Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-17-Speech-3-186"
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"en.20010117.6.3-186"2
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".
Madam President, Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to stand before you today at the start of a new presidency and to wish you all a Happy New Year. In welcoming your incoming presidency, Mr Persson, I can only express my satisfaction at Sweden's choice of a very effective slogan based on the letter
.
I have called many times before this house for development of European policy on transparency, and I welcome Prime Minister Persson's emphasis on this and the fact that a large part of his speech was dedicated to the matter. The participation of the citizens in both the major decisions and the daily life of Europe and its institutions is, in fact, one of the Commission's priorities. I would therefore like to assure the presidency of our full support for their endeavours to promote openness and transparency.
Madam President, Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, the initiatives planned for the next six months are ambitious and will, I am sure, make a big impression on our citizens. However, I do not see the six-monthly Presidencies as one-off exercises produced in isolation from each other, but rather as part of a continuous process which will have a lasting impact.
I therefore fully appreciate the efforts made by the Swedish Prime Minister to reassure us that he will be building on the solid foundations laid by the hard work of the previous presidency so that the next presidency can continue its work effectively. This is all the more true if we consider the decisive issue of what has come to be called "post-Nice", or the specific debate on the future of the Union. When I last stood before this House, I made clear my disappointment not only at certain aspects of the Treaty which had just been agreed but, in particular, at the atmosphere which had reigned throughout the Summit. At Nice, 15 Member States, each – understandably – focussing on its own national interests, were able to reach only an imperfect agreement.
What is more – and this is the most important point – the majority of the Heads of State and Government were more concerned with maintaining the power to block the future action of the Union rather than finding a way of advancing the common venture.
Nice was thus a clear demonstration of what is meant by agreement on the lowest common denominator. It would be unwise to imagine that we can continue in this way. I came back from Nice with confirmation of a belief which I held already and which I had already expressed here: it is sometimes said that the ‘Monnet method’ has reached its limits but I believe, on the contrary, that it is not the ‘Monnet method’ but the intergovernmental method which is showing signs of weakness.
We must therefore learn
from this experience and apply our conclusions to the debate on the future of the Union, which will take us up to 2004, although it is still too early to have a clear idea of what will be involved.
The first lesson is that nothing positive or lasting can be done to guarantee the future of Europe without the immediate involvement of the whole of Europe
including, of course, all the candidate countries.
The letter E is first of all for "Europe", our shared objective, in which Sweden will be investing its best efforts over the next six months to achieve progress in the fields of Enlargement, Employment and the Environment.
I see the period up to 2004 as divided into three quite separate phases: the first phase, which has already begun, is one of what I would call ‘open reflection’. That is what we are doing today. During this period there must be the widest possible debate at all levels of civil society, politics and science on the future of Europe. Each of us must contribute to stimulating this discussion and encouraging mass participation. We must give some real substance to our objective of achieving by 2004 a balanced and stable system which will allow an enlarged Union to operate democratically, legitimately and effectively.
The contribution of the European democratic political parties is essential in order to root this debate in civil society. I would, in particular, like to organise a meeting, to take place in the near future, with the chairmen of the political groups in this Parliament to discuss the matter. My purpose is to use this exchange of opinions to reach practical
conclusions on the objectives to be pursued and the means to be employed to achieve them. This debate must be open, with no pre-set restrictions. Obviously, the worst way of going about it would be to focus exclusively on the four subjects mentioned in the Nice declaration. This is now ‘post-Nice’. These subjects – the Charter of Fundamental Rights, simplification of the Treaty, clarification of competences and the possibility of a second chamber – are, of course, very important. A considerable amount of work has been done on some of them, such as, for example, the reorganisation of the Treaty, but these subjects are no more than components of a fundamental review, which must be both more wide-ranging and more far-reaching…
and is best summed by the title of the declaration of the Heads of State and Government, when they posed the question: "What do we want for the future of the Union?" I hope that this House, through the European political parties represented here, will play its full role not only as the expression of the legitimate democracy of the Community decision-making process, but also as the bridge linking up with national political parties and the public they represent.
I would strongly urge you to take on this task, in which you can count on my support. It is necessary for the future of Europe. The Commission, for its part, intends to start a wide-ranging, open dialogue with European society
and with the key players in the political systems of the Union. This is phase one.
The second phase will have to begin immediately after the Laeken Summit in December this year. This phase, which we could term ‘structured reflection’, is likely to be the trickiest and would have to crystallise around an operational synthesis of representative opinions canvassed in the previous phase. It cannot be limited to purely intergovernmental negotiations behind closed doors. In Laeken, we will have to devise a new formula which meets the need for both openness and legitimacy.
The third phase – which is unavoidable – has to be that of another Intergovernmental Conference proper. I can see no reason for it to be lengthy, but it could be conclusive and result in concrete decisions. All three are important: brevity, conclusiveness and the taking of decisions.
As I have said, the reflection we are about to embark on will have to be open, for, as has been stressed in the last few days, what it boils down to is thinking about the structure of political life in a Union with 25 or more members.
