Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-31-Speech-3-049"
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"en.20040331.1.3-049"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, in the wake of the European Council meeting we can at last feel satisfied. Ireland can be given credit for having made headway with many difficult issues. At last it seems that the Intergovernmental Conference might reach agreement on the new Constitution. The Convention’s proposal is a good basis for a constitutional agreement, as it is a balanced one that takes the interests of Europe as a whole into account.
There has been a lot of water under the bridge since the Lisbon Agenda was agreed. Unfortunately, however, the currents have not brought the Union any closer to that celebrated goal which, in terms of its ambition and considering developments in the last few years, is almost as unrealistic as Brezhnev’s five-year plans. On the contrary, any little faith there was in the EU’s ability to carry out adequate structural reforms has got watered down in the flood.
What then are the structural reforms that are spoken about so much? Free movement of the labour force must be guaranteed. Transition periods for the new Member States are a mistake that should be corrected as soon as possible. The EU budget should not be cut in the next budget period: the focus must be on work to support competitiveness and growth. The implementation of internal market legislation in the Member States must be stepped up. We also have to be wary of too much detailed, stringent regulation. It is often the case that we regulate too much and do not implement enough. Such laws as those pertaining to chemicals can often prove annoying from the point of view of improved competitiveness. According to the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry, the proposal would lead to almost a 2% reduction in GNP in Finland and other EU countries over the period 2007-2017. Is this reasonable?
The cowardly terrorist attacks in Madrid deeply affected not just the Spanish nation but all of us in Europe. Regrettably, the terrorists achieved their objective. This should not be allowed to happen again. There are still problems in the fight against terrorism. Did we not say after the appalling attacks of 11 September that we would increase the exchange of intelligence between Member States? There is a big gap between what politicians say and real action. We have to take heed of this. It is nevertheless necessary in the fight against terrorism to ensure that the basic rights of our citizens and civil freedoms are not needlessly restricted. Law-abiding citizens have no cause to fear in Europe."@en1
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