Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-18-Speech-3-020"
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"en.20060118.2.3-020"2
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"Mr President, Mr Barroso, ladies and gentlemen, we are confident that the Presidency will keep its promises and rekindle people’s confidence in the Union, as has been mentioned. Citizens must have confidence in a Europe which, as everyone knows, needs not just a common foreign policy, but also – and urgently – a revitalised economic policy, which today is shamefully lacking in respect of the twin needs of restoring competitiveness and not losing the social entitlements that underpin the very existence of the Union.
The Union has to rediscover the strength and willpower to make its institutions and its citizens work together. The only thing that we really have in common today – and then only in 12 countries – is our monetary policy, which is in fact determined by the Central Bank without sufficient political interaction with the other institutions. We shall have to debate that as well.
We appreciate the Austrian Presidency’s commitment to resuming our journey towards the Treaty – with the tickets needed, we hope, to make it a smoother and more feasible ride. We look beyond the wishful thinking and dreams, which are often divorced from the reality that we have to deal with, but in any case there is an ability to dare. It is important to be able to predict the future realistically and not merely to manage the present. The commitment to a more united Europe in which the various institutions’ powers are more clearly defined, to a Europe that is more active and closer to its citizens, should see us united and also determined to address three further problems: immigration, energy and the environment.
On immigration we need a common policy in order to tackle both the humanitarian aspects of the current situation and the threat of international terrorism, which is often brought in with the flows of migrants. There can only be civilised and worthwhile coexistence leading to true integration so long as non-EU nationals, no matter where they come from, respect the laws and constitutions of our countries.
Without energy there can be no development, just as wasting energy causes irreparable damage. Energy cannot be separated from security, waste disposal and environmental protection as a common good and a prerequisite for our very survival. The Member States’ finance ministers have not yet taken an active part in tackling the problems associated with climate change, despite the many economic consequences that climate change will have.
It is to be hoped that during the Austrian Presidency we shall also see the finance and planning ministers working on this problem and thinking about the costs in terms of human lives, housing, agriculture and the countryside, as well as reconstruction costs, which the world has had to pay following the recent disasters.
A common environmental policy is needed within the Union, just as it is also needed by the Union in relation to the rest of the world, because it is one of the duties and objectives that we set ourselves during the Convention’s work on the Treaty.
We appreciate the Presidency’s interest in the trade and neighbourhood policies. The latter ought to include compliance with the
: I refer to the recent inaccurate – not to say incorrect or false – statements made by a Croatian Government representative. With regard to trade policy, we must remember to call for human rights to be respected wherever they are not."@en1
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