Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-02-14-Speech-3-210"
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"en.20010214.6.3-210"2
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"I believe it is a mistake for us to draw up long, extensive and contradictory documents such as the llmann report, which risk not being taken seriously. I also believe it to be a mistake to allow issues of work, growth and competitiveness to be reduced to statistical number crunching. It is clear that we need indicators in order to make assessments and comparisons, but to use them to excess in this way just makes one think ‘Gosplan’.
Honourable Members, absent Representative of the Council and Commissioners, one does not need to be a politician to see the way powerlessness is spreading and divisions are widening in society. We have major groups of poor, working people and we have a terrible proportion of long-term unemployed, benefit-dependent and marginalised individuals and families in Europe. At the same time the EU still has difficulty matching the US with regard to job creation, research and development and population growth. I believe the hunt for new indicators and more figures on employment simply delays the necessary renewal and liberalisation of European markets.
The Lisbon process requires a move from words to action. One of 10 years will soon have passed. Therefore, I am asking today for concrete targets from the presidency ahead of the European Council in Stockholm. It is no longer a matter of directions and timetables such as we heard about this morning. What decisions will you produce in the next six months to achieve increased competitiveness in Europe?
I believe that the Swedes have an excellent opportunity to show some leadership. Rather sceptical though it has been, the Social Democratic government has, for all that, continued with the successful liberalisation programme set out by the right of centre government at the beginning of the 1990s. Thanks to a forward-looking policy which included opening up markets, Swedish industry in both the old and the new economies shows significant success. With this in mind, the presidency could establish a modern agenda to enable the EU to live up to its proud aims.
Both the Council and the Commission have today addressed demographic development in the EU. In this regard, I wonder when the Commission will be taking initiatives to stimulate increased labour immigration to EU Member States.
Yesterday, I listened to State Secretary Ekström, who is responsible for the European Council in Stockholm. She introduced important elements into the discussion on growth, including the significance of trade. This is excellent, as it is vital for both growth and solidarity. Therefore, I wonder if the Commission and the Council can report on how work on increased trade and reduced tariffs can progress under the Swedish Presidency. In this context, it would be interesting to hear whether the Council is still of the opinion that the question of the Tobin Tax is a national debate which has no place in this Parliament.
In its communication, the Commission takes up the need for simplification of regulations in the EU. Bearing in mind the vote we had today on the awful Miller report and the old Bus and Coach Directive, I hope this was the last time we need concern ourselves with such issues. It is fine to write that simplification of regulations is desired, but the Commission must also show that it is able to act on this.
Finally, I would like to say that economic growth is naturally linked to employment and social security. A good economy is a prerequisite for welfare. However it is not politicians and more statistics which create social security, but it is only with the help of a good economy and successful companies that the EU can create cohesion and social security in a new age."@en1
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