Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-15-Speech-3-031"
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"en.20041215.2.3-031"2
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"Mr President, the Dutch Presidency is nearly at an end. In the first place, I should like to assess the efforts it has made towards reducing regulation at European level. The aim was to end the Brussels bureaucracy and to cut the number of regulations it produced by at least 25%. Needless to say, we are far from reaching that percentage, but the tone has been set, and I regard that as a great bonus in itself. After all, if there are fewer rules and regulations, there is more room for entrepreneurship, because it is the entrepreneurs who have to save the European economy. I still think it desirable, though, to appoint a European Commissioner to focus solely on the elimination of superfluous and obsolete rules.
A second topic addressed during the Dutch Presidency was the so-called Hague decisions about terrorism and combating crime. The agreements reached in The Hague illustrate that the European Union and the Council too – at long last – consider the fight against terrorism and crime as one of their priorities. At the same time, a balance has been struck between an effective approach and extra legal scope on the one hand and the protection of personal data and fundamental freedoms on the other. After all, we are still being put through our paces on that score, and I think that the Council has done a reasonably good job.
The topic of human rights has not received a great deal of attention, but sound work has been done on it. I would particularly mention the protection of the defenders of human rights. Under the Dutch Presidency, the practical implementation of the EU directives concerning human rights defenders has moved one step closer. A manual will be compiled for the EU delegations across the world; it will provide for a prompt, flexible and consistent reaction from the EU when human rights defenders are in peril of death or are at risk of abuse.
I congratulate Mr Nicolaï on the inclusion in the agenda of the need for good communication about European integration. The public still considers Europe to be far removed from their own personal lives and are far too ready to turn their backs on it. It is only by frequent communication and a constant dialogue with the citizen, not only by the Members of this House, but also by the members of the Commission and the Council, that this gap can be bridged.
I should like to finish off with a remark about the debate about standards and values with which this presidency started. As a Liberal, I feel hesitant about such a debate, in general, and about the purely Christian nature that the Christian Democrats tend to lend it, in particular. I also find it objectionable that the Left have devalued the terms ‘standards’ and ‘values’. It is important that this debate should have made a start; after all, it is a debate about what Europe is, where it should be heading, where our boundaries are and what we are doing, or not, as the case may be. In short, it is a debate about where our foundations lie. Money is not, indeed, the EU’s only
. I think that Mr Balkenende’s article in
of 7 December was excellent; one of his conclusions was that the Union is about dynamic values. I see these as including respect, responsibility and confidence. We have in any event made a start on the discussion and although the end is not in sight by a long way, this is still worth a compliment for this presidency.
On a final note, the presidency has definitely brought the European Union closer to the Dutch people and even to members of the Dutch parliament. This, I know, is Mr Nicolaï’s crusade, and it has proved very successful; as a Dutch MEP, I too am pleased with it."@en1
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