Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-07-21-Speech-3-057"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20040721.2.3-057"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President-in-Office of the Council, in a former political life, I was on the council of Amstelveen, a medium-sized town in the Netherlands. A fellow member of the council, who is now well known in Europe and to you, once entertained us about what he referred to as the paradox of the mediocre brass band. To cut a long story short, the conductor of such a mediocre brass band had a dual task. He had to ensure that the players started and finished simultaneously. What happened in the middle was not that relevant. Mr President, an analogy with the Council of Ministers urges itself upon us. The programme of the Netherlands Presidency is good. I really mean this. Moreover, I am delighted that, following his somewhat qualified rhetoric during the election campaign, Mr van den Berg has simply continued on the old-fashioned Socialist path.
I think your programme is a realistic one. Unlike some other presidencies, you do not underestimate your task, but then you face a different challenge. The European elections have demonstrated that voters are not only indifferent, as you quite rightly pointed out; they are also outraged by the European institutions. People say that things cannot go on the way they are. It is not good enough that, for example, the Council’s brass band starts and finishes at the same time; the tune should also be worth listening to. This should, in fact, also be of concern to Parliament and the Commission. Europe must regain a human dimension. I am pleased with what you had to say on the matter, for I have not heard this enough in the Council so far. If you succeed in this, your Presidency will be successful in my view, and I wish you every success in this endeavour."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples