Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-06-23-Speech-4-021"
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"en.20050623.4.4-021"2
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"Mr President, I would like to welcome the future President-in-Office by quoting Charles Dickens: 'it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us'. So it is with the European Union. At the time of our greatest success, the enlargement to 25, we find ourselves cast down by doubts and recriminations. Globalisation has bred insecurity among our citizens, causing some to doubt the European project and to embrace protectionism and isolationism. Yet it is only by coherent European action that we can confront the threats and seize the opportunities of globalisation.
Unfortunately, much of what the EU has achieved is now taken for granted by the voters and is regarded, frankly, as 'old hat'. We have to define a modern vision of the European Union and its purpose and relevance; a vision based on concrete outcomes, not processes; a vision based on certain key principles.
Firstly, the importance of international partnerships and particularly the most successful partnership of them all, the European Union. We have to recognise that the strength of the EU lies in its supranational institutions which complement and supplement national sovereignty and do not replace it. Secondly, our ability to deliver jobs for our citizens and economic security for their families is central to our continuing success. A successful economy is not an Anglo-Saxon conspiracy, but the key to our survival.
The European Union has already done a lot. In recent days we have heard that EU membership costs this country EUR 20 per head, or that country EUR 50 per head. These figures are insignificant compared with the EUR 6 000 per head by which the single market has benefited its citizens through extra growth. But we must do more to harness the knowledge economy by investing in the projects of the future and not the past.
Economic efficiency depends on social justice. Prosperity comes from a secure workforce and a society that invests in all its citizens, excluding no-one. We need active labour market policies to help people find and keep work. A third of our working-age population is economically inactive. That figure is a disgrace and stands to the condemnation of the EU and its Member States.
Finally, we need an open society where people are free to travel to find work. Such an open society has to be fair and just and not a free ride for the criminals and the terrorists. That is why I particularly welcome the presidency programme on justice and home affairs. Real progress here will show our citizens the benefits of European action. The presidency has to bring Member States together to build a competitive Europe and a Europe capable of giving leadership in the world on issues such as security, climate change and world poverty, the very issues that our citizens are concerned about. I wish you the best of luck."@en1
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