Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-02-09-Speech-2-091"
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"en.20100209.7.2-091"2
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"Mr President, Mr López Garrido, President of the Commission, thank you for giving me the opportunity to say why I firmly believe, on behalf of the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats), that Mr Barroso and his College of Commissioners, assisted by members of staff from the Commission, will be equal to the challenges that they face.
At the same time, however, we must be much more forceful with regard to the external challenges: security and defence, but also trade, technological and industrial standards, and environmental standards. Europe must defend its values, peace and the prosperity of its citizens. Europe must be an international player and not merely an area of prosperity and of law. It must not deprive itself of the tools that come with its power.
The PPE Group expects the Commission to work effectively on all these fronts, at the same time. If it does so – and I have no reason to doubt it – it will always have the support of the PPE Group.
Mr Barroso, the PPE Group has faith in you; it asks you to be bold, to reform. It asks you to be far-sighted, for the benefit of the cause that brings us together: the creation of political Europe.
Europe was born of an international crisis and, for the first time in 60 years, it is facing a new international crisis that is of a different type but that is undoubtedly serious and dangerous. It is overcoming it, although we are not yet out of the woods. The euro has done its job as a monetary shield; there will never be enough words to say how much we owe it: the automatic stabilisers, those famous solidarity mechanisms, which are too … You have benefited a great deal from them, my friends!
Where would you be now without the solidarity stabilisers? Too often they have been regarded as a burden weighing down our economies, but they have done a great deal to keep the European model afloat. An attractive, much-copied model to which our fellow citizens are rightly attached, but which is being called into question by new challenges.
The world has become multipolar, but not in the way we dreamed; we dreamed that it would be idealistic, peaceful and multilateral. No, the world has become one of competition, of a struggle – a peaceful one, certainly, but a fierce one – to impose one’s model on the others.
In the face of this challenge, the Union, which has so many tools at its disposal, must not waste them. It must remain true to itself, by embracing ideas and people, and by pioneering the fight against global warming, but it must also arm itself with the resources to compete.
That is, I know, what the new Commission is going to strive to achieve with us. We all know about Europe’s weaknesses: demographics, lack of future expenditure, industrial challenges, government deficit, weak economic governance. That is one more reason why we should make the most of our tools: the euro and monetary policy, technological achievements, industrial flagships, agricultural potential to guarantee the food security of our 500 million fellow citizens.
To this end, I expect the Commission to show imagination and leadership in the European legislation that we will be called on to adopt. I expect it to defend European interests, to demand reciprocity from our partners and to have no hesitation in resorting to the legal means at its disposal in the event of violations.
Commissioners, it is your responsibility, with us, with the Council, to complete the internal market. To do so, we must break taboos such as those of taxation and of the social dimension. The Member States can no longer act as though these two areas are restricted and untouchable competences, beyond the scope of common action."@en1
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