Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-15-Speech-2-035"
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Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, 2005 has not been an easy year for Europe. Europe has had to face terrorism, social uncertainty and natural disasters. As for the institutions, we have had to face all these difficulties without the help of a Constitution and, until now, without having a multiannual budgetary framework. The Union has been led to wonder about the integration process itself, but we are convinced and our Commission is convinced that there has never been such a need for the European Union as there is today.
On the subject of security, priority will be given to improving coordination in the fight against terrorism and organised crime. We saw how much influence Community legislation had in these areas. By way of example, I can assure you that one of those accused of having carried out the London attacks was extradited from Italy to the United Kingdom within less than 50 days. Such a procedure would undoubtedly have taken several years in the absence of Community instruments. This is therefore an area in which the people, including people from the countries least enthusiastic about European integration, are clearly asking more, and not less, of Europe and the European Union.
Furthermore, we will be doing a great deal of work in the area of illegal immigration, as we have said. The problems encountered by some of our Member States are not exclusive to these countries: in reality, such problems affect the whole of Europe. We have to stand firm in fighting against this scourge, in collaboration with the Member States. Of course, the immigration issue is not just a security issue. It has a security dimension, admittedly, because illegal immigration has to be fought against. Yet, it is our responsibility to act at the same time with regard to development aid in the countries of origin. We have to combine our approach to immigration with our approach to development and, at the same time, we have to do everything possible to ensure the harmonious integration of communities of foreign origin in our countries.
We also intend to carry out our action in the area of health protection and consumer protection, an area that also comes under the broader sphere of security. One crucial element will also consist in the development of a rapid reaction capacity on the part of those responsible for civil protection.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the 96 priority initiatives that we are presenting to you are together the proof of our commitment to these objectives: prosperity, solidarity, security and the promotion of Europe in the world. Yet, the credibility of these objectives will also depend on their quality. That is why the Commission will be rigorously enforcing the enhanced methods contained in its ‘Better lawmaking’ programme. These methods are not an end in themselves, but a means of turning the intentions, which we share, into a reality; a reality that our people will really be able to experience in their everyday lives.
Our ambition for 2006 extends to Europe’s becoming a more influential global partner. On this subject, furthermore, 2006 must also provide tangible results: tangible results as regards the enlargement process and the stabilisation and association process; tangible results for our neighbourhood policy, which represents a very important policy for stability in Europe and in its closer geographical context; tangible results as regards the fight against poverty, with our promise to double the amount of aid transformed into a tangible reality; and, finally, results as regards promoting European values in the world, in particular through support for the political transition and reconstruction in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine.
One issue will dominate the international economic agenda in 2006: the completion of the Doha Development Round.
Pascal Lamy said that adjusting expectations for the ministerial in Hong Kong next month does not mean lowering our ambition for the Doha Development Round. I agree. The round is important to opening markets and freeing up trade. In the European Union strong exports boost our growth. We want the round to succeed. That is why we made our recent strong and conditional – and I should like to underline ‘conditional’ – offer on agriculture. Europe has done more than anyone to keep this round on track. Our commitment remains but now others have to move.
The focus of the round must be broader than just agriculture, important as it is. There must be balance. Therefore I call on our WTO partners to engage in a full negotiation, including on goods and services. Europe does not need more lectures from countries that close their markets to the poorest and, in some cases, keep tariffs on agricultural products higher than our own. I do not accept that some people put the blame on Europe because of this round.
In the European Commission we believe that these negotiations cannot simply be conducted for the benefit of a few large farm exporters in very rich or fast-developing countries. There is a huge difference between the very poorest developing countries and those that are growing rapidly. It is time to stop lecturing and start negotiating.
The costs of failure are high, not just for all trading nations, but also for the fair, rules-based international trading system we have worked so hard to create, as well as for global business confidence. The international economy now needs some good news, especially because of the high costs of energy. So we have an interest in this round succeeding. That is not only in our interest, it is especially in the interest of the poorest countries. That is why the Commission will put forward ideas before Hong Kong on how to make sure this really is a development round.
