Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-01-16-Speech-3-009"
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"en.20080116.2.3-009"2
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"Mr President, Prime Minister, Members of Parliament, my first word goes to the Slovenian Presidency. Indeed, it is the first time a Member State of the last enlargement has assumed this very important responsibility. Slovenia is a great example of the success of the enlargement. It was the first country to adopt the euro.
Next week, the Commission will adopt the climate change and renewable energy package. Our proposals meet the ambition set by all Heads of State and Government in last year’s Spring European Council, who called for precise and legally binding targets.
The Commission is now acting on that mandate. I see with great satisfaction that this is also a priority, both for the Slovenian Presidency of the Council and for Parliament. We will have to work hard to have the package adopted by the end of 2008. Our package will complement the proposals presented last year on the energy internal market. A European energy market will give more options and better prices to European citizens, and it is essential to meet the three central challenges which the European Union faces in energy: competitiveness, sustainability and security of supply.
We knew from the very beginning that transforming Europe into a low-carbon economy is not an easy task. But this is the moment to be serious, responsible and coherent with our commitment. The Commission will follow a balanced approach to efforts asked of the Member States. They start from different places; they have different circumstances; some are more able than others to finance investment. We also need to minimise the costs of adaptation for European industry and to address the challenges faced by energy intensive industries. The Commission is well aware of these realities, as our proposals will show.
But do not expect us to compromise on the European interest, which is to lead global efforts to fight climate change, to ensure energy security and to provide a competitive advantage to our economies. Both our international credibility and the credibility before European citizens depend on the fulfilment of the targets established in March 2007.
Bali was a great success in setting out a roadmap to agreement, but our package next week is a clear demonstration of our willingness to put our money where our mouth is.
The energy and climate change package should be seen as an opportunity for Europe in economic terms. It will encourage innovation and it will increase competitiveness. It is a mistake to set the fight against climate change against the competitiveness of European industries. The Union should lead global efforts to tackle climate change, and European industries should continue to be world leaders. At the same time, we will also create new markets and new jobs and will have the ‘first mover’ advantage in many of those sectors.
It is true that our package aims at a more environment-friendly Europe, but it will also contribute to a more industry-friendly, a more job-friendly and a more consumer-friendly Europe. It will be a win-win initiative.
Three years after the relaunch in 2005, the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs is working. It has contributed to a better performance of the European economy, in particular to the creation of 6.5 million new jobs over the last two years.
We expect the creation of five million jobs up to 2009. Structural reforms are also helping economic growth and improving the prospects for European long-term prosperity. These are very encouraging achievements.
As we launch the next Lisbon cycle, we need to take ambitious decisions in the Spring Council on areas such as research, innovation, the business environment, professional skills and the qualification of labour.
The example of Slovenia demonstrates that the Member States which joined the European Union in 2004 and 2007 are now at the core of European integration. It also shows the very important European credentials of Slovenia. I wish to express to Prime Minister Janša my full support for the next six months for the very important task of being President of the European Council. You, Prime Minister, dear friend, and your country, are symbols of the struggle for freedom, a fundamental value for Europe. And thank you for reminding us of these great celebrations of Schengen. I was very moved to be with you and with others on that border between Slovenia and Italy, and I will not forget the words you used at that moment, reminding us that, about 20 years ago, people were killed there by the Yugoslav Army when they were trying to reach freedom, to reach Italy, to reach the European Union.
The Commission is making proposals to turn the fifth freedom – the free movement of knowledge – into a European reality in order to speed up innovation and make it available to a higher number of European citizens.
We also need a Small Business Act for Europe to foster the growth of the small and medium-sized enterprises. Those small and medium-sized enterprises create nine out of ten new jobs. This is a priority for the Commission in 2008.
