Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-31-Speech-3-051"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20040331.1.3-051"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
I should like to thank all Members for their constructive remarks. Many points have been made in this debate and the Irish presidency has carefully taken note of them, including a number of common themes that have arisen.
I want to see as many issues as possible resolved quickly. One way or the other we should be able to clear a lot of the issues prior to the European elections. So, even if the last few are not there, people can see them. I do not see any great difficulty about that. I take the point made by Mr De Rossa and others that we have to make that as open as possible, and I intend to do that. When we make changes, I shall try to explain them as we go along, as I have been doing over the last number of months. Obviously, double majority was a big issue – to bring everyone around to that as a basis in our efforts to make progress. However, the fact of having made that decision opens up flexibilities in other areas. I mentioned a few this morning. I think we will be able to move that debate on and not have to wait until the end of the debate.
Mrs Frassoni raised the question of how many issues remain to be resolved in the Intergovernmental Conference. The figure of 82 was mentioned this morning. Thankfully it is not 82, but there were about 22 issues at one stage. In my address I identified some of the key issues: obviously, the Commission; voting in the Council; and the seats in the European Parliament – particularly for the smaller Member States and also for the new Member States. In addition, a balanced outcome must also be struck on the extent of QMV under the new Constitution – I noted what a number of Members said about that.
There is a range of further issues, many of which were the subject of proposals at the Naples Summit of the Italian presidency. They were never agreed because they were not discussed at the December Council. The basis for those proposals is there, but, as in all these things, there are nuances to people's positions, and over the last three months I have been trying to reach agreement on those. I do not think they are deal-breakers, and it will be possible to conclude them after some discussion. We have explored options on all these issues in our consultations with partners to date. They are aware of my view and of the areas in which we can achieve compromise. As always, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, but I would hope that we are moving towards agreement on many of these points. As a result, we believe that it should be possible to reach a satisfactory outcome on all those issues and then we will come down to the few difficult ones.
There are still difficult questions to resolve, so doing the deal will require further flexibility and compromise. However, if we keep the big picture in mind – a Constitution that will help the Union connect better and do more – it is my firm view that we can succeed. I agree in particular with Mr Watson that not only must we agree on a Constitution, but we must also be ready to sell it to our parliaments and peoples. I hope that this will be the end of the ongoing debate for a while, because, as has been correctly said, constantly moving from one debate to another – Maastricht, Amsterdam, Nice, etc. – creates many problems and difficulties.
On the Lisbon Agenda, Mr Barón Crespo, Mr Watson and others called for renewal of the momentum behind the Lisbon Agenda. As I said earlier, the European Council agreed a message of confidence and determination, showing that Europe has the will and the capacity to advance the Lisbon Agenda. We need to concentrate on translating our objectives into realities.
A few speakers drew attention to the continuing problems of delivering on the Lisbon Agenda. I could not agree more. It is a point that I underlined most strongly in addressing my colleagues at the European Council. It is a point that was addressed first in our European Council conclusions. President Prodi and I made this point at our press conferences last week. I made it when I met the social partners.
However, as we all know, delivering on the Lisbon Agenda depends, for the most part, on national actions. At the summit we tried to sharpen the focus rather than go on endlessly about hundreds of conclusions and benchmarks left, right and centre. We tried to focus it further and to increase peer pressure to promote the exchange of best practice. In addition, we took the new collective steps I described in my opening statement.
However, there is no magic bullet to deliver Lisbon. We need focus, resolve and determination, and detailed work must continue on an ongoing basis. I genuinely believe that we left the spring European Council with our individual and collective resolves strengthened. That has been useful. Your role will be critical and crucial here in supporting the process of implementing the essential reforms. I hope that we – the Council, Parliament, and the Commission – can work constructively together to ensure that we finalise as many Lisbon-related dossiers as possible before the end of your term. I appreciate and thank you for what you have already done.
The challenges ahead may be significant, but the potential benefits for our people in Europe are also considerable. I agree with those who stressed the need for Lisbon to be reflected in real improvements in the daily lives of our citizens.
Mr Barón Crespo mentioned Cyprus and, of course, today is the day when it is hoped that the Kofi Annan negotiations will conclude. It is going to be difficult, but they are endeavouring to meet the deadline of today. They have worked extremely hard over the last ten days or more, and will continue to do so. The European Council obviously discussed this at a crucial time in the search for the settlement to the Cyprus problem with United Nations negotiations. I have kept in touch with all the parties over the past months. Over the last year I have had several meetings with Mr Erdogan, President Papadopoulos and the United Nations staff involved in this issue. At the European Council we reiterated our strong preference for the accession of a united Cyprus next month. We have offered our full support to the efforts of Secretary-General Annan to help the parties seize the historic opportunity to bring about a comprehensive settlement. We urged all parties to maintain a full commitment to a successful outcome. In line with the understanding reached with the parties in New York last month, Secretary-General Annan has expressed his determination to conclude these negotiations in Switzerland tonight; so I wish the negotiators well. Kofi Annan hopes that the parties will sign a final version of the settlement plan and that the guarantor powers will endorse it tonight, so that it can be presented as an agreed document to the people of Cyprus for approval in April. It is clear from this morning's debate that we all share that hope.
At the outset Mr Poettering, Mr Barón Crespo, Mr Watson and many others raised the issue of terrorism and the threat that we face. We are all committed to combating terrorism in accordance with the fundamental principles on which the Union is founded. I can assure everyone that our efforts on counter-terrorism will be undertaken with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. That of course is something that we must fully adhere to.
