Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-15-Speech-3-055"
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"en.20060315.3.3-055"2
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"Mr President, Mr Barroso, Mr Winkler, ladies and gentlemen, I take a positive view of the fact that the European Union is using its weight to ensure that the whole is worth more than the sum of its parts, by boosting research and development to release the potential of companies, to foster enlargement and the best possible use of the quality of the labour force, with measures intended to secure energy supplies – but this is all subject to one basic premise: the added value of Europe can only emerge fully if it is the product of the work of a genuinely united European society and economy and if the results are achieved through the ‘core business’ of the European Union.
The establishment of the single market and of a Community united socially and politically in developing the wealth of its cultural identities is a factor of great importance: there is no single market, no European society able to express its full potential without the physical integration of Europe and without transport infrastructure and services providing mobility and ensuring that every point ‘a’ of the Union has access to every point ‘b’.
This objective should not be viewed as an almost obsolete one compared to the new challenges we are facing; it is a fundamental premise: there is no research without the opportunity for face-to-face contacts, there is no effective potential for companies if markets are not integrated. This is a fundamental precondition that we solemnly promised to achieve by approving resolution 884-2004 here in Parliament one year ago, making a commitment to complete the trans-European transport network as rapidly as possible by 2020.
Unfortunately, there is no trace of this goal in the Commission’s statement – contrary to the initial proposal – or of what happened last year when they made a sober reflection and guided us in that direction, also urging the Member States to do the same. If we also add the Council's proposals for a drastic cut in funding for that sector, making achievement of the goal virtually out of the question, or at least delaying it enormously, we are in a situation of red alert.
In any event, I view the intervention of Parliament as an attempt to stiffen its resolve and an invitation to all the parties involved to ensure that the trans-European transport network actually sees the light of day.
My heartfelt appeal today is to avoid a disastrous political error: a true political error since, after resolution 884, intellectual, political and financial energy was unleashed in Europe, with enormous expectation surrounding the idea of continuing the TEN project. There is no corner of Europe in which the TEN is not being discussed. Today, however, it is one of the items not included – and therefore inadequately supported – in that Plan D that is intended to bridge the interest gap between the European Union and its citizens.
If we fail to keep our promises or respond to those expectations, the results will be much more far-reaching and serious than those that we are seeking to achieve in the attempt to construct the European project. I hope this idea is not approved and that we are able to avoid the disastrous effects that a possible interruption of the project would have on the expectations of many European citizens."@en1
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