Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-12-17-Speech-1-097"
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"en.20011217.3.1-097"2
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"Mr President, at the Laeken Summit, the heads of government agreed to set up a constitutional Convention on the future of Europe which includes the possible incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, with its costly, social and economic rights, and the direct election of a European Commission President, which I oppose.
I welcome, however, calls for the EU to become more democratic, transparent and efficient, for an enhanced role for the national parliamentarians and a menu of options to choose from in 2004. The EU already possesses its own anthem, flag, citizenship, army, currency etc. and a whole host of quasi-federal institutions. To pretend, as the Labour Government in Britain is already doing, that this Convention is simply an opportunity to limit the power of the Union at the expense of the states is ridiculous. This Convention is much more reminiscent of the American nation-building exercise in Philadelphia in 1787.
The political elites of Europe are ever more distanced from their electorates. How representative of European opinion are Valéry Giscard D'Estaing, Dehaene and Amato? If this is the court, the jury is a loaded one. How representative will the Convention be of the peoples of Europe? We should be preparing urgently for enlargement by solving the Amsterdam leftovers, and reforming the CAP and the structural funds representing 80% of the budget of the EU, not preparing for grand constitutional reform of little relevance to the concerns and aspirations of the electorate.
How will extending QMV to delicate areas like social security and taxation help? And what has been done to resolve the problems of the much-needed EU patent because of the obsession with multilingualism in the institutions?
In the European Union there is idealism born out of a desire to see a Europe of peace and prosperity, an objective we can all share. I come from a country with centuries-old, uninterrupted democratic traditions and I want to say two things to the believers in a European super-state. Firstly, the EU is not the origin but the expression of peace in post-war Europe, which is underpinned by democracy in the nation-states and respect for the rule of law. Secondly, idealistic political changes instituted by the political elites which do not have the broad support of the people will be like structures built on sand. Do not run before you can walk. When the peoples of Europe want a single European state, that will be the time to call for a European Convention, and not before. I wish you a happy Christmas."@en1
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substitute; Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy (1999-07-21--2002-01-14)3
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