A number of Members raised the budget issue. The points were well made. Points were made about the existing compromise. We will emphasise those points in the debate. In replying to Mr Hänsch and others, I would say that I am fully conscious that the procedures for agreement on the Union's budget are a particularly sensitive matter for Parliament. I will take that fully into account. As presidency, we will attach particular importance to ensuring a balanced outcome which all, including Parliament, can accept. I will pass on the remarks which were particularly directed to the Ecofin Council to its President, my colleague Mr McCreevy.
In response to Mrs Doyle's important point about Burma, the decision to establish diplomatic relations with Burma/Myanmar was taken in the context of our presidency of the Union and the need for Ireland as EU presidency to deal directly with the Burmese authorities, which otherwise, we would not have been able to do. Before establishing relations – the need for which we understood – we consulted Aung San Suu Kyi and she expressly concurred in our decision because she understood the need for us to do the job and that we would actually do it. So we did check that and she concurred with it. As presidency of the European Union we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to speak to the Burmese authorities on behalf of the European Union. Of course, we could have done nothing. But our goals continue to be the return of democracy to Burma, an end to human rights violations and the realisation of peace and prosperity for the long-suffering people of Burma, which we all want. It is our belief that the appointment of an ambassador to Burma expands the platforms from which we can promote these goals of the European Union and the international community. With the exception of Luxembourg, all Member States maintain diplomatic relations with Burma.
In conclusion, thank you to everyone who has spoken for the points made. I also thank the leaders of the groups for their cooperation and ongoing contacts with the presidency and with the Members of the IGC group, to whom I have had an opportunity to talk on numerous occasions, as recently as earlier this week in Dublin, where they were attending the Foreign Affairs Chairmen's Group. I am deeply conscious of the consistent support of Parliament across a range of issues on our agenda. I look forward to your continued support in the coming months. I will of course be addressing the new Parliament on the other side of the June European Council, but I assure you that there will be some mechanism whereby we can continue to keep abreast of all the issues in the intervening period. I will do everything in my power to maintain that connection and keep you and your colleagues abreast of the ongoing details as they unfold during April and May.
Our immediate priority is to ensure the security of European Union citizens. However, we also need to address the wider factors that contribute to terrorism. That is not to justify terrorism; rather, it is an essential step in its elimination. Many people have made the point here in recent weeks that we need to work to try to understand the root causes of terrorism. An Irish colleague, Mr De Rossa, made the point that this is different to a lot of the terrorism that we have seen in recent decades. It is very clear in the European Council that while we do not in any way seek to justify any of the acts, we have to try to understand them to see how we can cope with it – not by talking to people who are engaged in it, because they will not listen to anybody, but we have to understand and study the root causes.
I agree fully with the view expressed by Mr Poettering and Mrs Doyle that there can be no question of casting collective blame on any group of people or nations for the scourge of terrorism. We must not stigmatise the Arab world. I want to register my absolute agreement on this point. I am determined that we will work in close partnership with the leadership of the Arab world. As I reported, that is precisely what the presidency is doing. In the fight against terrorism it would be totally wrong and unacceptable for there to be any suggestion whatsoever that the Arab community in general is implicated or bears any kind of collective responsibility.
The declaration on combating terrorism underlines that we are at one in the European Union in assessing the gravity of the threat that terrorism poses. We are also at one in our determination to face down that threat. We will report on progress at the June Council meeting on the implementation of these measures, including a revised European Union plan of action to combat terrorism. I look forward to working closely with the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council secretariat and the newly appointed counter-terrorism coordinator, Mr de Vries, in taking this work forward.
We are working with a real sense of urgency. Many people have stressed the need to follow up on the declaration and the other work at the European Council. Yesterday, at the Justice and Home Affairs Council, we invited Mr de Vries to engage in what turned out to be a very useful, concrete discussion about how we take that work forward. The Council also acted decisively to meet the first deadline set in the declaration – that is for the draft directive on compensation to victims that has been bogged down for some time in arguments about the legal basis. The European Council set a deadline for 1 May and the presidency invested a particular effort to ensure that yesterday's JHA Council would reach a political agreement. I mention that in order to emphasise the determination to translate the declaration into concrete delivery. We made a start yesterday and will do everything in our power to keep progress on track throughout the remainder of our presidency.
I also emphasised last week that all of us in the Council have to make sure that the measures that we have agreed since 11 September must be put through as soon as possible. We have given deadlines in the declaration. Most of that has to be concluded this year, either in June or in December.
Mr President, I am very grateful to you and all Members for your continued strong support for concluding the IGC, as expressed by Mr Poettering, Mr Barón Crespo, Mr Watson and many others. It has been instrumental in creating a political atmosphere in which people were prepared to commit themselves to reaching an agreement by June. As my colleague Mr Collins said, it will be more difficult to reach agreement if we do not move ahead now. There is no political or administrative point in waiting for the year to drag on; it will only become more complicated. Like you, I would prefer the earliest possible agreement, ideally before the elections. That is what I asked for last week.
However, as I said at the beginning of my contribution, a range of factors might make this hard to achieve, and we will have to wait and see what progress has been made. There have been many changes in the European Council in recent weeks, and the position of a number of governments – not only the Spanish – is changing, which creates some difficulties. Thus, we will do our utmost to move that on and make as much progress as possible."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples