Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-12-05-Speech-4-034"
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"en.20021205.2.4-034"2
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"Mr President, today, on behalf of the European Commission, President Prodi set out a position of great political and institutional importance. Adhering to Jean Monnet’s vision and the Community method, the Commission is today reinvigorating its ambitious and forward-looking role in European integration with a blueprint that meets our expectations. I would like to focus on three issues: firstly, Europe has to become a global political power. The new position of Secretary of the Union for Foreign Affairs would represent a strong Europe, able to set out its position in international bodies through a single representative. Mr President, you are aware of my personal desire to see faster work and a substantial increase in the quality of our capabilities in the area of defence. I am saying this as a friend of the United States: the world will be a better place if it contains a strong Europe, capable of acting on the strength of its values.
Secondly, the Commission has to become the sole repository of executive power, reinforced in its role as the expression of the common interest of the Union; in other words, we must move towards a genuine Union government, elected by the democratic representatives of European citizens and accountable to the institutions which represent the citizens and the States. Other institutional figures, lacking a clearly defined role and which would undermine the unity of representation abroad, must not interfere with the government of the Union.
Thirdly, Europe must become more effective and coherent, capable of vigorously rebutting the attacks launched by eurosceptic groupings which, in my country too, use Europe as a scapegoat for domestic failures.
In short, to create a partnership between Europe and its citizens, we need to simplify our procedures and make them more transparent by making codecision the rule, reducing the number of legislative instruments, abolishing unanimous voting and reforming the way the Union is financed. I would add that we must strive to combat corruption and promote the pluralism of information.
Mr President, only if we proceed on this basis will we be able to conclude this process, at the end of 2003, with a Constitution and a second, high quality, credible Treaty of Rome."@en1
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