Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-05-15-Speech-3-285"
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"en.20020515.10.3-285"2
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"Mr President, Mr Lamassoure’s report is very interesting. I share his ambition to give more powers to the Union so that it can cope with its responsibilities and with what is expected of it. In particular I approve his efforts regarding foreign policy, defence and security.
However, I do have some objections. We need to rewrite the objectives which form the basis for the Constitution of the Union, and that is what will convince our citizens that progress in competences is fully justified. What are those objectives? The market, currency, freedom of movement – these are not enough. We must go further. At world level Europe is committed to effective multilateralism. It bases its security on dialogue, the abolition of poverty, and development links. It chooses full employment and progress in human capacities. It is against exclusion and bases its cohesion on the sharing of common goods, and finally it has given itself a public space which enables multinational and transnational Community citizenship and democracy to be exercised. These choices are what gives Europe its identity. In the form of a constitution, they should be the subject of an annual and multiannual policy agenda. The balancing of rules and the division of competences are intended to achieve these objectives.
In this respect, the report lacks any ambition as regards the essential renewal of the social model and of growth, an important subject for our citizens and a subject on which we are divided. The rules of competition must be balanced by common rules and tasks concerning security, public services and industrial policy. The Union must have its own competence in matters involving economic policy, and it must have a redefined framework for the coordination of national policies, as well as fiscal harmonisation of the budgetary and revenue tools.
As for the exercising of these competences, the democratic challenge and the requirement for efficacy, on these points the report is too brief and a few amendments would improve it. As for the nature of the actions of the Union, I cannot accept the assumption of the rapporteur, who believes that the Union can manage things only in exceptional cases. A political Union which did not manage at all would actually be very irresponsible. Finally, the separation and division of competences should not be based only on the principle of subsidiarity. When coupled with the rule of competition, it does not legitimise a community. It should be accompanied by a second principle, the principle of solidarity. Let us try to spell it out. Players in civil society must be consulted directly, and must be able to manage resources jointly in order to carry out projects which are of Community interest. Let us therefore be brave enough to form a society in Europe."@en1
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