Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-14-Speech-2-019"
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"en.20000314.3.2-019"2
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"Mr President, I welcome the broad thrust of the proposals published by the Commission in its annual legislative programme for the year 2000. The most important issues that will be addressed this year will be the reform of the EU decision-making procedures, so that the enlargement process can take place in a streamlined and structured manner. I support the enlargement of the Union, but such a process cannot take place until key EU institutions, including the Commission, the Council, and of course Parliament, reform their internal decision-making operations.
As a Member of the Parliament from the constituency of Connaught Ulster in Ireland, a peripheral part of this Union, I strongly believe in real and tangible representation for smaller Member States within the EU structures. At present, the five larger Member States have two posts within the European Commission and there is one each for the smaller Member States. Whatever the reform, it is vitally important that smaller Member States retain their right to nominate a Member of the Commission.
Undoubtedly, the European Council, representing the fifteen governments, will have to reform its structures. From an Irish perspective, I strongly believe that Member State governments must have a veto over tax changes at EU level. No changes at present can be agreed at EU level concerning tax policies without the unanimous support of all EU Member States. I believe this is an important right, which should be left in the domain of national Member States.
In my own country, the tax regime is quite innovative in many ways. The tax burden on middle and lower income workers has been steadily reduced, while sensible tax breaks have been given to encourage business enterprises. This cannot be said of many of the other Member States. Any proposal to give the European Council the power of qualified majority voting on justice and home affairs would be, I believe, very unwise.
In conclusion, can I say that I am very pleased that the President has, this morning, referred to fisheries. He said he believes it is lagging behind – that real progress must be made in the year 2002, because fisheries are established in areas where there is no alternative source of employment. Of course we want to ensure by the year 2002 that the countries that suffered most when the common fisheries policy was put in place in 1983 will in future receive a fair and equitable share of the resources.
In conclusion, can I say that on a broader level it is important that the European Union, as an economic entity, does not fall behind in the global search for e-commerce opportunities. The Commission must support educational and training programmes, to ensure that business structures take account of the opportunities which can be secured from the Internet and e-commerce in general. An information technology revolution is certainly upon us. We cannot be passengers when these changes take place. We must be leaders of our business communities and of our educational institutions, so that information technology initiatives are incorporated into all key social and economic sectors of our society."@en1
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