Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-11-28-Speech-3-050"
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"en.20011128.4.3-050"2
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"This is an important debate and I would like to compliment the Commission on its publication of the White Paper on European Governance. In light of recent developments, it is obvious that it is a time for stocktaking but there can be no doubt about the relevance of the European Union to Member States and its citizens.
In most respects the European Union has lived up to the ideals and aspirations of Europe's founding fathers. The achievement of peace alone justifies our existence but we have achieved much more, not least the fact that the ideals enshrined in the Treaty of Rome – of assisting economic and social development of small and under-developed countries – have by and large also been achieved.
Ireland bears witness to this fact and, despite the outcome of the Nice Treaty, Irish people readily acknowledge the benefits of our membership and also support proposals on enlargement.
So what has gone wrong? We have failed, in my view, to communicate Europe. Citizens do not feel part of the European family. Their perceived isolation from the decision-making process has left them frustrated and cold. That sense of abandonment has led to the apathy and indifference as demonstrated by the lower turnout in recent European elections and, in Ireland's case, rejection of the Nice Treaty."@en1
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