Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-04-05-Speech-3-056"
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"en.20060405.4.3-056"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I feel that the key points have already been mentioned, but I should like to offer you a synopsis of my analysis of this debate, which, I note, is broadly supportive of the conclusions of the European Council. An honest assessment would certainly reveal that these results have overall been welcomed.
It is obvious that not all of the honourable Members are entirely satisfied, because there are naturally differences of opinion. There can be no denying, however, that we have seen results in the energy sector, in SMEs, in research, in the employment objectives and overall in the new system of governance of the Lisbon Strategy. Consensus has also been achieved at European Council level as regards the services directive.
As regards energy, I wish to underline that our work has certainly not finished at the European Council and that the results of yesterday's Commission meeting will show you that the Commission is determined to ensure that all of the principles of Community law are upheld: for example, compliance with the principles of the internal market and with competition rules. This is a vital prerequisite if we want to retain credibility, both within and outside the EU.
As regards SMEs, a particularly important step was the encouragement by the Austrian Presidency and the Commission to reduce the red tape that hampers so many potentially job-creating initiatives by companies.
As for research, for the first time all Member States were able to accept workable research and innovation objectives, and this is extremely important. Equally important was the broad support for the idea of the European Institute of Technology and for the Commission now having a mandate to put forward a proposal. The fact that employment objectives were set is also very positive.
I should like to underline one new aspect that arose at this European Council to which Chancellor Schüssel did not allude, but which I feel is worthy of mention. To some extent we already work in team presidencies. Chancellor Schüssel, as President-in-Office of the Council, has taken every opportunity to introduce the debate to the Commission, and to the forthcoming Finnish, German, Portuguese and Slovene Presidencies.
I believe this is important in terms of ensuring the continuity and sustainability of the Commission’s efforts. The Commission is also able to provide such continuity and consistency over time because, however good the Council presidencies may be, they change every six months. There needs to be constant effort, which can only happen if the Commission takes the lion’s share of the initiative and if Parliament provides constant support.
These points were positive. Similarly welcome were the confirmation of the agreement in principle on the services directive, and the news we received last night, or I should say early this morning, on the financial perspective. I am totally convinced that if we achieve practical results, if we manage to resolve problems on a regular basis, we can take this Europe of projects forward, regain the confidence of our citizens and find a better environment for resolving some of the institutional issues that need to be resolved. I therefore feel that we can look forward more positively to the June European Council, which of course will not be able to resolve the constitutional question, but which will certainly be able to point the way forward towards defining Europe’s future. The Commission is working actively with the Council to this end and we hope to be able to make a worthwhile contribution.
With this team spirit, this spirit of partnership, Europe can and must move ahead."@en1
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