Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-09-15-Speech-3-156"
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"en.20040915.7.3-156"2
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"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European Constitution has successfully overcome its first two hurdles in the shape of the Convention and the Intergovernmental Conference. Over the next two years we now face a third hurdle, which could prove to be the most complex and demanding for this historic project – its ratification by the EU’s 25 Member States. We must recognise that work will by no means be completed with the ceremonial signing of the Constitution on the Capitol in Rome on 29 October. On the contrary, work must go on, and everyone must bring this project to a close with the same energy, vigour and discipline.
I am aware, and our committee is aware, that there is a risk that the European spirit, which was very much present in the Convention, but which became less and less so, without disappearing entirely, in the Intergovernmental Conference, will be lost in the national debates and domestic political battles of coming months and of the next two years. It is already noticeable that a populist and opportunist movement is being organised against the European Constitution, and it is a cause for concern that this germ has already infected one of the originators of the European idea, as is evident from the debates over recent weeks in France. The fact that a populist and opportunist movement is turning against the Constitution should give us pause for thought, even when the reasons have little to do with this project.
We must not allow the power games and power struggles of domestic politics to water down or even destroy this historic project, and everyone who has fought for the Constitution in the past years and decades must rise up in opposition to this.
Parliament, the Commission and the Council were active participants in the Convention and the Intergovernmental Conference, and I believe that the three European institutions also bear a particular responsibility in this ratification stage, as we must be advocates of the compromise that has been reached. It is therefore unacceptable for individual articles to be extracted from the overall compromise and used as a pretext for rejecting the entire Constitution, and this must not happen. An overall compromise has been reached, and we must see the wood and not just the trees, to put it metaphorically.
It is also the task of the European institutions to explain the fundamental goals and content of the Constitution to the European Union’s 450 million citizens, and to provide them with information on this issue. We would therefore like to ask the Commission and the Council whether a communication strategy exists, and whether suitable activities aimed at informing the European people about the project are in preparation. This House would also like to ask the Council whether a strategy exists for coordinating ratification in the 25 Member States. We are well aware that ratification will take place in accordance with the national law of each Member State, and it is also clear that some countries will require more time than others. It would however be entirely wrong if no attempt at coordination were made, especially when this has already taken place in the ten accession countries with regard to ratification of the Accession Treaty, and with visible success.
The Commission, the Council and Parliament may not now sit back and content themselves with watching from the sidelines. On the contrary, and as I said before, the same vigour and ambition must continue to guide us over the next two years in order to ensure that this project clears the final hurdles. The 2004 Constitution must not suffer the same fate as the 1984 and 1994 drafts, which went straight into the archives and never made it off the printed page and into reality. This 2004 Constitution must become a reality, as only then can progress result in increased democracy, transparency and efficiency in the European Union and hence for the people of Europe. This is our goal, and this is what we must work towards."@en1
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