Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-11-21-Speech-4-032"
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"en.20021121.2.4-032"2
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"Mr President, I am speaking today on behalf of Mr Evans, who is the shadow rapporteur for the PPE-DE Group. He very much regrets that he cannot be here today. We have presented some amendments to these reports, with the general aim that they should provide more encouragement for free trade.
In the last few years, the European Union has rightly focused on the need for greater competition and consumer choice and has often used its powers to great and beneficial effect. Increased free trade and the reduction of unfair subsidies have been a most positive result. Just as policies of this kind produced handsome rewards for businesses and consumers when my country, under a Conservative government, rediscovered and pioneered these practices in the 1980s, they are now doing the same in the rest of the European Union.
Encouraging greater competition is an enormous task. For the first three decades after the Second World War, state aid and protectionism were less controversial. It is still difficult to combat these traditional ideas and entrenched interests, especially in a climate where the opponents of free trade often have the catchier slogans.
We are most fortunate that we have, in Commissioner Monti, someone who is convinced that the opening of markets and the freeing of trade is in everyone's interest. We are most grateful to him for his persistent and hard work in combating anything, be it cartels or subsidies, that impedes the operation of a fair market.
The report by Mr Herzog concerns the newly-introduced scoreboard for state aid. This is a most useful tool. We fully support its introduction and are anxious that it should be used enthusiastically. It is most encouraging to note that it points to a decline in state aid, although we would like to see a further decrease. The disparities between countries show that some Member States provide up to three times as much state aid as others.
It is our hope that the scoreboard will serve as an encouragement to Member States to continue and accelerate their reforms and that the scoreboard will also assist the reforms of the new Member States after their accession in 2004.
Mr Lipietz's report focuses on general competition policy and we are pleased to see that it reflects many of our concerns. In particular, the report highlights the lack of progress in the liberalisation of the gas and electricity markets and urges action in the opening up of European markets in energy, transport and postal services. The report rightly congratulates Commissioner Monti and his staff on their approach. We in this Parliament should urge him further along the path he has chosen to take.
I would like to conclude by commending the continuation of the European Union's policies in these areas to Parliament. I hope Parliament will support our amendments and I look forward to even greater progress in the years to come."@en1
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