Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-27-Speech-3-022"
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"en.20070627.3.3-022"2
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"I am sorry, Hans-Gert, it is only me!
That is why, Madam President-in-Office, it was certainly impressive to see how you, a woman, dealt with those machos like Blair. I am not only talking about the twins, because Tony Blair was the one who took an axe to our project. Despite everything already being signed and sealed he came back and said: I cannot. One of the few things that I have learnt in politics is that once something is signed there is no turning back. What is more, the issues that were being disputed had already been resolved in the Convention, including the scope of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Anyone who goes back on that shows that they do not take Europe seriously. The most tragic, saddest aspect of all of this is that there are governments that do not take Europe seriously.
You are right, Martin, they want to milk Europe and at the same time they want to eat the cow, sell it. We cannot tolerate this and that is why we Greens will be holding a campaign called: We want our rights back!
Mr President, Madam President-in-Office, ladies and gentlemen, the result is okay; it is even very good. In plain language we have to say that the German Presidency – together with all those who wanted to move Europe forward – has managed to move Europe forward. The script is fine, but the soundtrack was awful. It was too painful to listen to.
I want to stress one point: on the one hand our citizens are reassured that Europe can act and make decisions, but the citizens of Europe have also been excluded from the process and in the longer term this will prove untenable. We cannot build Europe unless our citizens help to shape the construction process. If we continue as we are then at some point the edifice will crumble, like so many of our childhood dreams.
To keep the image, Europe is experiencing a midlife crisis. Somehow, thanks to some very skilful manoeuvring from a handful of people, success was achieved. Incidentally, in France you get the impression that Sarkozy was the only one at the Summit, and no one else. It is very good to hear the plaudits being shared out more widely today.
On another point: something happened that we Greens cannot accept and that we will oppose to the end. It is not possible to opt out of a Charter of Fundamental Rights. Either we have one or we do not. Surely it is absurd to say that we have a Charter of Fundamental Rights with common values that applies in some places and does not apply in others. We might go to Mr Putin and say: we are a Community of values. Mr Putin and the Chinese will counter: except for where you are not! This is impossible.
Over the next few years we want a process to make the Charter of Fundamental Rights part of the European Union. Every British citizen and every Polish citizen is entitled to the same rights as any other European citizen. If that is not the case then we are offering the State concerned a privileged partnership. With Europe you are either in or out. Let us put an end to this nonsense!
I am firmly convinced that we are facing challenges that we will not be able to overcome as individual nations. These national ritualistic chants that we have at Summit meetings pour poison on our plans. Each nation must decide through its government whether it wants to be on board or not. The good thing about this Treaty is that at some point there will be a withdrawal clause. We are not forced to stay together for ever. Anyone who does not wish to does not have to. The tyranny of a veto-wielding minority is as undemocratic as it gets."@en1
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