Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-13-Speech-2-021"
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"en.20010213.2.2-021"2
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"Madam President, the agreement reached at Nice will now pave the way for the enlargement of the Union. This was the central objective that needed to be achieved during these treaty negotiations and I now believe that the way ahead is clear for candidate countries to join the Union in the near future.
The most immediate objective for the 15 existing Members of the European Union is to ensure that the Treaty of Nice is ratified across the Union as soon as possible. The provisions of the Treaty of Nice cannot come into effect until the ratification process has been concluded within the 15 Member States of the Union.
I note with interest that the agenda for this debate which we are having today is headed "follow-up to Nice". I would caution all interested parties against discussing broader developments within the Union before the ratification process has been comprehensively concluded within the European Union. This is really the central dichotomy that exists within the Union at this time. Those who talk about broader political integration within the Union take for granted that the ratification of the Treaty of Nice is a done deal. It is not a done deal. It is a deal that has to be sold to the 370 million citizens of the Union in a manner that is easily understood and in a manner which commands the public support and good will of all our citizens.
This is a criticism I would level against those in particular who propose putting into effect complete federal structures within the European Union. There is at times an attitude in some European quarters to the effect that ‘we know best; we will bring about the appropriate changes and the people will thank us for them later’.
That is not how political persuasion operates. We put forward proposals. We then persuade the people of Europe to support them, whether within our respective parliament structures or by referendum. It is up to us, who support enlargement of the Union and who recognise the absolute right of candidate countries to join the Union, to convince our voting citizens of the importance of the provisions of the Treaty of Nice and of its broader political implications.
What the European Union should not do is to carry out any further debate on new political developments within the Union before the Treaty of Nice has been ratified within any of our respective Member States."@en1
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