Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-27-Speech-2-134"
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"en.20050927.18.2-134"2
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"Mr President, I wish to comment on Mr Guellec’s report on territorial cohesion and should like to begin by thanking him for the extremely constructive cooperation we have had while the report was being drafted.
The big difference between now and 15 to 25 years ago is that the regions are very active in their own development. They no longer wait for someone else to enable them to develop their economies and societies and create a good life for themselves. They wish to do these things themselves. It is not so strange, therefore, that territorial cohesion has become an important concept. What it does is sum up this feeling and this desire that exist throughout Europe, including in the city suburbs, that everyone is needed on the continent of Europe, that everyone is important and that all regions have something to contribute. This needs to be obvious to all of us in the EU. That is why the concept of territorial cohesion, whereby we hold our continent together and everyone feels they are participating, is so important. There is a huge amount of knowledge throughout Europe, and that is something we must make the most of if we are to develop our continent. If we do not do so, we shall be making a mistake.
The whole of Europe has an incredible amount of wealth, which is often to be found out in the regions or city suburbs. We have a great many natural resources which, when they are turned to good account, are helpful not only to the regions but also to the whole of Europe. We are also concerned here with energy, which is what provides us with export income. We also have very extensive natural resources that we can use in tourism and for recreation. A lot of people are employed in these areas, which are ones that we can develop and that our good for the whole of our continent. We also have variety in Europe. We have minorities and immigrants from all around the world whose energy and knowledge must also be made full use of.
I therefore wish to emphasise a number of points in the report that I think are important. The first is that the Lisbon and Gothenburg strategies must embrace everyone. We must ensure that they extend to include all regions. Otherwise, we shall not be able to develop the whole of Europe. The second is that we cannot accept sectoral policy areas, which have the opposite effect of merely strengthening the centre. Thirdly, I want to say how important it is for the various policy areas to be valued in Europe so that we obtain genuine territorial cohesion. Take the transport area, for example. We must ensure that we have transport routes enabling the whole of Europe to be developed.
I think that this is a constructive report, and I really do hope that the Commission will listen to what Parliament has to say."@en1
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