Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-11-19-Speech-2-107"
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"en.20021119.2.2-107"2
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"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council and dear parliamentary colleague, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, enlargement is an historical and moral need and a unique opportunity to reconcile this continent with itself.
Underlying the debate we have held this morning and the debate we are holding on Mr Brok’s report – whom I would like to congratulate on his work – is a need: to reflect in depth on ourselves, on our role in the world, on what the European Union project has been, what it is at the moment and what we want it to be within the context of an enlarged Union.
And in terms of this reflection, I believe the work of the European Convention is of fundamental importance and I believe we must seek a suitable formula for involving – as has been requested this morning – the representatives of the candidate countries in the work of the Intergovernmental Conference.
With regard to the short term, I am convinced that, thanks to the efforts of the European Commission, of the Member States and of the candidate countries, within a few weeks, in Copenhagen, we will be able to reach a reasonable and fair agreement. I also believe that we will be able, on the basis of equal, and therefore non-discriminatory, conditions for all, to mark the way, by means of the pre-accession strategies which have been expressed here this morning and by concluding the negotiations under way.
Nevertheless, Mr President, I believe it is important that we do not get bogged down in the immediate and the present. I believe that History is not only written as a narrative using the preterite tense. Because, if we do not have a clear vision of our future ambitions and projects, not only will we be unable to design our future, but we will also have great difficulties understanding the past.
Today, Mr President, History is being conjugated in the present tense. And, in this historic present we are living through, the European Union is taking shape as one of its main protagonists. Today it is presented as an economic, financial and industrial power, but it has a great and essential need to affirm its presence on the international stage and to provide itself with a security and defence policy which will allow us to confront the new types of threat, especially following the attacks of 11 September.
Mr President, we must overcome the challenges involved in enlargement, we must take advantage of all potential and all synergy, we must build a unified political and economic area which will bring together more than 500 million people, of which, in the initial phase, 300 will use the same currency. Mr President, I believe that, in summary, it is a question of us, with generosity and a vision of the future, being able, although figures are important, to put ideals before figures."@en1
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