Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-31-Speech-3-016"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20040331.1.3-016"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, I too share the view of the previous speakers that the summit of European Union leaders was a success across a number of fronts. Firstly, there is clearly good will among European Union leaders to secure an agreement for a new European Union Treaty, and I would like to commend the efforts of the President of the Council, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, for the very positive role he has played in moving these negotiations forward in recent times.
The Taoiseach has certainly intensified the series of bilateral negotiations with other European Union governments with regard to the provisions of a new EU Treaty, but, as the Taoiseach said himself in Strasbourg in January, this is a job one cannot do on one's own. It requires the good will and the support of many from both the smaller and larger Member States within the European Union.
The IGC is now moving forward at a strong pace. We must now consolidate the good will there is, secure agreement with regard to the bottom-line issues and try very hard to strike a deal before 17 June for the new European Treaty. I fully understand and believe that this is not going to be an easy task, but we must not underestimate the challenges that lie before us.
We must be realistic about one particular situation. If an agreement for a new European Treaty is not reached in or around the time of the next European Council meeting of EU leaders, then agreement may be difficult to reach in the medium term. This is primarily the case because the dynamics within the European institutions are going to change. There will be a new President of the European Commission, perhaps half the Commission will be replaced, and the composition of the European Parliament is going to change by July of this year. That could mean two out of every three Members present at this Parliament being replaced.
I would like to urge the European Union governments to go the extra mile and strike an agreement which will ensure effective operation of the European Union for many years to come. As Mr Prodi said here this morning, our European Union must be able to take decisions. He said no small group of countries should be able to block decisions, and this is so. We need a Treaty which will ensure that the European Union institutions can take decisions in a simplified and effective manner for many years to come.
We have seen too many treaties from the European Union in the recent past. Indeed, they were coming so fast at one stage that they were being discarded before they were implemented. We all look forward now to the historic occasion of enlargement on 1 May, but we need to change the manner in which we take our decisions so as to ensure that the European Union as a political and economic entity becomes stronger.
The scourge of international terrorism must also be tackled head on, and I agree wholeheartedly with the views and comments expressed by the previous speakers. I welcome the strong support from EU governments for closer cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs. Appointments of key new personnel in Europe to tackle international terrorism in Europe are to be welcomed, but we must remember that democracy is fragile and we must be strong in our efforts to promote the rule of law and protect democratic institutions.
Al Qaeda represents evil of a barbaric nature and for Al Qaeda human life means absolutely nothing. From its perspective, the more people Al Qaeda can kill to weaken democracy in the western world, the better. Al Qaeda has bombed America, it has bombed Africa, it has bombed Asia, it has bombed the Middle East and it is now bombing Europe. However, I want to reiterate what Mr Poettering and others have said: we must not in any way believe that all Arabs are terrorists. That is not so and we should never allow anybody to say so. Only by collective resolve can we defeat the evil of terrorism, and I welcome the recent measures taken by European governments in this regard."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples