Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-10-26-Speech-2-068"
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"en.19991026.2.2-068"2
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"Mr President, it feels good to be able to say, in my first speech in the European Parliament, that the EU’s budget for the year 2000 has its sights set on a number of important processes. I am thinking of the importance of increased democratic support for the EU’s activities and of the importance of concentrating on crucial issues, for example the fight against unemployment and the enlargement of the European Union to include the new applicant countries. These tasks go hand in hand. The European Union must win the fight against unemployment so as to break down ordinary workers’ and employees’ mistrust of the European Union. In order to succeed, the enlargement of the European Union must quickly give rise to social and economic improvements for the citizens of the applicant countries. That is why we now want to increase the resources for developing dialogue between the two sides of industry. It is a question, among other things, of giving employees a say in the development of the Employment Pact and coordinated economic policy. It is equally important that the applicant countries should now be able to participate in the dialogue with a view to constructive cooperation on the labour market in these countries too.
The procedure leading towards membership for Eastern and Central European countries, among others, is a difficult one. It is not enough to design well-balanced accession agreements. For EU membership to be a palpable and advantageous change in the eyes of ordinary citizens, the current state of affairs needs to change, and companies and employees need to be able to create a labour market which is not only dynamic but also grants rights to employees. Enlargement of the European Union must not mean that companies exploit a situation where there are low wages and poorer social security or that taxes and environmental demands are evaded. Employees in the new Member States have the same legitimate claims upon social entitlements and influence as we do. In this budget, we want, both for their and for our own sakes, to support dialogue between employers and employees and the establishment of union rights in the applicant countries too. In the same way, we would point out how important it is for the EU’s Committee of the Regions to have resources to develop contacts with regions and municipalities in the applicant countries. We also support the proposal for a special initiative to promote local and regional cooperation around the Baltic and the Barents Sea."@en1
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