Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-22-Speech-2-195"
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"en.20070522.23.2-195"2
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".
Mr President, on behalf of my group I should like to welcome Mr Prodi back to Parliament.
‘He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind’.
Thank you for holding true to your vision.
Prime Minister, 50 years after the Treaty of Rome was signed, you have returned Italy to its rightful place at the heart of Europe, and at the heart of the European project. With President Napolitano you have turned the
into a
. Your cabinet, with names like Bonino, Amato and Padoa-Schioppa, fills my colleagues and me with confidence.
We hear some criticisms of your first year in government, but we recall the faint hearts who made similarly dismissive remarks about your first year at the Commission. They were proven wrong. Enlargement, the euro: these are the jewels in Europe’s crown, so we will judge a government on its results, not on first appearances. It was Italy which, while others hesitated, led the European Union force into Lebanon, and Italy which pressed for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. You showed the world that Europe can have the vision and the capacity to act in unison for the good of all.
We must seize that vision, for Europe’s future strength lies not in insulating itself against injustices, but in confronting the forces of pain and misery and destruction in the world beyond our borders. On our own continent we have healed the hurts of nations. Our interest now, indeed perhaps our survival, depends on exporting in the next 50 years the domestic achievements of the last. Global challenges like climate change, population growth and nuclear proliferation highlight what you have called ‘the inadequacy of unilateralism’. The world needs global mechanisms to create consensus on these matters.
And the model? None is better than our Community method, tried and tested over 50 years. And yet, even as Europe comes of age on the international stage, some are seeking to divide us from within. What should we say to the eurosceptics who say that the European Union is no longer fit for service, or that the European dream is menaced by globalisation, or that integration threatens national identity? They listen, but they do not hear. Mr Prodi, you wisely followed the advice of Cavour, who told us that he had discovered how to deceive diplomats. He said, ‘I tell them the truth, and they never believe me’.
As you told us in Berlin, marking Europe’s 50th birthday:
‘To create we need common sense, patience, faith, and also a grain of folly.’
A grain of folly, of self-belief, as well as grit and determination are indeed needed to face the future. For now is not the time for apathy or egocentrism. Our leaders must be bold: more Europe, not less, is the key to competitiveness; more Europe, not less, is the key to security; more Europe, not less Europe, is the key to a just world. That is why it is vital to reach an institutional settlement at next month’s intergovernmental conference. Only stronger institutions can build a stronger Europe.
Mr Prodi, it was Leonardo da Vinci, your compatriot, who taught us:"@en1
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