Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-26-Speech-2-370"
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"en.20060926.29.2-370"2
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"Mr President, I would like to congratulate Mrs Krehl on her work. Today, in the European Parliament, we have discussed Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union. In relation to that enlargement, I would like to highlight a statement contained in the introduction to the Council’s decision. It reads as follows: ‘The enlargement of the European Union to include 25 Member States is an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen both the economic competitiveness and the internal cohesion of the European Union.’
Of course, we should also be fully aware that at the moment, significant divergences remain in relation to wealth and the rate of development in certain regions. However, barely 28 months after the accession to the European Union of 10 new Member States, we can already see that even the poorest regions are developing at a significantly faster rate and now have relatively high growth rates. I speak as a citizen of one of these areas, the Podkarpacie region in south-eastern Poland.
The word cohesion does not mean homogeneity or uniformity, but rather it describes a state where a given structure remains an intrinsic whole without internal tensions or fissures. This is my understanding of the European Union’s cohesion policy. Activities undertaken in the framework of efforts to foster solidarity between countries and nations within our Community will attain faster and greater success if there is a greater level of macroeconomic stability and essential structural changes are implemented in a more effective manner.
It is therefore vital to define the principles for cohesion for the entire European Union and correlate them with the strategic frames of reference created by individual countries. Accordingly, we should welcome the fact that between 2007 and 2013, cohesion policy will aim to provide financial support for the least developed areas while also focusing on fostering economic growth and increasing employment. I am pleased to see that the territorial dimension of cohesion policy has been emphasised, as it aims to create a balance between the development of urban and rural areas, as well as of regions with specific characteristics.
It will be extremely important to make sensible use of financial instruments, which is why the mid-term assessment will play such a significant role. We should take a long-term view of our activities in Europe. I therefore think that we need to breathe new life into the Lisbon Strategy. We need to encourage innovation in all possible fields, we need to base our economy on knowledge and education and we need to foster entrepreneurship, irrespective of the size of the companies in question. These are the approaches that will guarantee success. However, we must remember that all our actions should treat people as individuals, as family members, as members of local and regional communities, as nationals of specific countries and as citizens of the whole Community. This also applies to disabled people. It is therefore very important to take account of the demographic dimension of cohesion policy."@en1
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