Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-01-11-Speech-2-014"
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"en.20050111.5.2-014"2
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Mr President, the Constitution before us today would not have been possible without the European Parliament. This House has played a crucial role in strengthening the foundations of our common enterprise, not least through the substantial contributions made by Members of this Parliament during the European Convention. It would also not have been possible without that European Convention, which provided such a dynamic, open and innovative means of negotiation.
The possibility of concrete participation in the functioning of the Union is extended far beyond the election of the Members of the European Parliament. The citizens' initiative will, for the first time, make European citizens protagonists in the legislative process. Modernisation of the area of freedom, security and justice will allow the Union to respond to the growing demand for more effective European action in the fields of border controls, asylum and immigration. The same is true for judicial and police cooperation. The Constitution lays the foundations for a single area of liberties and guarantees.
The new provisions on public health will provide higher quality standards with regard to safety. The Union will be able to intervene in a more effective way to prevent and fight cross-border health threats such as avian flu or BSE.
Today, we cannot avoid thinking about the tragic events in Southeast Asia. The Union is already playing a key role in providing humanitarian aid and contributing to the political, economic and social reconstruction of that region. The new provisions on civil protection, which entrust the Union with the task of promoting consistency in international civil protection work, will allow us to make our international action even more effective in the future.
We have, of course, already put in place a number of initiatives aimed at informing the public about the content of the Constitution. The Commission has produced written and audio-visual material, developed a website, promoted and financed information relays, and sponsored seminars and other public initiatives. The European Council has supported our efforts, calling on the Member States to improve their capacity for communication about European issues in the context of the ratification of the Constitution.
It is now time to move up a gear. I seize this occasion to call on you to examine the possibility of putting in place joint communication initiatives with us that can maximise the impact of our initiatives. I refer, in particular, to the possibility of organising media events at both European and national level during a 'European week', around 9 May 2005. In the meantime the Commission will not refrain from developing other ideas that can assist the Member States in drawing up and implementing their national communication strategies. I can also assure you that the Commissioners themselves will be active in the debate on the Constitution and the future of Europe.
Securing the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty is the main concern for the Member States and for the European institutions. However, while we do not intend to anticipate application of the Constitution, we must also devote some effort to ensuring a smooth entry into force of the Constitution once the ratification procedures have been successfully finalised. That is why we need to open discussions on preparing for implementation of the current provisions.
The Commission has been engaged in this process from the start. We are proud of the text of the Constitution and will do our utmost to ensure that it sees the light of day. I remain committed to dialogue with the European Parliament. Our work will not stop today. In fact it is only just starting. I look forward to debating these issues in more detail with the Constitutional Affairs Committee and joining you on different platforms to present our case.
In conclusion, I return to my three simple concepts: more rights, more democracy and more openness. This year we will celebrate the 15th anniversary of the rebirth of democracy in Eastern Europe. Setting aside all other provisions of the Constitution, these three concepts alone underline why countries have joined the European Union and why the Commission will defend this Constitution.
The involvement of the European Parliament in this unprecedented process culminates today with an excellent and well-written report, which sends a clear message on the benefits of the Constitution and the need for its ratification. I wholeheartedly congratulate Parliament, and in particular the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the two rapporteurs, Richard Corbett and Íñigo Méndez de Vigo. The Commission fully supports your resolution. We firmly believe that the Constitution allows the Union to make significant improvements. In simple terms, for the first time the powers, competences, rights and duties of the Union are set out in a single Constitution. The Constitution consolidates and simplifies half a century of treaty changes, allowing us to move from 12 basic treaty acts to a single text. It makes the Union more open and simpler to understand.
The Constitution modernises the institutional structure. It increases the powers of the European Parliament and provides for citizens actively to participate in the decision-making process through a petition with one million signatures. We will have more democracy.
The Constitution sets out, in 54 concise articles, the fundamental rights we will guarantee to our citizens. For the first time the Union will accede to the European Convention on Human Rights, so there will be more rights for our citizens. These three simple concepts – more rights, more democracy and more openness – explain why this Constitution should be ratified. We would certainly have wished to be more ambitious in certain policy areas, but the final result is the best possible compromise in the current political situation.
I also accept that people have fears and criticisms regarding this Constitution. It is not a perfect text and we should not hide from responding to these concerns. Our latest Eurobarometer survey shows that 68% of our citizens support the idea and principle of having a European Constitution. Other opinion polls show that many feel they are inadequately informed about the content of the Constitution. Your report has made a good start by rejecting some of the misconceptions and scare stories about the Constitution. It provides a range of good reasons for the Euro-specialists to be voting yes, but these are not always the reasons that will persuade a single mother in Gdansk, or a shipyard worker in Spain to do so. The ratification of the Constitution is an opportunity to debate the kind of Europe we want. I welcome this opportunity to remind ourselves of what Europe has achieved and what Europe stands for, as has so elegantly been explained by others.
In the mid-1980s, the vision of creating a genuine single market seemed a bridge too far. And yet it happened, bringing in its wake an economic dynamism from which we still benefit. To cite one simple example, the fact that we do not have to go through customs at borders has dramatically reduced costs and delivery times. In a single step we removed the need for 60 million VAT documents per year. Today, the younger generation treat as a right the idea of a zone of free movement, in the same way that they expect the Union to ensure a clean environment and cross-border cooperation on public health. Today, in 12 countries of the EU, we have a piece of Europe in our pockets, with the euro being taken for granted across the Union and with new Member States joining the queue to introduce it. Finally, first through membership of Greece, Spain and Portugal and now with the 10 new Member States, we have helped guarantee and consolidate democracy and the rule of law across the whole continent.
We must now turn to the ratification of the Constitution. While we respect our different constitutional roles in relation to the national ratification processes, we cannot tolerate the debate being confused by myths or misconceptions about the content of the Constitution. All of us have a duty to make available clear and reliable information on what the Constitution does and the benefits it can bring. In so doing we must compare the results of the Constitution with the current situation. Lithuania and Hungary have already ratified the Constitution. I would, in particular, like to pay tribute to Lithuania and the speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament, who is here in the Chamber today.
We must now start to show what concrete impact the Constitution can have on the daily lives of the people we represent. Indeed, there is no shortage of good examples in this respect. As I said earlier, the inclusion of the Charter of Fundamental Rights is far from a symbolic innovation. Citizens will have a catalogue of rights and principles whose respect by the public authorities – be they European or national – they will be entitled to invoke before the courts."@en1
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