However, I would be betraying my convictions and failing in my duty if I did not repeat, yet again, the concerns which I expressed here on 3 October last year, for they have lost none of their relevance. Indeed, I strongly believe that the Community method, its rationalisation, its simplification and its extension are the Union's future, not its past. In fact, the dynamic of the Union over the past 40 years and, more especially, since Maastricht, has produced a unique political system which cannot be likened to any national model. The Union is, in fact, democratic. It is based on a dual legitimacy: that provided by the peoples of Europe which you, ladies and gentlemen, represent, and that of the Member States represented in the Council, which is in turn based on the democratic national vote. The Union's legitimacy is therefore dual: it cannot be said that there is no legitimacy. It is effective – as well democratic – because it is built around an institution, the Commission, which is an independent executive body but mindful of the interests of all the Member States, both large and small, and the play of balance between them. The Commission is the necessary condition for the pooling of sovereignty in the Community, which will make it possible to tackle the great challenges of the future such as enlargement. Thirdly, the Union can be kept under control, as the Court of Justice is there to see that everybody abides by common rules.
But E is also for the Euro. The year 2001 will be the final stage before the actual notes and coins come into circulation and it will also be the last year of the existence of many national currencies. Some of them are well over a 100 years old and, both personally and as nations, we have become attached to them. The Swedish Presidency will therefore be guiding us some of the way towards the historic date of 1 January 2002.
In this connection, the debate on what must or must not be done at European or national level by way of concrete government action is most welcome and is a result of this debate. The coherence and cohesion of the Union and of its Member States should emerge all the stronger. Any fragmentation of the Community decision-making process, in particular of executive action, must be avoided as being contrary to the objective for which we are striving. This is especially true as, wherever ideas diverge about the desirable degree of integration, we now have the extremely important – I repeat, extremely important – instrument of enhanced cooperation, made possible by the Treaty of Nice within the framework of the Community method. Only coherent action, reviewed in the light of the principle of subsidiarity and of a clearer vision of the governance of Europe, operating around the institutional triangle according to the Community method, can guarantee this result.
Madam President, Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, we are embarking upon a journey rich in promises and action. The challenges are enormous but so too is our determination. The Commission will work hand in hand with each of the successive Presidencies to bring this major task to a successful conclusion. I will be relying on all of you, European politicians and Members of this Parliament, and on your desire to work alongside us.
I would like to dwell for a moment on the three Es which are the focus of the Swedish Presidency's programme which Prime Minister Persson has just set out. These three priorities are well chosen, for they are all areas in which the Union and Europe as a whole face enormous challenges and opportunities. They are not only the priorities for these six months, to be forgotten thereafter: they are long-term challenges which are the objectives of the entire five-year legislature.
E for enlargement: Enlargement, it is worth repeating, is the greatest challenge facing the European Union. We are at a crossroads in the history of Europe: we have the opportunity to create an area of peace, prosperity and stability for 500 million citizens who share the same values. To make enlargement possible, we needed to carry out a number of internal reforms. Although the Treaty of Nice is not completely satisfactory, or rather not at all satisfactory, it is still a step in the right direction and will allow us to continue along the path we have already embarked on. For this reason, and also because Nice, aware of its limitations, provides for a post-Nice, I would urge this House, when the time comes, to recommend to its national counterparts that they ratify the Treaty of Nice. Indeed, it is clear to me that peace, stability and prosperity cannot stop at the borders of the European Union but must also benefit as far as possible all our friends and neighbours. I am therefore glad to see that relations with Russia are also among the incoming presidency's priorities.
My own recent visit to North Africa was part of this same strategy of building a substantial neighbourhood policy. While reunifying our continent, we must, in fact, be careful not to neglect this dimension. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership is also vital for our interests and we are looking at various ways of relaunching and strengthening it. Nor shall we – or, of course, the presidency – forget the northern dimension of the Union, which is of fundamental importance.
The second E is for employment. This priority is very much in line with the new economic and social agenda for Europe which we agreed upon at Lisbon. I fully support your undertaking to advance that agenda. In particular, the Commission welcomes the presidency's emphasis on modernising the labour market and on the need to guarantee equal opportunities for men and women in our society. Modernising our economies means more jobs, and the promotion of equal opportunities is a key aspect of the fight against discrimination. The Commission intends to work closely with the presidency to help ensure the success of the Stockholm Summit, which will be largely dedicated to these aspects. In this connection, the Commission intends to propose a new strategy for creating a European labour market by 2005, the details of which will be contained in the Summary Report currently being prepared for the Stockholm meeting.
The third E is for Environment. Our citizens are concerned about environmental and consumer protection issues, including food safety which is currently particularly important. The recent events surrounding the BSE crisis provide the starkest possible reminder and the Commission has already set about taking measures to deal effectively with this emergency. We have a responsibility towards future generations to guarantee the sustainable development of our societies and make our economies compatible with the long-term balance of the planet. I am looking forward to working together with the Swedish Presidency in order to ensure an effective, coherent European Union strategy for sustainable development. The Gothenburg Summit must take concrete, practical steps – and I repeat, concrete and practical – on this crucial issue.
In this connection, the Union must remain determined to show leadership on the issues related to climate change. We must honour our Kyoto commitments and maintain constant pressure on our international partners to honour theirs. In this regard, E is also for a more judicious use of Energy, and careful thought is needed on all aspects of the supply, use, conservation and environmental compatibility of energy sources. I therefore welcome the emphasis placed by the presidency on these matters."@en1
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