Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-01-14-Speech-3-042"
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"en.20040114.1.3-042"2
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"Mr President, Dear Taoiseach, there is an Irish saying to the effect that God invented whiskey in order to prevent the Irish from dominating the world.
Mr President-in-Office of the Council, the Irish are serious Europeans, however. My political group saw this when we visited Dublin. You are going to tackle the EU’s real problems, quietly but with determination. After Mr Berlusconi’s clowning around and dubious jokes, it is comforting to have people at the helm of Europe who do not have swollen heads and have their feet firmly on the ground. Unfortunately, the reality of Europe is cruel. Growth has broken down in the Union. Unemployment is rising. European ambition is setting the pace, from the draft constitution to the Lisbon process. The necessary stability is set up as orthodoxy, while the United States are recovering growth through entirely unorthodox methods. One of your ministers, Dick Roche, compared the Lisbon process to some sort of Christmas tree on which the successive presidencies have hung their favourite decorations. This image perfectly illustrates the seasonal ritual that this major ambition from 2000 has become.
The Irish Presidency is now proposing going back to basics. The spring summit should concentrate on the fundamental issues, growth and employment, which should become the EU’s prime ambitions. However, there is a nagging question still to be answered: where is the money, where are the budgets to give Europe the resources to fulfil its ambition?
The Union’s budget is negligible. It amounts to less than 1% of the gross European product. In 2003, the Commission did not even manage to spend these meagre funds. In order to fund the Union after 2006, the Commission will propose using the entire budgetary margin that is currently possible, that is, 1.24% of the gross European product. Even though six countries have already announced that they do not intend to increase their contribution, the Europe of the 25 will need more than a minimal level of solidarity if it is to develop.
It would be a good idea for the Presidency to propose new own resources, for example a European tax on carbon dioxide emissions, or a tax at source on savings products rather than the bureaucratic system envisaged in Feira. A European tax of just one single cent per litre of fuel sold in Europe would fund the trans-European networks. That would create more growth while unburdening national budgets. Policy without financial resources is just an empty gesture.
Bring Europe out of its rut, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, dare to do it!"@en1
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