Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-07-22-Speech-4-015"
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"en.20040722.1.4-015"2
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"Mr President, on behalf of the Polish group within the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats I would like to express our high esteem for you. The speech you made yesterday, as well as your address to our group, the European People’s Party, leave us in no doubt as to your ability to provide the strong leadership needed. From the perspective of the new Member States, you hail from a distant country. Indeed, your candidature fills us with expectation, because you come from a country that has undergone far-reaching structural changes, much like our own. Your candidacy does bring certain questions to mind, however, which I shall now put to you.
In theory, enlargement has been successfully accomplished. In practice, reintegration is still not a reality. This seems to be the greatest challenge for your term of office, Mr Barroso. Europe was torn apart at Yalta. Will healing those wounds be a priority for your Presidency? That is our first question.
You have two major tasks before you, Mr Barroso. One is to uphold, nurture and develop European solidarity in its political and economic dimension. The other relates to the Eastern dimension, which is a new dimension for the European Union. This leads me to the next question. Do you intend to do all you can to persuade the Council to make adequate provision for the additional tasks of properly integrating the new Member States into the body of the Union through the allocation of funding in the 2007-2013 Financial Perspective? The new Member States must be given the opportunity to make up for lost time. Social and economic cohesion policy needs to be fostered too.
As you rightly pointed out yesterday, Mr Barroso, it is not possible to have more Europe for less money. This latest enlargement was done on the cheap. There can be no question of making further savings. Any cuts would deprive the poorest countries in the Union of the opportunity of catching up in terms of development, an opportunity that was enjoyed by Spain, Greece, Portugal, Ireland, southern Italy and the eastern German
Unfortunately, the amendment to the Constitution agreed at the European Union’s June Summit enables wealthier countries to block budgets they disagree with. Hence my next question to Mr Barroso. Will you retain the Prodi Commission’s proposal for 1.24% of GDP as a basis for calculating the budget?
We are also concerned that the principle of solidarity has been linked to proposals for harmonising corporate taxation across the Member States. We cannot agree to this if it means putting pressure on recipient states by threatening them with the loss of structural funds unless they raise their already high taxes. We call on you, Mr Barroso, to defend the fundamental principle of fiscal competitiveness between the Member States. We believe this would be the best way to keep faith with the Lisbon Strategy.
I shall now turn to the second task, namely the Eastern dimension. We look to you, Mr Barroso, to ensure guidelines are consistently adhered to, and to defend the related financial neighbourhood instrument. The Union’s commitment must be conditional on beneficiaries respecting human rights and the principles of the rule of law. We hope for substantial developments in the Union’s Eastern policy. Nonetheless, such a policy has to be demanding, rather than permissive. After all, our aim is to change for the better the lives of millions of people in the Mediterranean Basin, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldavia and Russia.
The Portuguese have long been renowned as great mariners. The European Union is now setting sail to the east. We trust you will have a firm hand on the wheel, Mr Barroso, as you steer the European Union’s course through those uncharted waters. Good luck."@en1
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