Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-04-09-Speech-3-036"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030409.3.3-036"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioners, ladies and gentlemen, may I start by thanking my honourable friends in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy who, in appointing me as rapporteur for Lithuania, gave me the opportunity to take part in today's extremely interesting and important debate in the European Parliament. I should also like to thank Mr Gahler, who has just added a number of thoughts on Lithuania, although I was here.
Ladies and gentlemen, as one of the ten countries joining the European Union, Lithuania brings with it the same historical baggage of culture, conflict and history that the whole of Europe carries. We have all decided from time to time to change this course, to rally all the European nations around values and around principles. Lithuania has its own problems. However, now is not the time to discuss how much progress has been made in resolving the problem of Kaliningrad or Ignalina or anything else. We need to focus on the political reference points we are all adopting. We have all felt that the Europe we are building is not only a Europe of values, culture, history and adventure; it is also a Europe of the future, a Europe of hope. If we ask the European nations today what they expect of us, what political expressions they expect of the leaders of Europe, they will say peace, democracy, growth, social justice and freedom. It is to precisely these values that we have to respond. Lithuania, I repeat, has had its share of adventure, as we all have. But today we are treading a path with hope, a path with visions, a path which is expected to prove very interesting along the way.
As a Greek, I am keenly aware that the historic name of Europe which applies to all of us has Greek origins and brings with it overtones of culture and civilisation. Europa was Zeus's consort. The mother of Minos, Sarpedon and Rhadamanthus. However, if you study historical developments in conjunction with their mythological aspect, you will notice that they describe cultural, economic and other contacts between nations and citizens in the central and eastern Mediterranean basin in general. The cultural element has always been present. The element of quality has always been present.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me, precisely because of my origins, to say how moved I am that Cyprus will be acceding to the Union at the same time as Lithuania and the other countries, and to thank Mr Poos in particular and all the institutions of the European Union, for doing such an excellent job of addressing such a serious issue and finding the best possible outcome. Cyprus, the island of Aphrodite, or in the words of the modern poet, ‘the golden green leaf tossed into the sea’.
Ladies and gentlemen, today we need to be both serious and optimistic. We need to put everything we have debated and grumbled about on occasion behind us and realise that we are defining a new perception. We are all Europe. Not new Europe and old Europe. We are the Europe we have built, the best thing man has given mankind. And a word to the Greek Presidency, given that we all agree it is the element of civilisation that unites us in Europe. There are two important texts, the ‘Tomb of Pericles’ and the ‘Oath of Alexander the Great’; what a good idea it would be to have them translated into all the languages, including the new languages of the European Union, as statements of principles, values and civilisation.
Allow me to close by saying, welcome Lithuania, welcome Cyprus, welcome Malta, welcome all of you who will join the European Union this year and all of you who will join later, in 2007, and everyone else who accepts the principles and values we all share."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples