Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-14-Speech-2-025"
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"en.20041214.5.2-025"2
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"Mr President, I wish to make a plea on behalf of Europe's stateless nations. Like Mr Alvaro I was struck by our proximity to Christmas. All the good little boys and girls have drawn up their Christmas lists and instead of sending them to Lapland we are sending them to the Berlaymont. Mr Barroso, it is up to you to find out in January whether you have been Father Christmas or Scrooge. However, I hope you will make all our Christmases merry and bright.
I refer to paragraph 3 in the Christmas list in the name of Mrs Frassoni and Mr Cohn-Bendit and the reference to the subsidiarity protocol, which is the biggest opportunity your Commission has to put meaning to the often empty phrases about subsidiarity and bringing Europe closer to the people. The subsidiarity protocol represents an opportunity for the Commission to do something brave and new. It is perfectly possible for the Commission to act as if the protocol were in force from this afternoon. Regardless of any decision on the Constitution itself, this Commission could act in a way totally unlike its predecessors and involve the relevant institution at the relevant time, regardless of whether or not it is a nation-state parliament.
By way of example, until five years ago, my own country, Scotland, had no parliament. Now we have a parliament, a government and a civil service with near total power over health, education, justice, home affairs, the environment and many other areas. The only thing we do not control is money, which, as colleagues will be aware, is a subject close to any Scotsman's heart. However, we are bigger than Ireland and have more people than Denmark. The relevant institution for the Commission to deal with in Scotland is the European Parliament and the Scottish Parliament and yet our flag is not there. We are firmly in the second class when it comes to relations with Europe and yet we could contribute so much.
I would urge you, Mr Barroso, to make our Christmas merry and bright and use your Commission and the subsidiarity protocol to put meaning to the phrases about subsidiarity, about bringing Europe home, because you will gain, we will gain and Europe will gain."@en1
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