Last but not least, Europe needs active labour policies: policies that give people the skills to realise their potential, and policies that allow our citizens to secure their employability. Investing in people is the surest way to guarantee our citizens that they will remain employed in spite of moving from job to job. We need to offer prosperity, not just for some, not even only for the majority, but for all. This is why investing in people and modernising labour markets remains one of the four priority areas for the new Lisbon cycle.
We must promote the entrepreneur spirit of Europeans: the creation of jobs, innovation and competition are keys to European success. Economic forecasts for 2008 and 2009 are already slightly less optimistic, and we should take these signals seriously. We know that the cause of this is some financial instability coming from the other side of the Atlantic.
Yet we should fight negative discourses. Our economic fundamentals are sound and solid. We also know that economic downturn could blunt the readiness to pursue economic and social reforms. It may be a natural reaction, but it would be the wrong lesson to draw from past experience.
Global competition and the prosperity of our citizens require that Europe continue its reform process to be a more competitive economy. This is the only way to keep our model, our European model of social cohesion.
One of the keys to success in 2007 was the Commission’s ability to work well with Parliament and the Council. We would never have had agreement on the Lisbon Treaty or solutions for difficult dossiers like the European Institute of Technology and Galileo without this partnership approach.
The triangular institutional partnership between Parliament, the Slovenian Presidency of the Council and the Commission will be crucial to our success in 2008. With a ratified Treaty, an agreed energy and climate change package, and a delivering Lisbon Strategy of growth and jobs, we will certainly have in 2009 a more confident and a better prepared Europe to face the future.
Finally, let me thank President Pöttering for his congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the first meeting of the European Commission. Indeed, it has been a long journey since 1958 for this institution. The European Commission has been at the centre of the European integration process as a source of dynamism and ambition, as a reference for all those who believe in the European project. Today I am proud to be leading this institution at the beginning of the 21st century as we face new challenges and require new solutions.
The European Commission will remain loyal to Walter Hallstein and all the founding fathers who, 50 years ago, launched this great institution as a central player in our common project. In close cooperation with Parliament and with the Council, we will continue to promote our common goals: a strong Europe, an open Europe, a Europe of freedom, prosperity and solidarity. And we are quite sure that, working hand-in-hand with the Slovenian Presidency and with Prime Minister Janša, we will achieve concrete results for our citizens.
It was indeed a very impressive journey that I undertook with Prime Minister Socrates and the President of the European Council, and at the end of December we visited Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic; we were also on the border between Estonia and Finland, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria, and we saw the emotion expressed in the eyes of so many people.
I think it is important to remind ourselves about this, from where we are now. Listening to you today, Prime Minister Janša, could only reinforce my firm belief that this enlargement of 2004-2007, which united Europe in peace and democracy, is indeed one of the greatest achievements of European history, and we should be proud of it.
The Commission will work very closely with the Slovenian Presidency on central issues of its programme, such as the stability of the Western Balkans, Kosovo, and Bosnia in particular, but also enlargement, the European neighbourhood policy, asylum and immigration, cooperation with strategic partners and intercultural dialogue.
Let me concentrate on three issues that are very much linked with our responsibility. I would like to focus on three priorities: the Treaty of Lisbon, the package on energy and climate change, and the renewed Lisbon Strategy.
The year 2007 leaves the European Union in good shape. Progress towards the conclusion of a new Treaty met our expectations. The Union followed the roadmap that was presented by the Commission in May 2006: first the Berlin Declaration, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and outlined a vision for the future of the Union; then the June European Council, where we agreed – under the German Presidency – on a precise mandate for the IGC; and finally, the signature of the Treaty of Lisbon in December.
The process of reaching agreement showed a remarkable degree of consensus between Member States and European institutions on the way forward.
We have a credible and balanced Treaty, and I believe that it provides strong foundations for the future. We have avoided much of the disunity and disagreements of previous institutional debates. This leaves the Union in good shape to ensure we deliver our political priority for this year. The political priority for this year is the successful ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. I call on all Member States to proceed swiftly and decisively to ensure ratification of this European Treaty."@en1
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