Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-06-15-Speech-4-026"
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"en.20000615.2.4-026"2
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"Madam President, Mr President-in-Office, Commissioner Barnier, ladies and gentlemen, next week’s summit in Feira could be an important summit if the work it is to do is carried out properly. Europe will not fall from the sky like a ripe fruit – it has to be shaped by working on it day in, day out. The procedures to be agreed in Feira for the future of the European Union represent a significant step along this path. I therefore hope that this will be a meaningful working summit.
The Commissioner also spoke about the Common Foreign and Security Policy. I support the endeavours to create a strong Europe, indeed we have always supported them, but in the framework of the Western Alliance, and not separately from our American friends, but complementing them and as partners with equal rights.
I would like to add one more thought. I should have mentioned it just now, but I forgot. Why do we need a flexible approach to the agenda of the Intergovernmental Conference? Yesterday we spoke in this Chamber about a European Party Statute. You were not able to be present, and I do not intend that as a reproach. If we want to supplement Article 191 of the Treaty, and the Commission is to present a proposal to the IGC to that effect, then it must be possible to deal with this at the IGC and ultimately to supplement the Treaty if we are to make progress on the subject of European political parties.
I would like to make one more observation, without any desire to be controversial, but quite calmly and objectively, and yet with a sense of great personal dismay. This is about paragraph 8 of the political groups’ motion for a resolution. We are calling on the Council presidency to assess relations between the 14 Member States and Austria, and we are also calling on the presidency to work out a procedure in conjunction with all the parties involved in the European Union with a view to finding an acceptable solution. Mr President-in-Office, everyone will probably see this differently, but this issue is casting a shadow over the European Union. We know that in Denmark, support for the euro in the run-up to the referendum in September is rapidly waning because of the Austrian issue, as in Denmark, this is viewed as interference in the internal affairs of the smaller states.
I would like to address this comment to you personally, and I say this not because I wish to be controversial, but because I am firmly convinced that if we do not solve this issue it will lead to major problems. I therefore urge you to make this your business. And I also entreat you to take the position of the European Parliament into consideration at the IGC. We have faith in the Commission, but our faith in the presidency, in the Council, could be greater. But we nevertheless hope you will succeed. If you succeed, it will be a success for all of us, for the entire continent of Europe!
We, the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and the European Democrats, have two fundamental objectives as this new millennium commences.
Firstly, the Intergovernmental Conference must be concluded in Nice this winter, but not just for the sake of completing it, but rather in order to achieve a satisfactory outcome. That is the first challenge.
Secondly, we witnessed major changes in Europe in 1989-90, not to mention before and since then. The peoples of Central Europe are anxious to join our Community of values. To achieve this, we and those countries need to fulfil our respective obligations.
Mr President-in-Office, I ask you to give a signal in Feira so that the impetus of the accession process is not lost. We must not create the impression that these Central European peoples are not welcome in our Community of values. I would like to call on you personally to do everything in your power to make sure that we send a signal to the peoples of Central Europe that they are welcome to join us!
You have talked about extending the agenda for the Intergovernmental Conference. I would like to offer you my emphatic support – be flexible! Do not just make a list of what needs to be added, but find a formula which allows additional topics to be included over the coming months.
Commissioner Barnier has talked about majority voting. This is the key point – using majority voting in the EU Council of Ministers as a matter of course, and at the same time extending the codecision procedure.
I am all in favour of introducing enhanced cooperation into the Treaty, but I must warn you, Mr President-in-Office, against introducing enhanced cooperation into the Treaty if this is ultimately just a token gesture and if we are not successful as far as majority voting is concerned. We need both majority voting and enhanced cooperation!
We firmly support your presidency’s desire to rationalise the Treaty, as will be apparent from the political groups’ motion for a resolution, so that the structure of the Treaty is revised. Commissioner Barnier talked about a basic treaty. It may not be possible to achieve all this in this six-month period, but we should adopt this approach of creating a basic treaty and a general treaty. We must have more respect for the principles of subsidiarity. My group is also in favour of our trying to clarify the respective roles of the European Union, the Member States and the regions. We can only maintain or even regain agreement to the process of European unification at various levels if people actually know what each level is responsible for doing! That is why it is key for us to establish our priorities here and to make a start on demarcating the various competences."@en1
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