We are proud of the determined and clear response that the Commission has been able to give to this situation. Working closely with Parliament, we have all been equal to the challenges. Here are some examples of what we have accomplished together: the renewal of the Lisbon Strategy; a revision of the Stability and Growth Pact that will strengthen the credibility of Europe’s economic governance; more solidarity, thanks to the adoption of a renewed social agenda; full recognition of the key role played by social dialogue and the actors involved in this dialogue; the fight for a cleaner environment, by means of the adoption of thematic strategies and the pursuit of our international action in the sphere of climate change; greater security thanks to the implementation of our ambitious Hague Programme in parallel with a large number of other initiatives, in particular our proposal on data retention; the promotion of European values worldwide – in this regard, let us cite the commitment made to double EU aid for developing countries and the adoption of a strategy for Africa; strengthening our partnerships with our strategic allies such as the United States and pursuing an open dialogue with new and important partners such as China; and, finally, opening accession negotiations with Turkey and Croatia.
Tomorrow we will discuss the follow-up to Hampton Court. The new consensus that began to emerge there links up with our debate today. We saw, at the informal summit, a confirmation of the Commission’s analysis on how to safeguard our values in a globalised world. If we want to preserve our values we must modernise our policies.
We saw an agreement on areas where people want Europe to lead: science and innovation, higher education, energy, border management and immigration. We also need a more coherent Europe as a global actor. So many of our internal Community policies now have an external element: environment, migration, transport, energy and others. That is why the Commission will present ideas next year on improving the coherence of the European Union’s external actions. We are now preparing a concept paper on that matter.
The European institutions must play a central role in this process, rebuilding a consensus and reconnecting with citizens. That is why I have announced today that the Commission will come forward with a new truly European energy policy in 2006. It is good that at all levels in the European Union people now understand that it makes no sense to go it alone when dealing with energy challenges. Even those who were most reluctant now see that this is a European issue and that we face the same challenges, such as rising prices, falling reserves, increasing dependency on a few parts of the world, and also the need to protect our environment. We need a coherent energy policy for the 21st century, one that looks at all these issues and options in a calm, determined way.
We often forget what a remarkable accomplishment European integration is. It is all too easy to forget that one of the achievements of 2005 was to make an enlarged European Union work and much of the credit for that must go to the new Member States. I think we can, and will, do even better in 2006. Very often we forget that now our Europe is not the ‘
’. Now Europe consists of 25 Member States that are free, independent and living in peace and democracy. The challenge is to make this enlarged Europe work. This year we made a very important contribution to meeting that challenge.
At the end of this week I am going to Prague and Budapest to see and support this new enlarged European Union. I am confident, because there is a growing understanding that the endless debates about widening or deepening and about the market or social protection are at an end and that even in the middle of the difficulties we know, there is a growing awareness that we need a more European dimension if we want to solve the problems facing us.
A new consensus is emerging that a powerful, dynamic Europe cannot have 25 mini-markets in services or 25 mini-markets in energy, but that a single market also needs a powerful, dynamic political and social Europe. The market alone is not enough. The market alone cannot address concerns such as air safety, global warming or the integration of immigrants.
Yes, this is about pragmatic Europe, but pragmatism with principles, adding value in areas where we can make a difference, shaping policies that provide an answer to globalisation and meet the challenges and opportunities of our ageing population, a Europe that is part of the solution and not of the problem.
I see a parallel with the activity relating to the period of reflection in which you, as Members of the European Parliament, are heavily involved. We must show as institutions that we are listening carefully to our citizens and that we are addressing their concerns. That is why we will implement our Plan D for dialogue and democracy and count on open cooperation with Parliament.
