Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-07-01-Speech-2-015"
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"en.20030701.1.2-015"2
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"Mr President, the Greek Government assumed presidency of the Union at a time of great international uncertainty and political instability. It was clear that at the start of this year different governments in Europe had diverse viewpoints when it came to facing up to the growing political problem of Iraq. The Greek Government sought to put in place in Europe a common political position on Iraq. This was always going to be difficult to achieve but the Greek Government approached this political issue at all times with determination and with true sensitivity to all the parties involved.
The international difficulties which surrounded the war in Iraq were many, but I believe that in the context of its presidency of the European Union the Greek Government dealt with this difficult political matter as even-handedly as possible.
The last six months have also seen a great momentum in the work of the European Union Convention. The Greek Government has worked very closely with all the representatives on the EU Convention and this has contributed in ensuring a new draft Treaty that will pave the way for new structures within the Union. The Treaty forms the basis for future discussions at the IGC, which will finalise the provisions of a new European Treaty.
We are all aware that the internal structures operating within the European Union must be modernised and by 1 May next we are hopefully going to be living in a Community of 25 Member States comprising a population of over 500 million people. Decision-making procedures must change so that we can guarantee that decisions can be taken within the different EU institutions in a streamlined and structured manner.
We want to enact a new Treaty that will command the support of the people of Europe and which will oversee the smooth running of the European Union for the next 50 years. We must recall that the European Union has been a success because the interests and concerns of both the smaller and the larger Member States are respected within the institutional structure in Europe. In fact, the last six months have been testament to the fact that the smaller countries in Europe can run an effective and focused presidency of the European Union. This is an issue that we will return to again in the run-up to the next IGC.
The Greek Government has supported recent peace efforts in the Middle East. After the war in Iraq the Middle East region has become more unstable and it is incumbent on us all to ensure that we get the peace process in the Middle East back on track. This is a matter that should not be left to the United States alone; the European Union has a very positive and central role to play in promoting the road map to peace in the Middle East.
I would like to commend the Greek Government for the manner in which it has overseen the running of the presidency of the European Union for the past six months. The vast majority of the political goals that it set at the start of the year have been met and that is a commendable achievement. The Greek Presidency has set a good example of how a presidency should be conducted on behalf of all the Member States and others will do well to follow this example.
To the President-in-Office I would like to say that you have won respect and support from this institution for the semester. On a personal basis I would like to wish him some short period of relaxation in one of the many beautiful Greek islands which some of us had a opportunity of visiting in recent times, during the presidency. Might I suggest to President Simitis that I could recommend no place better than Platy Yialos and he would know what I mean when I say that."@en1
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