Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-09-15-Speech-3-187"
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Mr President, I will of course comply with your rules. In my view, a number of your Members have made very crucial remarks about whose responsibility it is, and to what extent, to successfully complete these ratification processes. Mr Corbett, Mr Vigo, Mr Stubb and many others have said, there is, of course, a joint responsibility for the success of the process after 29 October, when the ratification is signed, albeit because we all rely on each other. We all rely on the success of all 25 ratification processes for this Treaty to enter into force. Where we can – and I am specifically saying this on behalf of the Council, we will actually do this in the Council as well – where we can, we must support and strengthen each other in this, and also learn from each other. It would be unfortunate, as Mr Voggenhuber pointed out in his critical remarks, if we were to blame each other and pass the buck to one another, because I consider it, in fact, important and valuable, as many in this House have said, that the three institutions carry a responsibility in this. It is my conviction that, so far, the Commission has played a very constructive, positive role in communicating Europe and informing the public about the Treaty, and it would, in fact, be wrong to put the ball in their court, because I see the Member States and Members of this House as also having a very considerable responsibility in this area.
Many of you raised the point about the coordination in time of the different referendums. Many fine words have been spoken about how good it would be to have these referendums take place at a symbolic moment within a limited timeframe. I hope that you will agree with me that, although we might like the idea, we will not actually entertain it, because these are matters specifically related to constitutional legislation and should remain in the national sphere. I assume that this House, in terms of subsidiarity and the question as to which government layer would need to deal with what area, would not like to meddle in this anyway. What is very important, though, is that the different Member States examine when and how harmonisation could be possible, and that is exactly what we at the Council and the Council’s Secretariat are doing. We are publishing the national schedules, thus allowing governments and parliaments nationally to take these into consideration when drawing up their own schedules so as to see whether dates can be organised close together. This has nothing to do with whether you believe in a European approach to this issue or not, as some of you suggested. It has everything to do with constitutional law and it also concerns precisely the sensitivities which many of you have mentioned that referendums are at risk of becoming a national plaything. Many Members have given voice to this concern. That is precisely why the Council is convinced that it is good to give national parliaments and national governments some leeway in choosing a sensible date for such a referendum. This could be connected to all kinds of things, including other elections, or other current issues, in the country in question. I think that the ratification by 25 countries benefits from those countries having a good look at each other, but that those national responsibilities should remain intact at the same time.
Talking of referendums, further to Mrs Kaufmann’s and Mr Schlyter’s remarks, I would point out that at present, nine Member States have decided to hold a referendum, eleven Member States have decided against it and five countries are still undecided.
What is crucial is the way in which we, the different institutions, the different governments, enter into these ratification procedures, the way in which we enter into discussion with public opinion, and the way in which we will tackle the referendums in those countries where referendums will be held. I think that to start with, Mr Méndez de Vigo emphatically stated that we should be in favour, and I also considered this as an appeal to the Member States and governments. We as governments and Council will be signing that Treaty and are in favour of it. We are not impartial towards that Treaty. It is important to us for this Treaty to be adopted and ratified. It is important because anyone who reads this Treaty will see that, however you look at it, Europe will, thanks to the new Treaty, become much more democratic. Simply consider the enormous widening of responsibilities of this House; finally, it is a fully-fledged European Parliament. Or consider the level of decisiveness, which will visibly improve with the new Treaty, again an example of decision-making by majority. Consider transparency, clarity, which will improve with this Treaty. Another point that is very important when I listen to all your remarks is that even the Eurosceptics are, in my opinion, pleased with this Treaty. Why? Because it stipulates, in detail and effectively, this very subsidiarity, those questions of who decides on what. As a result, Europe becomes more democratic not only at European level, but also nationally, because national parliaments can stand up and can argue that something could be done more effectively at national level and is not a matter for Europe.
I do not think that there is a conflict – as a number of you mentioned – between devoting all our attention to those in favour, or working on the opponents, or, as the question has been raised, giving factual information as against preliminary information. In my view, Mr Crowley, among others, is right to say that the two are not mutually exclusive by any means. I am also looking in the direction of the Commission, because it had already hinted at this fact, with good reason. Factual information is a way of despatching the myths, the lies as they were referred to here. Using factual information, we can illustrate why this Treaty means progress for everyone in Europe.
Finally, I should like to comment on the meeting that is to be held in Amsterdam on 5 October, involving the European Affairs Ministers, to deal specifically with communicating Europe and also with ratification and with those referendums that are scheduled. I am delighted with what Mr Barrot had to say about this. It is also gratifying that Mr Vitorino will be attending that meeting, and I welcome his statement that what we discuss at it should impact on the Commission’s further plans and in turn, needless to say, also on the decision-making in the European Council on 5 November. I am also thrilled that the President of your House, Mr Borrell Fontelles has already confirmed that he will be attending that meeting, because as I said earlier, without the three institutions, we are unable to bring this to a successful conclusion. This meeting should be a meeting about communicating Europe, but one that also reveals how it is possible to communicate about Europe. It will not be a platform for reading out written-down statements, the media will be present, and I hope that we can demonstrate that Europe benefits from debate. What is helpful in that connection is the fact that your previous President, Mr Pat Cox, was prepared to act as moderator during this meeting. The principle underlying this meeting, and undoubtedly the entire further procedure where this Treaty’s ratification is concerned, is that it benefits the public and that we take the public seriously."@en1
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