Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-01-17-Speech-3-021"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070117.3.3-021"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, this is now my fourth parliamentary term in this House, and it was a pleasure for me to listen to your speech and to your hopes for the future, Chancellor, but we also need something more definite.
Mrs Merkel, in our opinion it is important to have you here with us often, so that our separate responsibilities may together give rise to a Europe with improved living standards, greater certainty in international relations and more development for the less-fortunate countries.
You quite rightly referred to the responsibilities of freedom: we must not abuse our own freedom to the detriment of others. We believe that, but we would also recall something else that Voltaire said: ‘If you wish to converse with me, define your terms.’ Today the terms are perhaps the need for clearer internal and external rules that we can all share, the need to have not only a charter of rights in Europe but also a charter of duties: the citizens’ duties towards the institutions, but most of all the institutions’ duties towards the citizens. It is essential to have tolerance and goodwill towards others, and to see everything through other people’s eyes. Hence we need greater generosity both within the EU and outside it.
You are both the first woman Chancellor and the first President-in-Office of the Council to have been born and brought up beyond the Iron Curtain. To me, that is a good omen and a sign that our Europe is growing both morally and politically.
This Presidency’s term is starting with two significant events: the entry of Bulgaria and Romania, consequently requiring a greater spirit of cooperation; and the election of Mr Poettering, who has received both many plaudits and also many calls to do all he can to carry through the major institutional reforms that are essential for us to function effectively.
The Union is represented by three institutions, but its full political role, if I may say so, lies both with the Council and with Parliament, which must not be sidelined in the dialogue on reform that has to be restarted at once. The new treaty needs to be made more intelligible and suited to our needs, respecting our peoples’ roots and showing that it can cope with the breakneck changes occurring in our society and in other peoples’. We must now reopen the debate in Parliament, and not just go along with the intergovernmental method.
We share the Presidency's alarm at the energy problem, which must be solved within a European framework and not, of course, through bilateral agreements between Russia and individual Member States. We must also throw out the idea of eastern, southern, northern or western Europe. The standard of living of each and every one of our citizens is an issue for the whole Union. Energy guarantees our development, economic stability and daily life; energy and development go hand in hand with environmental issues and respect for factors that will lead to disaster if abused.
Europe cannot make do with a lack of information about what is happening in Africa in terms of economic development, living standards, human rights or security policy, if we want to eradicate terrorism. The EU must not be seen to be in disarray and unwilling to take a firm stand on the death sentences handed down on European citizens in Libya or the ongoing kidnappings of technicians in Nigeria.
What has happened in Somalia shows how little information the European Union has about the situation on the ground there and how little Europe knows about international jihad movements. The Union has a duty to support legitimate governments, help people achieve a better standard of living, and defeat terrorism wherever it may be.
Both personally and on behalf of our group, I call for a commitment by the German Presidency to combat the spread of paedophilia and the use of information networks and the media to snatch away children’s dignity, lives and hopes. We have a duty to protect the weak, including abused and exploited children, whose physical and mental wellbeing must be safeguarded. We must also enable our society to develop in peace. We therefore call for a new path that will lead Europe towards having shared rules governing technology and communications, in order to safeguard our citizens and our countries."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples