Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-01-12-Speech-3-048"
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"en.20050112.3.3-048"2
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Mr President, I do not intend to return to issues we have already discussed during our debate. The Luxembourg Presidency has made its priorities quite clear. The Commission supports these priorities, and intends to work together with the presidency, all the Member States and the Council in a fair and constructive manner in order to achieve significant results during a six-month period that we regard as crucial.
I would, however, like to turn to an issue which was not mentioned during our introductory speeches, but which has been raised by at least one Member, namely the issue of better lawmaking. We too support the fact that the Luxembourg Presidency intends to give priority to measures to improve the quality of legislation, and indeed this priority is specified in the presidency’s programme. The Cox report stresses that the quality of legislation is one of the key factors in improving the economic environment, but I should like to say that quite apart from the economic environment, better lawmaking is also a key factor in improving the European public’s understanding of and confidence in European integration.
Better lawmaking relates not only to competitiveness, but also to citizenship. The public view of the European Union’s work is often marked by criticism of its bureaucratic and interventionist nature, and the fact that it is divorced from reality. Legislation should be simplified in a systematic and operational fashion, and the
must be made easier to understand. Impact assessments are a key factor in ensuring that better preparations are made for crucial political decisions. Simpler and better prepared legislation is a prerequisite for greater understanding, and hence greater acceptance, of such legislation by our fellow citizens.
I must also stress that implementation has become a critical aspect. If the EU and its Member States prove incapable of ensuring that directives are transposed rapidly and the
respected, the credibility of EU action will be at stake.
For its part, the Commission will focus renewed attention on violations of Community law and on the way in which infringements are dealt with.
In conclusion, and turning to the review of the Lisbon strategy, I should like to say that divisions should not be seen where they do not exist. I believe that we all agree that economic competitiveness, the environment and social legislation are crucially important in this Europe of ours. The same cannot be said of competitiveness on a global scale, as this is an area where improvements could be made in relation to our partners. I do not honestly believe that we have a great deal to learn or to do to catch up with our partners as far as environment and social legislation is concerned, but much remains for us to do in the field of competitiveness, for example with regard to research and development.
If one compares Europe – even the Europe of 15 before enlargement – to the United States and Japan with regard to investment in research into new technologies, for example, it can be seen that the investments made by the Europe of 15 only total one third of US investments, and are 30% less than Japanese investments. Yet investment in research and innovation for growth in Europe deserves to be a priority, and we are currently working with the Luxembourg Presidency and all the Member States to ensure that this is the case, namely that more targeted attention is paid to the most pressing issues. I am in no doubt that during this presidency we will all be able to adopt a revised Lisbon strategy, which will have greater force and be able to revive our European social model in a modernised form in order to guarantee the prosperity of our fellow citizens.
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