Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-22-Speech-3-009"
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"en.20100922.3.3-009"2
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"Mr President, Parliament has always been very clear that one of the main goals of the Lisbon Treaty is to make the EU stronger on the international stage, and the Commission shares this goal to the full. Maximising the EU’s voice is good for Europe and, I believe, it is also good for the world. It allows us to promote our interests, to uphold our values and to make our contribution to worldwide efforts to address common challenges, from climate change to security, and from a shortage of resources to pulling out of the economic crisis.
I also want to say a few words on two other subjects. On economic governance: the work of the task force chaired by President Van Rompuy and the preparation of detailed proposals by the Commission mean that we have come a long way since May. The Commission will put proposals on the table next week. Now is the right time for us to launch the codecision phase to start detailed examination of legislative proposals with a view to having the new system in place by the middle of next year.
I know that Parliament is fully conscious of the desirability to start quickly on your examination of these proposals. The package will have three objectives. First, to reinforce Member States’ compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact. Second, to broaden economic surveillance to tackle imbalances; and third, to make economic surveillance work better through incentives for compliance and financial sanctions which are progressive, fairly applied and applied early enough to work effectively. These add up to a major reinforcement of the credibility of our economic governance of the euro area in particular. This agenda will be deepened still further when the Task Force makes its final report to the European Council next month.
Finally, the issue of the Roma. I simply want to make one point: the Commission has the responsibility here as the guardian of the treaties. We are quite clear about our responsibilities. We will not compromise on respect for Community law and we will defend our European values in full. We have been working to determine whether EU law on free movement and on anti-discrimination has been respected and are now in the phase of legal analysis. Very soon, this analysis will be looked at by the College itself.
However, we must not forget what is a very important – I would say an essential – part of this discussion: the alleviation of the plight of the Roma and their better integration. Therefore, at the same time, we are looking at how to follow up on our April proposals to use EU funds to give real help to the integration of the Roma. We have set up a task force to look at how we can take tangible steps to support inclusion. The task force meets for the first time this morning and will present its first findings by the end of this year. I know Parliament will want to be kept informed about progress on a regular basis, and the Commission will do this.
To conclude, Mr President, this European Council discussed how we can reinforce our capacity to act externally and internally and to deliver better results for EU citizens. On all these subjects, the Union’s institutions and instruments have been shown to be working as the treaty intends. The Commission looks forward to cooperating with this Parliament, deepening this work, and assuring the effective delivery of our policies.
We have opportunities and we have responsibilities, and the Lisbon Treaty has given us the tools to secure our goals in both. As we all know, this is work in progress; at home, we need to learn how to use the Lisbon structures to the best effect. With our partners, we need to show that the EU is a convincing interlocutor. This does not happen overnight, but last week’s European Council was an important stepping stone towards that objective.
In the nine months since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, we have made important progress. Baroness Ashton is now established as a voice for Europe in the global arena and, with the support of this Parliament, I believe we will soon have the European External Action Service up and running. The EU institutions have gradually taken over the functions of the rotating Presidency for representation and coordination.
The European Council identified the next steps, both on procedure and on substance. In particular, there was recognition that the EU had to do more to achieve a more consistent and coherent policy towards strategic partners. It may start looking specifically at China. It was very important that the European Council will come back to the task of building a common approach on a regular basis. We all know some of the problems faced: that the lack-of-privatisation, Christmas-tree approach suggests to our partners that we cannot really agree on what we really want and that the discordant messages between the EU and the Member States undermine the message.
We need to reach a position in which, when President Van Rompuy and President Barroso speak for the EU at the summits, they do so with the authority which comes from a genuine consensus – a combined commitment of the EU and the Member States – to a shared agenda. So the Commission believes that it was an important first step to recognise the need to identify specific interests in our relations with each of our strategic partners and, now, to know how to deliver the same, consistent message to our partners worldwide.
We need to start applying this spirit to the key summits this autumn, with China, India, Russia and the United States, as well as for the G20, the Asia-Europe meeting and the EU-Africa summit. All these events need the democratic dimension brought by the interest of this Parliament.
Trade was recognised as a key issue. It was a powerful symbol that, in the margins of the European Council, agreement was finalised on the EU’s far-reaching free trade agreement with Korea. This shows what is possible: an agreement which was not easy but which holds out the prospect of huge commercial benefits.
It was also agreed that we should find ways, through trade, to help Pakistan. We are already doing a lot in terms of humanitarian aid and development aid, which will be crucial for the reconstruction of this country. But it is also right to say that we should help the long-term prospects of the Pakistan economy through trade measures, and the Commission will be making specific proposals next month.
The forthcoming French Presidency of the G20 and G8 was also identified as a particularly good opportunity to ensure that European objectives were prominent. The Commission is committed to using this as an important platform for the EU for the coming year."@en1
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