Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-23-Speech-2-240"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20030923.6.2-240"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Commissioner, Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, speaking as I do on behalf of my group, the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats, I would like to make three things very clear, especially to those who, following Commissioner Monti’s statements, have forced today’s debate upon us. Any criticism of the Commission is unfounded, and there is no reason to change competition policy; on the contrary, indeed, we owe a debt of gratitude to the Commission and, above all, to Commissioner Monti, whose actions over recent days have been marked by calmness, consistency and frankness, and who has been willing to engage in dialogue.
On 17 September, we read in
that Commissioner Monti had said, ‘We are open to dialogue, and I am still confident that we will find a solution capable of safeguarding the integrity of the Common Market without distorting competition. This is a necessary condition for healthy European industry and for lasting employment.’
On 22 September, again in
Mr Monti had this to say: ‘The Commission has never had negative prejudices against France and Alstom, but it was our duty to check that no direct and irrevocable change was made to conditions of competition in the market.’ He went on to say: ‘I am happy to let it be known that the French authorities have fully complied with the Commission’s conditions’. End of quotation.
This is, of course, a sensitive case, but it is an issue of state aid. Yes, of course this company is of enormous importance on our continent. The Commission cannot, however, make adherence to EU law conditional on the size of a company and the number of people it employs. When questions are raised or something goes wrong, it has to intervene. All over the media, we read today’s headlines: ‘All banks agree rescue plan.’ ‘French industrial giant Alstom saved!’ ‘Alstom shares fall after initial rescue.’ ‘Paris urges Alstom industrial conglomerate to restructure.’ ‘Battle for the future of 110 000 jobs.’ This is a sensitive issue, but can we really claim that we would have wanted or expected the Commission to act in a different way? I can speak for my group when I say that no, we would not, even though our hearts are in the right place where the associated problems are concerned and there is adequate awareness of the problems associated with it.
Let me remind you of three articles in the new constitution. Article 3(2) will read: ‘The Union shall offer its citizens an area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers, and an internal market where competition is free and undistorted’. In Article 4(2), we adopt and put on the record our prohibition on discrimination within the internal market as a domestic market. In Article 5(2) we lay it down that ‘Member States shall facilitate the achievement of the Union’s tasks and refrain from any measure which could jeopardise the attainment of the objectives set out in the Constitution.’ In Lisbon, we resolved to become, by 2010, the most competitive continent in the world. Let me emphasise that state subsidies need to be approved. Anything that distorts competition cries out to be investigated by the Commission, after conditions have been fulfilled and time limits have elapsed. Anything that goes against EU law must be prohibited. All discrimination is banned. Whatever weakens the internal market is irresponsible, as it damages growth and employment.
My group has committed itself to the social market economy, and hence also to social responsibility. We are committed to the internal market and to competition, on which the creation of new jobs and growth depend. Commissioner Monti is its independent regulator. He has our entire support, and he has done the right thing."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
"Agence Europe,"1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples