Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-22-Speech-3-092"
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"en.20050622.13.3-092"2
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"Mr President, there can be no question that the outcome of last week’s European Council has cast a shadow on the six-month Luxembourg Presidency. A great deal has already been said about the reasons for this fiasco. I myself concur fully with the views expressed by President Barroso at the start of the debate, and in particular with his comments on the reasons why no compromise was reached on the Financial Perspective.
I disagree with the view that the EU is facing a long-term crisis, and I believe that the deadlock on EU expenditure will soon be broken. At the same time, however, I should like to emphasise most strongly that the new Member States must not suffer as a result. European solidarity must not fall prey to conflicts between the 15 old Member States.
We will never achieve dynamic economic growth in Europe if nearly one quarter of the EU’s population is deprived of the substantial support it will need over the next few years to overcome the effects of the political and economic division of Europe that was imposed upon the nations of Central and Eastern Europe. The EU as a whole needs to work together to this end. It is in the vital interests of the richer Member States to invest in the new Member States in order to accelerate their development. A strong cohesion policy and free movement of services provide the best means of achieving this goal.
As a member of Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs, I should also like to pay tribute to the Luxembourg Presidency for having instigated what has been termed a period of reflection in the debate on the Constitutional Treaty. This was a very judicious move, and one that is essential if we are to maintain a healthy European democracy. The outcome of the referenda in France and the Netherlands cannot be ignored without widening the gap between Europe’s elite and its citizens. Those who have called for the ratification process to be continued without any period of reflection, as though nothing had happened, would achieve the very opposite of their intentions. They would forfeit any chance of achieving genuine democratic legitimacy for the European project, perhaps for many years to come.
I am quite sure that by taking its foot off the accelerator, the Luxembourg Presidency has steered the EU round a dangerous bend as far as this issue is concerned. I should like to take the opportunity to express my particular thanks to Prime Minister Juncker and Mr Schmit for having done so."@en1
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