Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-15-Speech-2-043"
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"en.20051115.7.2-043"2
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".
Mr President, I wish to thank President Barroso and the entire Commission for being here this morning. It is a pity that Parliament could not reciprocate with an equivalent level of attendance.
One of the key factors in assessing the work programme is to verify that the ideas and proposals put forward in it respond to the current needs of the citizens of the European Union.
I should like to refer briefly to one or two points President Barroso made in his presentation. He rightly spoke about the importance of the Doha Round and the impact that will have, not just within Europe but around the globe, on increasing trade and also on delivering on aspects of social justice, though not a comprehensive package of social justice. However, despite President Barroso’s reassurances, I am somewhat concerned at the attempts being made by people within the Commission and within this Parliament, in preparation for the Hong Kong round of talks, to demand more of European farmers. Farmers are being asked to make further reductions and sacrifices, despite being told that the 1999 reform constituted a final settlement on the CAP. They were then told, in 2003 and 2004, that further adjustments had to be made to take account of the approaching World Trade Organization talks. Suddenly we discover that even more demands are being made on the European agricultural sector. These are demands that cannot be met if we want to maintain a viable, sustainable agricultural sector within the European Union for the future. This is not just about protecting farmers’ interests; it is also a very clear and important issue regarding food security, security of food supply and of the standard and quality of food, and security as regards ensuring that biodiversity and the available alternatives are maintained in the rural areas of Europe.
Moving on to the various proposals within the work programme, I welcome the initiatives now being taken on a communication on children’s rights. It is high time that the European Union took the rights of children seriously, as they constitute over 40% of our population but have no standing or status in European policies or ideas, except in the words we use to express our will to protect them. Owing to technological progress, those ideas on children’s rights must now also be linked into cyber security, as we have seen the Internet – despite its wonderful intent, brilliant innovation and the opportunities it presents to us all – being used by people who wish to corrupt innocent minds and pervert the use of the Internet through trafficking in paedophilia and child pornography.
With regard to sustainability, the rising price of oil and fuel in recent months has sent shockwaves through each and every economy, as well as shocking private consumers. Let us not forget that the price of oil has an impact not just on the economy as a whole, but also on you and me and all individual consumers, not only in the fuel we put into our cars, but also in the price of goods in our shops, our journeys to and from work and so on. The time is ripe to move towards a common European market in energy in which we can utilise the collective strength of the 25 Member States to lever a better price, and to bring together the minds, intelligence and innovation available in those 25 countries to look into alternative fuel supplies, and in particular to look into new ways and new mechanisms for conserving energy. That is why the proposal for a biofuels directive is also to be welcomed. However, greater focus should be placed on solar, wind and water energy, as this can also contribute a great deal towards a final energy plan.
Lastly, no matter what anybody says, the financial perspective is the only game in town. If we do not have the money, we cannot undertake the actions and policies we want. However, in determining what the financial perspective should be, the onus must be on the Member States to come up with a package, because once again they are the paymasters of future European Union action. The decision as to whether to contribute monies to the funds we need to implement these important measures rests with them. The fact that the governments have so far failed to reach agreement on this is unacceptable to everyone. In fact, it is ironic that the governments of the new Member States are the ones giving the lead on how to resolve the financial perspectives issue.
However, we must not use this failure to secure an agreement as an excuse to block, hinder or stymie the efforts that can currently be made. I welcome the opportunity to work with you, President Barroso, and with your Commission to deliver on this programme."@en1
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