Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-04-04-Speech-2-340"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060404.24.2-340"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, I have two remarks, one is on the report and the other is of a general nature.
Firstly, I should like to congratulate my friend Mr Takkula on his report. It is his first report, it is a big report and he has done an excellent job in raising all the key issues. I support every bit of it. I also support all the wording on Stalin and Hitler. I must admit that, although I am not a member of the committee, I fully support what Mrs Pack said. It is quite amazing that the chairman of the committee, Mr Sifunakis, takes a completely opposite view to what has been decided in the committee, but so be it.
If I did not know Mr Takkula well, having read this report, I might even think that he is a federalist, but perhaps not this time round.
My more general remark is really about European citizenship and national citizenship. Some people seem to think that we are somehow trying to create a European prototype, but I disagree. I am a federalist myself, but I think that identity is first local, then national and after that European.
I have lived in Brussels for seven years. To be quite honest, when I came to Brussels, I had a few prejudices about nationalities. For example: Finns do not talk at all; every German has the same sense of humour as our President in the chair today; every Frenchman always speaks through three points; no Italian has ever drawn an operative conclusion. That was the feeling I had when I came to Brussels. Those are the national prototypes that we have. To be quite honest, after seven years I think that my prejudices have only strengthened – in a very positive way, but, nevertheless strengthened. So we are certainly not creating any kind of a prototype European. It seems to me that the only time that we can really feel European is, for instance, through sport: the Ryder Cup in golf is a great example, and Eurovision is something that brings us together.
However, all in all, I think this report is great because it gives us four pieces of action. I can support each and every one of them. It has no propaganda in it, so I hope the Commission takes it seriously and takes on board all the changes that Mr Takkula has proposed."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples