourable to stimulating economic activity. This is not the place to repeat any analysis of the objectives set out in the Presidency’s programme – which will, I guarantee, receive the Commission’s full support – and so I will just give a brief review of the ideas underlying the strategy in question.
The Spring Council will continue in the direction outlined in the Lisbon strategy, which remains the only basis that will allow Europe and its economy to maintain – I am not saying to increase, simply to maintain – its prosperity, security, social justice in a globalised world. The Commission will, therefore, make its proposals and the Council will take its decisions; no decision will be able to bear fruit until the decisions become real policies at national level, and so we need the cooperation of the Member States to be harmonised. The key priorities must be knowledge and innovation, that is to say, a single priority: human resources, full stop. That is the priority. Investment in education, lifelong learning and in research are not theoretical problems, but an objective that must be pursued at once because our international competitors are overtaking us, or have already done so. We must, therefore, step up our efforts to become a knowledge-based economy.
Ladies and gentlemen, if we look beyond the here and now, it is clear that our growth depends primarily on developing human resources and knowledge. I would again like to stress the need to create research centres of excellence in Europe and at world level, or even better, that are the best in the world. They must be the tangible and fundamental symbol of our belief in the future, that – as Mr Ahern said – the future is something we can shape and make happen. National strategies alone will not produce cutting-edge research; we need a strategy for the continent, we need the whole of the Union to pull together. Our continent must once again become what it was for centuries: the reference point for researchers across the world. We must put in place measures to allow young people who are currently specialising elsewhere to return to Europe when they have completed their studies. There is no point in me giving you facts and figures: here the issue is that hundreds of thousands of people are educated here and go elsewhere, or are educated elsewhere and go elsewhere. We are thus out of the loop of cultivating human resources in the world: either we re-enter it or the Lisbon strategy will not be fully achieved. There is only one way forward possible: fundamental research and disseminating education throughout the European workforce. Our young people must be able to find opportunities to study, work and be successful in Europe: that is their right. I say this not only for the sake of young people, but also because their success is the key to our own survival. This must, therefore, be the aim of our policies and our effort to meet the expectations of the people of Europe."@en1
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