Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-07-03-Speech-1-058"
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". – Madam President, I should like to begin by associating myself, as the Prime Minister has just done, with your moving tribute to President Pflimlin. I am sure that we all agreed with everything you said about his role as one of the architects of Europe and of democratic accountability in Europe. Can I also say that it is a privilege to follow that characteristically eloquent and politically perceptive speech.
In September the Commission will submit its proposals for indicators that will allow us to measure how well we are performing in meeting the goals set at Lisbon. These indicators can then be used as the basis for the synthesis report to the European Council in spring next year.
Thirdly, some progress was achieved on completing the internal market. In particular Europe's energy markets are to be further liberalised and air transport will be made more efficient by creating what has come to be called a single European sky.
Fourth, the Council welcomed the broad economic guidelines for 2000 and recommended their adoption by the Council. These guidelines reflect the need to sustain growth and to continue pursuing macro-economic policies that promote stability. The guidelines lay particular emphasis on the quality and sustainability of public finances and the need to continue reforming Europe's product, capital and labour markets. The Council restated its commitment to carrying through reforms that are essential to enable Europe to become a truly knowledge-based economy.
During the Feira meeting we were shocked, as you said Madam President, by the news of the tragic death of 58 illegal immigrants hidden in a truck in Dover. The European Council issued a strong condemnation of this traffic in human beings and the Council renewed its commitment to Europe-wide action against the criminals involved in such activities.
The tragedy at Dover underlines Europe's urgent need for a common immigration and asylum policy; a point that I notice much of the media –including in the country I know best – has been making. The Commission will be putting forward proposals on these matters before the end of the year.
Trafficking in human beings is a serious international crime that no one government can tackle single-handedly. There has to be a common European definition of the crime and vigorous cross-border cooperation to ensure that those who perpetrate it are caught and are punished. Our citizens expect no less than that, and we must live up to their expectations.
Our citizens also expect swift and positive action on food safety, especially in the wake of last year's food scandals. The Commission has been working energetically in this area. The European Council expressed strong support for what we are doing. The Council committed itself to making progress on setting up an independent food-safety authority, as soon as Parliament has delivered its opinion. I am confident that this opinion will be given by the first October part-session at the latest.
At Feira a last minute breakthrough was achieved on the tax package – a lot of midnight oil and quite a lot of breakfast went into that successful outcome. This complex agreement involves the directive on the taxation of savings. Before the directive is adopted, discussions will be held with the United States and key third countries, such as Switzerland, in which we hope to promote the adoption of equivalent measures internationally.
Meanwhile the coexistence model will continue, with European Union countries either exchanging information or levying a withholding tax themselves. The directive should be adopted by unanimity no later than 31 December 2002. Agreement on this, as honourable Members will recognise, was not easy, especially for Member States that have a strong tradition of banking secrecy. We welcome the positive outcome.
In the areas for which I have some responsibility, there were also, as the Prime Minister has mentioned, some important developments at Feira. We took stock of the European Union's relations with Russia and the situation there, including in Chechnya, in the light of the recent EU-Russia Summit, which I think was regarded as fairly successful. It is too early to judge President Putin's economic programme; however, our basic message is that a sound programme will be vital to boost investor confidence.
Before saying a few words myself about the recent European Council in Feira which I attended with President Prodi, who is not with us this afternoon because he is attending a meeting in Paris with the new presidency, I would like, on behalf of all my colleagues in the Commission, to pay tribute to the hard work, skill and energy that the Portuguese government has devoted over the last six months to the presidency of the Council.
On Chechnya, there have, it is true, been some recent
positive developments in response to international and European Union pressure: for example the recent ECHO mission was able to take place and western humanitarian agencies have greater access to the area. The conflict nevertheless continues and we still have considerable concerns. In particular, we want to see much greater access for humanitarian aid agencies. We want to see genuinely independent investigation into reports of human rights abuses, and we want to see a real dialogue between the Russian government and the Chechens.
I welcome the adoption of the common strategy on the Mediterranean. The presidency should take particular credit for driving that through. It will help our efforts to strengthen the Barcelona process. The Commission will be presenting proposals to reinvigorate the process later this month. The Mediterranean Strategy is global, covering all countries in the region and including the consolidation of peace in the Middle East. After years of conflict and tension in the Middle East, the time is clearly ripe for peace. We welcome the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. Our expert mission has returned from South Lebanon and we are considering what we can do to help rehabilitation in the area.
