Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-21-Speech-1-079"
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"Mr President, we are very happy that President Barroso has been able to join us and that we are able to examine with him this 2005 programme, the presentation of which has been delayed, albeit for reasons of which we are aware.
We are ambitious, and so are you. We wish to develop and improve working conditions with a view to putting practical measures in place and improving work-life balance. That is how we shall be able to fulfil the objective that the EU must pursue, so enhancing the whole of European society. The European Commission must be visionary in its initiating role.
In the field of policy, we would emphasise Euro-Mediterranean relations. Euro-Mediterranean policy must be much stronger and be accorded priority. In the same way, we must turn our attention to our European borders.
In conclusion, I should like to say to you that political will must be reflected in a Financial Perspective that is evaluated for what it really is. The Member States cannot ask more of Europe while giving less. What, therefore, we now need is political energy for kick-starting the engine that drives our efforts – efforts that are the basis of our work. You have that energy. We shall be at your side in that spirit of constructive rapport you mentioned.
Mr Barroso, we know that you will do everything to bring about even greater effectiveness. Your programme is ambitious, and we have every confidence in you – confidence that we should very much like to re-affirm, as you have been an attentive listener, specifically to ourselves. Indeed, you took the initiative to review the Directive on Services in order to take account of our concerns. The same applies to REACH, as you have just explained to us.
We must therefore concentrate on the key issues, namely growth and employment. Fewer laws and better lawmaking will be the main thrust of our work. I know that we are on the same wavelength as you on this subject. You also spoke to us about actions to be taken. Productivity in Europe is increasing half as fast as in the United States, where the average growth in investment is 5.4% per year, compared with 1.7% for European investments.
What our fellow citizens are waiting for are, in fact, practical changes that can be described in simple terms: seeing purchasing power increase and no longer needing to fear unemployment or relocation. It is therefore with impatience that we await your framework programme for competitiveness and innovation, including precise objectives and pre-arranged meetings.
Increasing growth and employment means relying upon innovation and research and, above all, reconciling environmental and industrial policies. These two policies are not contradictory, in fact quite the opposite is true; they are complementary. Environmental considerations are not constraints or obstacles. They are assets and present an opportunity for our economy. Europe must therefore opt for eco-innovation and cutting-edge technologies in order to meet a demand for high added value products that our competitors cannot satisfy.
Thanks to its high environmental standards, the European Union stimulates innovation and increases the competitive ability of European industry. I have in mind the development of renewable energy sources, including solar and wind power, of biofuels and of clean forms of transport – all sectors that offer our industries a real opportunity in terms of employment and exports. We note your proposals in this area with interest, particularly the regulation on the measures to be taken to combat forms of air pollution.
Viable economic development and renewed growth depend above all upon both the health of our companies and the health of the men and women who make our economy work. We value that part of your programme concerning health and consumer policy. Europe must also anticipate the possible threats from major scourges and combat the new epidemics and resistance to antibiotics. It is therefore with great interest that we await the proposal for a directive aimed at putting Community measures in place to combat avian influenza. We shall have to act quickly and effectively.
Regarding demographic development in Europe, the Green Paper must quickly be followed up by practical measures involving, for example, lifelong learning, health systems that can be relied upon over time and research into neurodegenerative diseases. As far as solidarity policy is concerned, it is only right that the new Member States should benefit from these programmes, but do not forget that the funds in question also convey the image of the European Union across all the Member States. It is therefore vital for all the countries to have access to these forms of structural aid.
We also call for greater efficiency in the way in which Member States follow up each other’s judicial decisions, although, on this subject, we were still awaiting the results of the codecision provided for by the Constitution. We know that all this should help improve Europeans’ mobility. In particular, we must also improve young people’s mobility by facilitating university exchanges and having people benefit from the terrific experience constituted by career routes to the professions."@en1
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