Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-15-Speech-3-012"
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"en.20041215.2.3-012"2
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".
Mr President, as with all European Councils, the next one has some very interesting topics to discuss. I would go further and say that they are not just interesting; they are perhaps crucial to our Union’s collective future. Consequently, not only will the Heads of State or Government be taking part, but also the President of Parliament and the President of the Commission. At this time, we must ask for three indispensable qualities: ambition, adequate resources and practical ideas.
Let us look at what this means with regard to each of those topics. Whilst the process of admitting Bulgaria and Romania appears to be going well and the result of genuine efforts on the part of the two countries, we are strongly aware, however, that Romania needs to sprint down the home straight. Whilst we too have no doubts about Croatia – you only need to have been to Zagreb or Dubrovnik to appreciate how embedded it is in European culture – Turkey is a special case, not only due to its geography, but also due to its peculiar cultural and economic characteristics.
The case of Cyprus must not be swept under the carpet while we discuss negotiations. Nevertheless, the opening of negotiations will undoubtedly help to clarify for both sides many areas that are currently in doubt and it will eventually be possible to gauge more clearly what kind of Union would be preferable to both sides. After all, there are other types of union apart from marriage that could potentially be considered.
Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Mr President of the Commission, terrorism is certainly one of the Council’s most important portfolios and we must combat it globally and unstintingly. Rogue states that harbour international terrorism, with varying degrees of legality, must be sanctioned by the EU without delay. International cooperation at various levels – political, financial or operational – must also take place without delay. In this area, there must be no delay and no lack of resources. This brings me to the Financial Perspectives, a portfolio that, as far as we are concerned, will set the tone for Europe’s desire to deepen our Union. The resources must match the ambition. This is something that Jacques Delors said, and with good reason. It is not possible, moreover, to cheat the countries that recently joined our European Union, nor those looking hopefully to the EU as an engine to propel democracy and development forward in their countries.
Let us be clear. To think that Europe, the new Europe, our Europe, can be built with the resources of the past is a fallacy and it is worth saying that if ambition and solidarity do not go hand in hand at this summit and in the orientations and guidelines that are adopted, we should be ashamed of our current leaders.
Mr President, this brings me to external affairs. The Council services tell us that the Council is to discuss the Middle East, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Mediterranean Partnership and, I should add, probably the situation in Ukraine, Darfur, relations with China and Russia and even Transatlantic relations. What I am wondering is that with an agenda of which I have only mentioned a few topics, with the desire for a joint, EU-level external service, what resources will we use to seek to influence the international scene? Will we continue to be a soft power, striving for multilateralism without being in any way active on the international scene? Or will we have at our disposal the resources – the appropriate resources – to finally stop being the political dwarf of the international scene?
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I shall conclude by saying what I said at the beginning. It is crucial that we speak about the Lisbon Strategy, about combating drugs or AIDS, about the new neighbourhood policy and about sustainable development. If, however, we do not have the three elements of ambition, adequate resources and practical ideas, we will be speaking as though we were autistic."@en1
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