Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-06-20-Speech-2-039"
Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
---|---|
rdf:type | |
dcterms:Date | |
dcterms:Is Part Of | |
dcterms:Language | |
lpv:document identification number |
"en.20060620.6.2-039"2
|
lpv:hasSubsequent | |
lpv:speaker | |
lpv:spokenAs | |
lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we have just heard from the representative of the Vienna Congress. Our colleague has settled in over this period. Mr Schüssel, if we look at the facts it is clear that you have had a remarkably successful Presidency of the Council.
The Financial Perspective, the final shape given to the new REACH chemicals policy, the Services Directive, new initiatives on asylum and migration - none of these was a foregone conclusion. It might almost be thought that your success contradicts the assertion that we need a Constitutional Treaty to enable us to act, because you have proved that there might also be other ways of proceeding. However, I do not share this opinion at all.
I would like to remind you once more that we began work on the proposed ‘Constitutional Treaty’ when we were in the process of accepting ten, twelve or more new Member States and wanted, by means of this project, to make the Union not only more capable of taking action but also more democratic and more transparent. Had we achieved this in good time and, for instance, arranged for competences to be defined in the manner described in the draft Constitutional Treaty, then the people of the Netherlands and France might not have voted against the Treaty.
I would like now, Mr Schüssel, to ask a leading question: are you sure that the Heads of State or Government would be as willing to sign up to the Treaty today as they were then? I am not sure quite how far the consensus that binds us in principle and according to which we need a new set of rules will be maintained. I think we still need to revise our ideas.
Europe obviously needs borders, and not just of the geographical variety. Just a word about Turkey: how long does the Council really want to be held to ransom by the Turkish Government over tariff union agreements. The public are aware of what is going on, and it is unacceptable."@en1
|
lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples