Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-14-Speech-3-024"
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"en.20060614.2.3-024"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the last year has been marked by numerous popular protests against the Services Directive, but also by campaigns against the dismantling of social services and the weakening of democracy. I need only point to the campaigns in France, Greece and Germany – in Germany, the protests by university-clinic doctors that have been going on for months already are still continuing – and all of this is connected with the politics we are pursuing at national and European level. It is time for not only governments, but also the Commission and Parliament, to realise at long last that, outside the European institutions, the EU public started long ago to develop its own conception of a different Europe, a different EU.
Nevertheless, it has become apparent from the plans for and deliberations on the forthcoming Summit that have been seen to date that the European Council wishes to give the public the impression of having understood the ‘no’ to the European Constitution as a criticism of merely the style of politics, rather than of official policy and priorities. At all events, neither Plan D, a white paper on grass-roots communication, a great deal of paper, nor a number of new websites have changed the priorities of this policy. That is, unless the listening of which Commissioner Wallström has just spoken results in the requisite corrections at long last. Admittedly, if she were to understand the requisite measures of which she has just spoken in the sense of these corrections, she would have our wholehearted support.
However, the reaction that we have seen thus far this year strikes me as showing lack of understanding. In my view, a further demonstration of this is the recent proposal by the Austrian Council Presidency to put the old text of the Constitution, without amendments, to a direct vote in the EU Member States. That is unacceptable – corrections must be made. Once this has been done, it is perfectly legitimate to consider holding a referendum. We must finally put an end to the situation seen up to now, in which the various countries have merely been engaging in ratification and glorification. In this respect, the opportunity of the 50th anniversary that has just been mentioned should actually be taken to hold a democratic debate on the EU’s plans and projects to date, and thus also to enable a new start for the European Union."@en1
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