I have left perhaps the most important message about the 2006 work programme until last. Let us be frank. The plans for 2006 will count for little without agreement next month on the financial perspectives. That agreement is the test of whether Europe is on the move. How can we deliver for our citizens on prosperity, solidarity and security without the means to achieve them? Agreement on the financial perspectives is a key to unlocking Europe’s potential in 2006. An enlarged, more diverse European Union needs more investment. We have a duty of solidarity to the new Member States that look to the European Union for support in their rapid and remarkable progress in modernisation and reform.
We need a fair sharing of this burden. No Member State can do enlargement on the cheap. I trust in the common sense of the British Presidency to deliver a fair and balanced agreement next month. I hope that it will do so by strengthening, not reducing, the ambition the Commission and Parliament share for an enlarged Europe. I hope and believe that the proposals which I presented to you last month can help to unblock the negotiations.
The Commission has assumed its responsibilities. Our guiding principle was, and remains, the general European interest. The set of initiatives that we developed in 2005 is the first tangible expression of the strategic objectives that we set ourselves over five years. The programme that we are presenting today remains faithful to the objectives that we adopted at the start of our mandate: prosperity, solidarity in an enlarged Europe, security and a strengthened role for Europe in the world.
My call to you today for 2006 is that we consolidate and build on this new consensus, that we restore that shared sense of purpose that will get Europe back on its feet; a united Europe acting collectively on matters that most concern our citizens. In my view this is the best possible response to the ‘no’ votes to the Constitution earlier this year. It is also what lies at the heart of the Commission’s programme for the second year of our partnership. I hope it finds your active support. I can think of no better signal to our citizens that Europe is working for them.
These objectives remain pertinent. They are shared by the three institutions which derive their main impetus for action from them. I can see there a sign of the partnership for European renewal that I wanted to place at the centre of our action. The framework agreement is a tangible expression of this partnership between our two institutions. It is a qualitative leap in the development of the policy initiatives. It has enabled a close and targeted dialogue to take place between the parliamentary committees and the Commissioners on the best way to translate the annual policy strategy into practical initiatives. I am keen to tell you that this dialogue has made a positive contribution to the programme that I am presenting to you today. I hope that you will recognise your ideas, including those that you expand upon in today’s debate, in the action that we plan to carry out in 2006.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, releasing Europe’s full potential is the approach maintained by the Commission in drafting its legislative and work programme for 2006.
What are the key actions for 2006? First of all, action to bring about prosperity. 2006 will be a crucial year for the implementation of the renewed Lisbon Strategy. The Commission will fully undertake its role in instigating, managing and supporting the Member States’ efforts. The Member States’ national reform programmes, which we are already analysing, will play a fundamental role in this process. We need to link these programmes to our political priorities, to improve the Union’s economic governance and to strengthen national and European efforts in relation to reform and investment – an investment at national level, but also at European level with a view to tomorrow’s economy, to innovation, to knowledge and to new infrastructures. These two types of investment – at national and at European level – must go hand in hand. We have to support these efforts by means of other initiatives, such as the proposals aimed at supplementing the single market, the promotion of geographical and professional mobility and, for example, the creation of a European Technology Institute.
I emphasise in particular the proposals on the single market made by Parliament itself in its resolution on the work programme. I should like to highlight, in this context, the importance of the measures aimed at providing a framework that supports the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the main source of jobs in Europe.
The second aspect relates to solidarity. Solidarity remains a fundamental part of European integration, and I should like to speak in this Chamber about solidarity between employers and employees. I should also like to speak about solidarity between generations, through sound management of natural resources, including marine resources, and the implementation of a new strategy for sustainable development – by the way, we shall present this new strategy in December.
Solidarity between generations is also brought about by creating jobs for young people and by seeking fair solutions for pension funding. Let us not forget, either, solidarity between men and women, solidarity between the most prosperous Member States and the less prosperous ones and solidarity between the European Union and the rest of the world, in particular with regard to developing countries. 2006 will be a crucial year for attacking on all these fronts."@en1
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