Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-06-13-Speech-3-275"
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"en.20010613.10.3-275"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, what is the comparative of ridiculous? A parliamentary debate at the witching hour, just before the witching hour. I apologise for being late, as were other fellow Members, but I do have an explanation. We look around and think, hardly anyone is here and the few that are here, who were here before and have already spoken, evaporate like ghosts which materialise somewhere else shortly afterwards and then disappear again.
If this were merely a ghost debate, it would not much matter. But we are taking about taxes, transparency, democracy, the substance of a modern economy and mobility. Luckily we have a Harry Potter among us, played tonight by Rolf Linkohr, who is doing his best to ensure that we make some sort of progress here and who has a watchful, unwavering eye for fundamental principles of which many of us are simply no longer aware, fundamental principles for our present society. The fact that only 11 Members are still here says much about both the strength and the powerlessness of this Parliament. Nonetheless, the debate is a central debate, when you think what the problems are, and there are three problems, I think.
First, there is the problem of democracy, social justice and ecology in Europe. Even if we manage to achieve the breakthroughs which we need in the area of democracy and maintain the tendency towards an equitable mix in the social fabric, the huge ecological question still remains. And this is the subject of this report.
One point in this report demands our attention because it is, I think, a really important point. I refer to Amendment No 6 which, if it gets through plenary – and I hope it does – will change a general proposal to the Council into a clear demand to push ahead, at long last, with tax harmonisation. Tax harmonisation, especially in the energy sector, is an absolute priority if our citizens are to understand that we have converged not just socially but democratically too. We must put a stop to imbalances whereby a truck driver from Austria, for example, is exposed to totally different conditions of competition than another driver a few kilometres down the road in Germany or France. This is where we call on the Commission and, more importantly, the Council, to do something.
I hope that we will make some headway here via this energy report. Without transparency there can be no democracy, not even in Europe. That is why I am ardently in favour not just of accepting the report but also of pushing ahead with tax harmonisation."@en1
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