Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-21-Speech-3-372"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2004-04-21"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Motion of censure2
dcterms:Language	"it"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20040421.16.3-372"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2004-04-21-Speech-3-3732
lpv:speaker	lp:Roberta Angelilli2
lpv:spokenAs	member; Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries and the Gulf (2002-02-07--2004-07-19)3 member; UEN (1999-07-22--2004-07-19)3 substitute; Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 unknown; Alleanza nazionale (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 member; Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3
lpv:translated text	"Mr President, in the end, and almost too late, I agreed to add my name to this motion of censure on the Commission regarding the Eurostat affair. Quite frankly, I do not feel that I am either illiterate or, even less so, an anti-Europeanist, nor do I believe that I can be blamed for bringing the Commission into disrepute; if anything it did that on its own. At the end of the day, we were practically forced into this extreme measure by the Commission’s indifference and perfunctory attitude towards Parliament, because – and I want to mention this – this is not an impromptu move. For more than a year, there have been hundreds of questions and a large body of parliamentary work behind this extreme move. In any case, we expected the Commission to act less like Pontius Pilate; this is what we expected and, I believe, what we deserved since, after all, we are the only institution that has genuine popular legitimacy. I do not want to go back over the many questions to which adequate responses were not given, or the good proposals stated by the Commission for the future. Once again, however, I would like to comment on the organisation involved, that is to say Eurostat It is worth remembering that Eurostat does not deal with generating interesting and harmless statistics. Eurostat is an institution which, through its surveying and statistical work, is in fact the guarantor of the Stability and Growth Pact: it monitors the application of the Maastricht criteria. It is, therefore, involved in setting out the economic and financial policies of the Member States and, indeed, in making Member States adopt strict policies that often entail budget and welfare cutbacks. It is, therefore, an institution that has a monitoring role, and its impartiality and authoritativeness must not be even slightly scarred by the doubts and suspicions that hang over Eurostat today. I am, therefore, sorry, Commissioner Reding, but the Eurostat affair cannot be crossed off as a deplorable exception. We realise that the affair is embarrassing, it is for me too, but I believe it is the citizens that are calling for this not to be tolerated, the same people whom we are asking to make sacrifices in the name of the Stability and Growth Pact. I do not want to give lessons in democracy to anyone – God forbid – but I would like to quietly mention that democracy is based on the rights of minorities to express their opinion."@en1

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