At Feira, Javier Solana and I presented a follow-up report outlining what had been achieved in the western Balkans since Lisbon. The Prime Minister again referred to the importance of that.
The key challenges for the month ahead will be continued support to Montenegro, the strengthening of the Serbian civil society and the Serbian media, support of the Kosovo elections and to UNMIK and support for regional integration. I was in Kosovo again last week for what was my fourth visit and I also visited the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Friday. I saw once again the challenge we face, but also the impact that we can have when we work together.
I just want to add a couple of points. First of all we were enormously grateful to the delegation from Parliament that went recently to Kosovo and was able to confirm that our team there is doing a good job and that there is not an absorption capacity problem as far as the assistance is concerned.
I hope that the Council and Parliament will support the proposals we have put forward for a new regulation to govern our financial assistance to the Balkans. If we want to speed things up, then it is important to speed up the consideration of things like our new financial regulation. I hope that we can also expect strong support for the proposals that we have put forward for asymmetric autonomous trade measures for the region.
It is very important if we want those countries to trade more together that we should give them greater access to our own market here. That would give them the best sort of assistance in the months and years ahead.
Before I conclude, I would like to say something briefly about the EU-India Summit. That summit was entirely a consequence of the initiative taken by the Portuguese presidency last autumn, although I know that there are many Members of this House like Mr Dupuis who have been active proponents of a closer dialogue with India for many years. We have sometimes, in the Union, underestimated the importance of India and underestimated the importance of developing our economic and political relationship with it. India is the greatest democracy in the world. At every election, more people vote than in the European Union, the United States and Canada put together. It is a democracy which shares many of our values and had a tradition of political tolerance when we still believed in the divine right of kings.
What we managed to achieve at the meeting last week in Lisbon was an important step forward. I hope that in the new year we will be able to start the round table meetings with representatives of civil society in India. I hope that we will be able to inaugurate the think-tank network with India and that will see a further development and strengthening of our relationship with that extraordinary and important country.
To conclude, the Feira Council crowned an extremely successful Portuguese presidency. Above all it laid the foundations for a number of important decisions which will have to be taken later this year at least. The Prime Minister mentioned some of the constitutional discussions that we have started to have in the European Union. I am tempted to follow him down some of those highways and byways. But perhaps I should leave that for the time being to my elders and betters, although I promise not to take a vow of
on the subject. Obviously we need to have some important political debates. The German Foreign Minister, albeit speaking in a personal capacity, made a speech which breached the dam and all sorts of remarks and arguments are now flooding through. I have always believed it is better in politics to talk about important things rather than sweep them under the carpet. I am sure we will be doing that in the next few months although it is important for us to concentrate on the real priorities for the IGC before Nice.
We wish the Presidency of the French Republic every success in carrying the process forward. I very much hope that they will have as much success as the Portuguese Presidency. I am sure they will be as engaging to work with.
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This ensured the success not only of the Lisbon and Feira summits, but of the day-to-day work behind the scenes that is vital in carrying Europe towards its ambitious goals. I would just like to add that it was a great pleasure working with the team of Portuguese ministers, as well as an extremely rewarding experience. We recognise how many of them, like the secretary of state, worked at a spectacular rate which would certainly have got them the man-of-the-match award during a number of the 90-minute matches of the last few weeks.
The European Council on 19 and 20 June was a very valuable meeting of important consolidation. The agenda was very broad and I simply want to focus on what seemed to the Commission to be some of the most important highlights. First the heads of state and government confirmed that Greece meets the necessary conditions to enter the third phase of economic and monetary union. Greece will join the euro zone from 1 January next year which I hope will send messages to one or two other countries, including the one I know best.
I notice that Mr Helmer is not here to join in the applause.
Second, the European Council took stock of the progress made in implementing the economic and social agenda adopted at Lisbon. The Council gave, as the Prime Minister said, renewed encouragement to the work that has already been begun, particularly on the e-Europe action plan, research and enterprise policy and the extremely important subject of social inclusion."@en1
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