Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-11-20-Speech-3-058"
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"en.20021120.1.3-058"2
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".
Mr President, I will speak very briefly to allow other colleagues to reply in relation to the areas specific to their responsibilities.
I will end by commenting on the specific issues that fall within my competence. There has been mention of the Single Sky and responsibility for Eurocontrol. Ladies and gentlemen, the Single Sky does not mean that flight plans are going to be decided by the Commission. Flight plans are still coordinated within Europe by Eurocontrol, not only for the Fifteen, but for all the members of Eurocontrol, of which there are now more than thirty. They are different things; the Single Sky involves another series of areas which mean the harmonisation of management rules within the European Union and compatibility of inter-operative systems, management systems, integrating them into a network. Specific execution is still in the hands of the States and global coordination in the hands of Eurocontrol.
In the other area, in Mr Ripoll’s area, I would like to say that what this
tragedy – which we all regret, especially the Commission – demonstrates is that we were right. We were right to demand greater speed in the approval of measures and in the application of the measures proposed. Unfortunately, the Council, Parliament and the final agreements did not achieve much; there were more difficulties than we expected and they have been delayed. And since they have been delayed, regrettably, the
accident has taken place. Let us hope that the early implementation of the 'Erika I' package – I have asked the Ministers for it to enter into force before next June – and of the 'Erika II' package, in February 2004, will prevent any further accident such as that suffered by the
or by the
three years ago.
With regard to areas of refuge, amongst the proposals in the 'Erika I' and 'Erika II' packages, there are some which call for the different countries to determine and stipulate appropriate ports for dealing with emergency situations.
Of course, Galicia is part of 'Natura 2002'. When talking about certain things, we must bear in mind all the available information, not to mention the difficulties for some ports on that coast, which I know very well and better than certain others.
Mr President, I would ask that Mrs Diamantopoulou, Mr Nielson and Mr Vitorino may speak next, since many issues have been addressed to them.
I would firstly like to say that we are pleased to be able to hold this debate, which has been preceded by work by all the Commissioners in the committees, and which, in the end, has led to a result which we can regard as positive. In this respect, I would like to thank you, on behalf of all the Commissioners, for the input provided systematically in the debates and discussions which have taken place in the various committees in order to fine-tune our programme. When we presented our first proposals, we received initial reactions from Parliament’s relevant committees. I am therefore grateful for the work carried out. This has been an initial test whose result has not been homogenous in all the committees. I hope that next year it will work perfectly in all of them.
Secondly, in relation to enlargement, I believe that President Prodi has been very clear. There is no question that 2003 is still the main priority. We must pursue the negotiations with the countries which are going to enter in the second wave and ensure that all the changes and adaptations which the candidates entering in 2004 have committed themselves to are being implemented and carried out. This clearly requires considerable effort on the part of the candidate countries, and also of the Commission, in terms of cooperating with them in order to facilitate this work and rigorously verify that it is carried out. If it is not, mechanisms will have to be implemented in order to correct the situation.
After enlargement and with the perspectives we have, what will happen? The President has clearly pointed out that we will have to decide on issues relating to the countries of the former Yugoslavia and also that circle of countries with which we have special relations. I believe that that will be the challenge we will have to discuss, develop and monitor. But at the moment the priority – let us make this very clear – is what we have on the table: the 2004 countries and those countries, in principle, Bulgaria and Rumania, which should enter in 2007. With regard to Turkey, we are in a situation of stand-by, of waiting, simply because Turkey is yet to fulfil the political requirements for entry into the Union.
In the economic field, I will say that the Commission – this is the third priority, as the President has pointed out – will continue to implement the structural modifications necessary to promote the Lisbon project. The European Union, as the most developed knowledge-based economy, which aims for full employment, will in 2010 be the most competitive society. That is how we are going to continue to work, and, in this respect, I would point out that, with regard to the Stability Pact, we have the framework of the Treaties, which are very clear, including the Protocol, in which figures are clearly mentioned – such as the 3% of deficit and 60% of debt – and it is true that at the Barcelona Council we have been asked to work to create greater economic coordination – which was mentioned earlier, by Mr Barón for example.
The Commissioner responsible, Mr Solbes, has given us an initial presentation with regard to the approach and the timetable, and soon the relevant specific documents will be presented.
With regard to the other aspects, I will only make a couple of brief comments on issues falling within my own competence. There has been mention of the problems of legislation and the problem of commitology, ladies and gentlemen. We know that, at the moment, by means of the high-level group of interinstitutional cooperation, we are negotiating certain agreements with the Council. On this particular problem we do not have a real agreement and we are trying to find some common ground.
I believe that, in any event, there has also been progress in this field and that the progress has been made during this last year. We must continue along this road. I believe that the possibilities for improvement are favourable. In this regard, I would like to say that the Commission will continue to work with Parliament and also, of course, with the Council. In this way we will manage to find a conclusion on this issue.
With regard to resources and ambitions, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that, despite everything, the results of the development and process of European Union construction clearly indicate that our ambitions are great, but that we are achieving them. Of course, the Commission can always ask for more human resources and has done so, specifically in view of enlargement. An agreement has been reached on the minimum necessary. I can only say that we would have liked even more. If anyone insists on this area, I believe we are working with minimum resources, but that we are achieving a good result."@en1
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