Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-25-Speech-3-024"
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"en.20061025.4.3-024"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, last Friday, 20 October, I had the pleasure to host the informal meeting of Heads of State or Government in Lahti and the dinner that followed it, where the Russian President Vladimir Putin was our guest.
If a reliable supply of energy is to be secured, there needs to be huge investment in transmission networks and other infrastructure. Therefore, cooperation with international financial institutions must be stepped up in energy infrastructure projects. Energy security must be one of the criteria taken into account when European Investment Bank lending mandates are being granted to developing world countries.
It is important for the Union to have comprehensive information on which to base its energy policy decisions and responses to external problem situations. We agreed in Lahti that we should try to make swift progress in the establishment of a network of energy correspondents by the end of the year. The details are to be agreed by the Council. Improving the way information is collected and analysed will help increase cooperation between the Member States and institutions, and make for greater solidarity on energy issues.
Discussions at the summit on external energy relations will also prepare the ground for the next spring European Council, which is to adopt a prioritised Action Plan on Energy Policy for Europe.
At the working session of the meeting of Heads of State or Government, we discussed how to move forward on innovation policy. The main topics were intellectual property rights, particularly patents, cooperation between the corporate world and the public sector, the European Institute of Technology, and standards. We agreed that the Union needs a clear strategy on intellectual property rights. The Competitiveness Council will provide the Commission with more details of what it would like to see in the area of intellectual property rights. At Lahti, we stressed that the Commission proposal should look in particular at the quality of the intellectual property rights system. The Commission will put forward its proposal before the spring European Council.
One of the very strong messages from Lahti was that the European patent system must be made more cost-effective and easier to predict. Litigation systems also need improving. We need to try and move ahead quickly on this. Towards the end of the year, the Commission will issue a communication containing concrete proposals on the development of the European patent system. When it has received the Commission’s proposal, the Council will consider the various options.
The issue of how to make the patent system more effective has been a difficult one for the Council, but it is vitally important for our capacity for innovation to develop the European system. I personally think that everyone should bear the common interest in mind, be prepared to show flexibility rather than stubbornness with regard to national positions, and agree to simplify the language regime, for example.
We also agreed that we needed to promote cooperation between the corporate world and the private sector. The European Technology Platforms and Joint Technology Initiatives are good tools for developing key technologies. If we are to make progress, it is important that the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme be adopted without delay. The programme should also be a source of EU funding for Joint Technology Initiatives.
I am very pleased that the Lahti meeting confirmed that Artemis, one of the most advanced technology platforms, will be taken further, and that the Commission’s desire to implement it as a Joint Technology Initiative, is to be endorsed. Businesses in the sector are investing huge sums in the joint initiative. The Finnish Government too has set a good example here, promising to contribute EUR 70 million over a seven-year period. Over all, Artemis is one of Europe’s biggest Joint Technology Initiatives, in a very important and promising technological field.
Last week, the Commission put forward a legislative proposal concerning the European Institute of Technology. Lahti gave the go-ahead for a swift and detailed examination of the proposal by the Council. I see this as a very valuable initiative and I think that it could bring genuine added value to the development of research cooperation between universities and business.
Lastly in this area, I would like to mention standardisation, a subject which we also touched upon at our meeting. As I have already stressed before, standardisation is very important in the lives of the Union’s citizens. For example, introducing the Europe-wide GSM standard phones made it possible for Europe to become the world leader in the field. If Europe cannot agree on good standards, others will set them.
Both the meeting of Heads of State or Government and the dinner organised after it were a great success. These informal meetings of EU leaders are an excellent way of building political consensus to take the Union forward with regard to its key challenges.
We all know that innovation can deliver success and growth, but the problem has been how to take concrete steps forward. The guidance we received at Lahti will now help us to make progress in creating the kind of environment that promotes competitiveness.
Our discussion on immigration highlighted the commitment to cooperation and the matter of solidarity amongst the Member States in solving immigration problems. It is a matter that concerns the whole Union. While we require rapid, short-term action to deal with the acute crisis that we are seeing, our discussions also emphasised the need for a coherent and comprehensive policy on immigration. The policy should address both legal and illegal immigration. We also need to do more to help immigrants to integrate.
The need for close cooperation with African countries, as well as other countries of origin and transit, was particularly apparent. The best way of dealing with the pressure on people to leave their country is promoting development, in Africa and elsewhere.
The meeting gave its full support to the work being done by the EU’s border management agency, and it was acknowledged that more resources were needed to bolster its work.
The meeting also spoke of the need to develop our decision-making system, to enable the Union to respond promptly and more effectively to urgent problems.
Thank you for the strong and thorough contribution you made at Lahti, Mr President. You made it very clear that the European Parliament wants more effective decision-making in the field of justice and home affairs. The Finnish Presidency shares this view fully.
The theme of immigration will be dealt with again by the justice and home affairs ministers and the foreign ministers. We will be returning to the issue at the December European Council.
