Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-03-20-Speech-3-033"
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"en.20020320.5.3-033"2
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"Mr President, I do not believe that this debate is about sounding trumpets or sweeping things under the carpet. What is at issue is as objective and balanced an assessment as possible of the results achieved at Barcelona.
In my view, a reasonable balance between the desirable and the possible was struck at Barcelona. The European Union will now be able to make progress. The impact will be felt in both its internal affairs and in its external dimension. A number of decisions were taken regarding certain key areas. One example is infrastructure. Clearly, Europe cannot be united without further progress to improve infrastructures. One of the many reasons for this is that integration of markets is not merely a political or legal concept. It is first and foremost a physical one.
There is much talk at the moment about speeding up adjustment and about the many challenges facing a changing Europe. It is essential to have a clear idea of what can and cannot wait. Priorities have to be set. In the process, it emerges that infrastructures cannot wait. A sluggish system would make it impossible to overcome any accumulated delays.
The same is true of social dialogue. When it comes to ideas, I do not feel their hue is of much consequence. Of course, in referring to ideas I am excluding the statements made by Mr Gorostiaga, who speaks for the ETA terrorist group in this House. He ought to take it onto himself to express his condolences to the victims of those whose opinions he propounds in the Chamber.
Returning to ideas, I was saying that their political hue is irrelevant. What is important is whether or not they are sound. I am sure that nowadays nobody would maintain that the more flexible a system, the less unemployment it involves. What can I think be stated quite categorically is that no single person or group can have a monopoly on social issues. Unemployment figures constitute the true indicator of any policy’s social nature, together with the quantity and quality of services provided by the state for its citizens. We therefore prefer to leave the idealistic task of building a social paradise on the rubble of economic theories to other political groups.
Only prosperous societies can cope effectively with the social needs of the population. In this connection, I believe it is important to reform so as to retain the core values of the European social model. It is essential to take into account that the competitiveness and productivity of our economies are crucial to moving this process forward. Competitiveness and protectionism simply do not go together.
Down through the ages, the economic history of nations has made it abundantly clear that barriers and protectionism always harbour inefficiency and result in poverty. The fall of the Berlin wall brought everything swept under the carpet out into the light of day. I do therefore welcome the Barcelona conclusions. They set us on the road to regaining the competitiveness of the European economy, a process that starts in primary school. They should also get Europe back on track as regards growth, and help combat the scourge of unemployment. On behalf of my group I should therefore like to thank the Commission for its efforts. Thanks are also due, of course, to the Presidency-in-Office of the European Union."@en1
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