Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-01-14-Speech-3-010"
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"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, the first few days of 2009 leave no room for doubt. The next six months are going to put the European Union to the test. Europe will have to prove its determination to help its citizens, workers and businesses to face and to overcome the economic crisis. Europe will have to prove its solidarity in emergency situations such as the sudden turn-off of the gas supply that we are experiencing at present. Europe will have to demonstrate its ability to use all its external influence to settle international conflicts as dangerous for world peace as the Gaza conflict is today.
Without judging intentions, there is an objective fact: Russia and Ukraine are showing that they are incapable of delivering on their commitments to some European Union Member States. The fact is that Gazprom and Naftogas are unable to fulfil their obligations towards European consumers.
I would like to convey a very clear message to Moscow and Kiev. If the agreement sponsored by the European Union is not honoured as a matter of urgency, the Commission will advise European companies to take this matter to the courts and call on Member States to engage in concerted action to find alternative ways of energy supply and transit.
We will see very soon whether there is a technical hitch or whether there is no political intention to honour the agreement. I shall spell this out. If the agreement is not honoured, it means that Russia and Ukraine can no longer be considered reliable partners for the European Union in matters of energy supply.
In any case, the Commission will come forward with further proposals to improve energy security in Europe, following our strategic energy review of last November.
Implementation of the climate and energy package and the mobilisation of the EUR 5 billion of unspent money from the Community budget in favour of energy interconnections will also be crucial, and I would like to thank the Czech presidency for its support for the fulfilment of this commitment which was taken at the highest level at the last European Council. Europe must act now to avoid future repetitions of this type of situation.
Let me now widen the scope and look at the economy. All the signs are that the economic climate is continuing to worsen. Unemployment is rising. Production figures continue to fall. Things are likely to get worse before becoming better. We must not hide the seriousness of the situation, but we must not be negative and fatalistic. We have designed the right strategies to get us through this crisis. We can cushion its impact on the most vulnerable in our societies, and we can take decisions now which will stand us in good stead when we come out of this crisis, and we hope that we
come out of this crisis.
The top priority for the coming weeks must be to work together to turn our intentions into reality. The recovery plan proposed by the Commission and backed by the European Council is the right response. It provides a stimulus large enough to have an impact in every Member State: around 1.5% of European Union GDP represents a significant amount of money, if well spent.
It aims at maximum effectiveness by hitting two targets with one shot: the long-term health and competitiveness of the European economy, and the need for a short-term stimulus to arrest the downturn. It recognised that this is not an abstract economic debate, but a crisis that affects Europeans, their livelihoods and their well-being. The social consequences of the crisis must be addressed directly.
In close cooperation with the Czech Presidency-in-Office of the Council – and I should like to welcome Prime Minister Topolánek and all of his team, I wish them every success at the head of the Council, and, once again, I wish to express my full confidence in the Czech Republic’s ability to fulfil this very important role – in close cooperation with the latter and with the European Union, the Commission will strive to demonstrate that the Union is equal to the task. Together, we can show Europeans during these six months why the European Union is so vitally important today. We can show them why it is directly in their interest to voice their opinions by electing MEPs who will sit in the next European Parliament. Let us show our fellow citizens why Europe needs the increase in democracy and effectiveness provided for by the Treaty of Lisbon and why it should benefit from it, and let us also show them why, now more than ever, we need a Treaty of Lisbon that has the backing of all our Member States.
Finally, it uses the European dimension to best effect through appropriate coordination to ensure that action in one Member State has a positive knock-on in the others and sparks a positive interaction.
To put this programme into action we need the active commitment of the presidency, the support of individual Member States and of the Council, and the clear engagement of this Parliament. It means, in particular, swift agreement on the legal proposals in the package, from accelerating the use of the Structural Funds to the revised European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, and agreement on the release of EUR 5 billion of unspent commitments to strategic projects, with a particular focus on energy and energy interconnections. The Russian-Ukrainian crisis has made it clearer than ever that filling in the gaps in our energy infrastructure is to the strategic benefit of all Europe. It means effective implementation of the plan to release a stimulus of around EUR 200 billion into our economy. And, of course, it means keeping the situation under review because, as you will understand, the situation may evolve.
As we take this short-term action we must not lose sight of the long term. We can work best if we build on some of the successes on which Europe’s prosperity has been based, such as the internal market. The motto of the Czech presidency, ‘Europe without barriers’, is indeed an important and inspiring message, but as Prime Minister Topolánek said, let me also emphasise that a Europe without barriers needs rules – European rules. Rules to ensure a level playing field between Member States and between economic operators. Rules to ensure that the benefits of European integration are shared out amongst citizens. Rules to ensure the long-term sustainability of our way of life.
We will work closely with the presidency and with this Parliament in this direction because the Europe we want and the Europe we need is one that combines freedom, solidarity and security for the benefit of all Europeans.
We have a solid foundation from which to start. In 2008, the Union demonstrated that it was capable of taking difficult decisions that commit our societies for many years. The energy and climate-change package clearly illustrates the political will of a visionary and determined Europe. With this package, we are able to take steps towards reaching an ambitious international agreement in December. In 2008, the Union also proved its capacity to adapt to change. It quickly found the means to react to the financial crisis, and it very quickly reached an agreement on a recovery plan to stimulate the European economy without delay. I shall come back to this.
The Union also enters 2009 secure in the strength of its international reputation. It was first in line to help resolve conflicts such as the one between Russia and Georgia; it will not diminish its efforts to help bring together parties in conflict such as in Gaza; and, in fact, it is thanks to the European Union that at least humanitarian corridors have been opened up to help the people of Palestine.
The European Union has also inspired the courses of action that the G20 has taken forward to tackle the economic crisis. It has reaffirmed its full commitment to the opening up of markets, especially to the conclusion of the Doha process for development and trade and also to the Millennium Development Goals, which the rigours of the crisis must not call into question. Europe must also continue to do everything it can to meet today’s challenges, and I believe that we have reason to be confident.
In the course of this year the Commission is going to continue to do everything to ensure that we do not lose the momentum that we gained at Washington during the G20. We believe that it is important to continue to pull out all the stops to reform the global financial system, and we have an extraordinary opportunity with the G20 in London. The European Union must speak with one voice in London and must continue to show its leadership in the context of reforming the global financial system.
The Commission will continue to propose important initiatives this year, for example to better regulate the way in which the financial markets operate, to launch a new action programme in the field of justice, freedom and security, and to propose new measures for adapting to climate change. We shall draft our proposals with the budgetary review in mind. Furthermore, we shall pay particular attention to developments in the economic and social situation and shall take all necessary measures. You are still in the process of examining some very important proposals, ladies and gentlemen. We hope that they will be able to be adopted by the end of the parliamentary term, and this, in particular, thanks to the commitment made by the Czech Presidency. I have in mind, more specifically, the proposals linked to the economic and financial crisis, to the social package, to the internal energy market – which current events have shown to be so very crucial – and also to the telecoms package and to road transport.
I will focus my remarks today on energy and on the economy. It is here where Europe’s citizens will feel most pressure this year. And it is here where decisive effective action by the European Union can make a real difference.
An issue which requires urgent and decisive European attention is gas, where, through no fault on the European Union side, we have had to plunge into a dispute between Russia and Ukraine on gas transit. The current situation is, in short, both unacceptable and incredible. Unacceptable, as the European Union consumers in some Member States are still without gas after a week without supplies. Incredible, because we remain in this situation the day after an important agreement was signed at senior level with assurances from Russian and Ukrainian leaders that they will implement the agreement and let the gas flow."@en1
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