We also spoke in Lahti about the grave situation in Sudan/Darfur. We expressed our deep concern about the humanitarian situation and human rights in Darfur. As representative of the Presidency of the Council, I will be passing this urgent message on to the Sudanese President. We must keep up the pressure on the Sudanese Government to bring an end to the fighting, enable the UN to mount a peace-keeping operation and start negotiations with the rebels.
The informal discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin were extremely useful for the development of our strategic partnership. That involves eagerness to cooperate and being prepared to discuss all issues. The partnership should not be seen as static but as an ongoing process. We believe that a genuine and lasting partnership has to be built on common values.
At the summit we focused particularly on external energy relations. We also discussed immigration and the situation in Sudan/Darfur. A separate working session was devoted to ways of promoting innovation policy to guarantee the Union’s competitiveness and economic growth. Developing innovation policy is crucial to EU competitiveness and our ability to keep good jobs in Europe.
Mr President, I would like to thank you too for your contribution to our dinner debate and for the support which you expressed regarding this crucial matter. Values are the foundation of everything.
In our discussions with President Putin, we talked about how we could promote the goals of energy cooperation through a new agreement. Our talks will also pave the way for the EU-Russia Summit in November. The intention is that an agreement will be reached at the Helsinki Summit on the commencement of negotiations on a new and comprehensive EU-Russia pact.
On international issues, we agreed with President Putin that we would try to establish closer cooperation between the EU and Russia. The need for closer cooperation has been demonstrated very clearly by recent events in Iran, North Korea and the Middle East.
Over dinner, I brought up the shocking murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. I told President Putin that people in the Member States were worried that the situation regarding freedom of speech and expression in Russia had taken a turn for the worse. Speaking for the Union, I said that this murder, which had deeply shocked us all, should be investigated and those responsible brought to justice. I also mentioned our concerns regarding Chechnya.
Relations between Russia and Georgia were also brought up. I told President Putin that the Union was concerned about increasing tension and said that the Union was prepared to act to find a solution to the crisis.
We are building a strategic, tangible partnership with Russia on an extremely wide front within the framework of the ‘common spaces’. The most prominent themes during Finland's presidential term are: energy, the environment, transport, justice and home affairs and human rights.
The European Union must be able to speak to its partners with one voice. Divided and disunited, we are weak. We will not be able to look after our interests or promote the values on which the Union is built. At Lahti, we succeeded in showing President Putin that the Union is determined and united in its opinions. Representing the Presidency of the Council as I do, I am proud of this achievement, and I think that we have taken a step forward in our relations with Russia. This does not mean that Russia agrees with us on everything. We actually had a long discussion, in which President Putin answered our questions in detail and also looked for weaknesses in the EU’s action. We are used to this with Russia; it is part of normal dialogue.
The crucial question now, in the wake of the Lahti meeting, is how we translate words into action and move forward on the issues that we discussed. We are relying on the preparatory channels which we normally employ.
Most of the work will be done in the Council on the basis of Commission initiatives. For many issues we will draw on the policy guidelines we have received in the remaining weeks of our presidential term. The European Parliament will also have a central role to play in accelerating action on what was agreed on at Lahti.
Thank you for this opportunity to present to you the results of the Lahti informal meeting of Heads of State or Government. I will be glad to answer any questions which my introduction to the subject may have given rise to.
The open and thorough discussions during the working lunch enabled us to close ranks for the dinner, despite the doubts that had existed in certain quarters. The atmosphere over lunch was excellent and the solidarity among the Member States could definitely be felt. We attached a great deal of importance to speaking with one voice, and I would like to call this determination to reach consensus the Spirit of Lahti.
The discussion over dinner with Russian President Vladimir Putin was very honest and frank. In addition to energy issues, we also discussed topical international issues and freedom of expression in Russia.
The meeting of Heads of State or Government held a comprehensive and broad debate on energy. The atmosphere was excellent and the basic message, despite slight differences in tone, coherent. The main topics were the principles for developing EU-Russian energy relations and their execution, closer relations with strategically important third countries, the fight against climate change through energy policy; and more effective exchange of information through a network of energy correspondents.
With regard to EU-Russian energy relations, we agreed that there is a need for closer partnership. It should be based on the principles laid down in the Energy Charter and the G8 Declaration, in particular openness, market-based solutions and reciprocity. These principles should already be applied now in practice and they should also be incorporated in concrete form into the forthcoming EU-Russia Agreement. At Lahti we laid down a common policy for EU-Russia energy relations.
There was also consensus at Lahti that we should continue and step up our efforts to forge closer relations with producer and transit countries in the Union’s neighbourhood by the end of the year. The goal is to apply the principles governing the internal market as widely as possible in neighbouring regions of the Union.
Climate change was referred to in many addresses as the most urgent international challenge. The EU must, in particular, demonstrate leadership in the promotion of sustainable energy. As regards innovations and technologies that relate to energy efficiency, European companies have a lot to offer. We shared the view that issues of energy and climate should in future feature prominently at EU summits with developing world countries, as they have during Finland’s EU Presidency."@en1
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