Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-10-26-Speech-2-021"
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"en.20041026.5.2-021"2
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"Mr President, Mr President-elect of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, on 22 July, and by a large majority, Parliament expressed its confidence in the President-elect of the European Commission. Today you are here with the team that has been proposed to you by the national governments. Mr President-elect of the Commission, you have expressed your willingness to cooperate very closely with the European Parliament, and, while we welcome this, we will also take you at your word in the future. We also very much welcome the further commitments you have entered into today. We welcome your desire to be the President of a strong Commission, and several times you have mentioned the responsibility that you, as President, will have for determining overall policy. That too is in our interests, for we need a Commission with a strong President, such as the European Union has enjoyed in the past.
On Friday, we will have the signing of the European Constitution. We all know how difficult it is going to be to win approval for this in those nations that are holding referendums. And please bear in mind that if we were to get a result tomorrow – I do not think that we will, but if we did – that suggested to the European Union that we do not accept our cultural pluralism, it would make it even more difficult to have the constitution adopted in the 25 countries of the European Union.
All of this must be borne in mind. Let me be quite frank, ladies and gentlemen, and say that I find it very moving to see public figures from 25 European countries sitting in front of us now. When I was elected to the European Parliament in 1979, I could only dream that one day we might have Members of the Commission from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus. These public figures are here today in our midst. It is our responsibility tomorrow to express our confidence in this Commission so as to secure Europe’s future.
Our group has tabled a motion for a resolution. It is regrettable that the groups could not agree on a joint motion, but ours will be the yardstick for monitoring the Commission. We expect the new Commission to agree its political and strategic programme in close cooperation with Parliament and we expect the Commission to be in regular attendance in Parliament and its committees, not only today – and it is impressive that they are all here – but also throughout the five years of its term of office. Do not forget your responsibility to Parliament once you are confirmed in post tomorrow.
We expect the Commission to take the principles of subsidiarity very seriously. We want a strong Europe, but we also have the identity of our nations, the identity of our regions and the identity – let us not forget – of our towns and villages.
What are our values? The cornerstones of our free society are respect for the dignity of each individual, tolerance, pluralism and the rule of law. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The strength of our European cultural identity lies in the fact that we accept cultural difference and tolerate it. It is my firm conviction that, if we stop doing so, then Europe will fail, and that means that no one in the European Union, no one in Europe, no one in the world should be discriminated against, including for their religious beliefs.
We want a Commission that is made up of a diverse range of people and not just one with people from all of the countries in the European Union, as the Treaty stipulates. We want people from different cultural backgrounds, with a range of different religious beliefs or non-religious beliefs and convictions. If we accept this – and it seems to me that this is what the Commission team represents – Europe has a good future ahead of it.
Everyone here should be aware that if this college does not win the vote of confidence tomorrow it will not mean that one, two, three or four Members will be replaced: no, the status of every member of the team that is here today will then be open to question. This is not about one person, it is not about two or three people; it is about the whole college and we should be aware of that."@en1
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