Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-04-11-Speech-2-124"
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"en.20000411.5.2-124"2
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"Mr President, many commentators have drawn adverse comparisons between the European Union and the old Soviet Union. Both have been profoundly anti-democratic, both have seemed opposed to enterprise and wealth creation. At the Lisbon Summit it appeared that the EU had rediscovered a commitment to enterprise. Although I have some reservations about references to the social market in the EPP resolution, I am happy to support it. Let us hope that it is carried into effect and is more than mere soundbites and press releases.
In direct contrast, the President of our Parliament made a remarkable speech in Lisbon which amounted to a virulent and vituperative attack on multinational companies, on liberal economics, on free markets and on the very heart of western capitalism. I have no doubt that she was prompted by the best humanitarian intentions. But we must understand that if her proposals were carried out, they would damage competitiveness and productivity, they would deter investment, they would hurt prosperity and, above all, they would increase unemployment in Europe. She was attacking nothing less than the foundations of western capitalism, the engine which has delivered wealth and success undreamed of by earlier generations.
She said that Europeans are quite “scandalised by untrammelled capitalism, whose relocations, social dumping, ruthless exploitation ... and remorseless pursuit of profit at the expense of working men and women have a direct and traumatic effect on their lives." This goes beyond socialism, this is pure Marxism. It may have been appropriate for the Kremlin in the 1960s but it is totally out of place in 21st century Europe. It is typical of this Parliament that we call for an end to unemployment yet we promote actions that have the opposite effect. Her remarks fit this depressing tradition perfectly. I do not know whether she was speaking for her party, for the Parliament or in a personal capacity but I absolutely reject, repudiate and condemn her remarks and am delighted to have this opportunity of publicly dissociating myself from them."@en1
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