Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-10-02-Speech-1-091"

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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Asia is one of the regions of the world where the European Union's potential in terms of political influence has not been fulfilled. This is not intended as a reproach, it is simply a statement of fact. This becomes apparent if you go to that part of the world as an EU representative, when you will find, for example, that no one is satisfied with a statement that you are representing the European Union – you will always be asked which Member State you come from. It is a way of judging how important you are. And where the European Union has not achieved its full potential it is also possible that it has not assumed its full responsibility either. That is why the ASEM process is so enormously important. I think I can say that the Commission largely has Parliament's support in promoting this process. The Commission can, to a very large extent, count on Parliament's support for its overall approach and for the agenda it has drawn up. So one of the most important things today is to make the European public aware of the ASEM process. However, our partners in Asia do not understand that, in practice, we are very inward-looking. The issues that most concern us are the Intergovernmental Conference, enlargement and, when the occasion arises, problems on our political doorstep, such as the Middle East. But they do not understand the fact that we are not fulfilling our potential when it comes to all those issues that are important for global welfare and peace. People's expectations of the European Union are enormous. They envisage a strategic European presence in Asia, yet we are certainly not in a position to provide that in the foreseeable future. It is obvious what lies behind this: an awareness of the constant presence of the United States of America and of the growing importance of China. They would like to see Europe providing a counterbalance. We must seize this opportunity and in fact this is a chance for us to win support for our principles there. This is something else that can be achieved through the ASEM process."@en1

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