Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-20-Speech-4-017"
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"en.20031120.1.4-017"2
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"Mr President, in purely formal terms, the three reports we are debating today concern the issue of the legal basis. The general attitude has, therefore, also been that it was not the budget and its contents that were up for discussion. Rather, it was a matter of needing to put the legal basis in order.
Of course the legal basis must be put in order. In the case of two of the reports, this happens with the help of Article 308, and this, in a way, shows the importance of Article 308. We are obliged to have such an article in case matters were suddenly to arise that, for example, needed to be put right. On the other hand, the same article must not of course be abused, as there has perhaps been a tendency for it to have been.
In reality, however, the reports are much more than just a question of formally getting the legal basis right. In reality, it is a question of something that is extremely political: firstly, a power struggle between the EU institutions and, secondly, our relations with people in the European democracy within and outside Europe.
Quite a lot has already been said about the first matter. I wish, in any case, to make a general remark, however, namely that it is striking that the women’s programme is the shortest one. Excuse me, but I do not think that the Commission has produced a particularly good explanation, for everything that has been said about the candidate countries can justifiably be said about all three programmes. I therefore take the view that, as the work continues, some thought might be given to why on earth women, as usual, have to be in the most vulnerable position. That, I have to say, is the attitude as I perceive it.
Regarding the second matter, I should like to say that I come from a country that has been a member of the EU since 1972. We have tested public opinion on the EU from time to time and have had quite a lot of referendums, and we know that, if we do not arrange for people to be more actively involved in the EU, both in terms of internal democracy and also in relation to other countries, then the project will not succeed in the long term. It will be something beyond people's ken, and we may be in danger of their ending up feeling poorly disposed towards the project. It is therefore incredibly important that we set to work on involving people in this work.
I am slightly annoyed that women, specifically, have been given the shortest programme. I would say again that experience from my own country shows that it is women who are most sceptical towards the project. There may be a variety of explanations for this, but that is not something I can go into now, because I do not have the time. Precisely for that reason, however, it is incredibly important that the women’s organisations too have a stable situation in which to work so that they do not have to spend all their time just finding the money for their work.
I shall just comment on the individual reports. The first of these is concerned, as the rapporteur also emphasised in the report itself, with an incredibly important subject, that of the EU’s relations with other countries, and we can see on a day-to-day basis that it is becoming more and more important to increase this understanding of the fact that there exist cultures other than the specifically mainstreamed culture that is most widespread in Europe. In that context, I simply ask myself whether this programme would enable the candidate countries in actual fact to join on the basis of those criteria. I should like to ask the Commissioner responsible to look into this, because we know that the candidate countries basically use their development aid to benefit neighbouring countries rather than countries farther away. There is not therefore perhaps so much basic material to work on in the candidate countries when it comes to relations with third countries.
The second report concerns the issue of citizenship, to which I have already referred. I just want to emphasise, however, that this must be developed all the time so that we ensure that not only the NGOs but also people in general are given the opportunity to participate in this work. In that way, we can increase understanding of the good things the EU has to offer. In that context, it is incredibly important that there not only be traditional organisations involved, but also organisations that take very broad cultural initiatives. I believe that this is one of the ways in which to make things happen.
Finally, the issue of the programme for women. I engaged in some constructive cooperation with the rapporteur prior to the publication of this report, but there is considerable disagreement in the committee. There are therefore also a number of us who are in actual fact voting in favour of extending the programme and in favour of various other amendments that I had heard the Commission had rejected but for which we nonetheless hope a majority can be created."@en1
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