Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-14-Speech-3-011"
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, it is a pleasure and a great honour to address you today for the first time as representative of the Presidency at the plenary session of the European Parliament.
As I see it, the successes of European integration also include the forms and principles of our cooperation in Europe: democracy and the rule of law, equality of rights and obligations in the Member States, transparency and subsidiarity. These principles are a model for regional cooperation in other parts of the world – in this, too, we can take a little pride. The subsequent part of the Declaration will contain a joint declaration of commitment to the key values: human dignity, freedom and responsibility, mutual solidarity, diversity, and tolerance and respect in our dealings with each other. After all, we know that the EU is more than just a common economic space. It is also a community of values, and this basis in common values, possibly along with a common outlook on life, is an important precondition for Europe’s remaining capable of action as a political entity.
The challenges that we in Europe will have to take up and overcome together in the 21st century will of course lie at the heart of the Declaration. These include energy and the fight against climate change, they include a functioning common foreign and security policy, and they also, of course, entail our countering the threats posed by terrorism and organised crime effectively without restricting human and civil rights in the process. Of course, these also entail our finding common solutions to deal with illegal immigration.
One message strikes me as particularly important, however, if we wish to reinforce the confidence of the people of Europe once again: Europe stands for a social model that marries economic competitiveness with social and environmental responsibility. Freedom to conduct a business and worker rights and participation are equally part of the European experience. The EU has a social side, and we feel that the European social dimension, too, should be highlighted in the Declaration. The European Heads of State or Government made an express declaration of commitment to this also in last Friday’s conclusions.
We all know that the EU must continue its process of reform and renewal. In some two years’ time, the next elections to the European Parliament will be taking place, and the electorate is entitled to know what instruments and means of action the EU will have at its disposal. Consequently, we should like to see the Declaration include a common commitment to working on the necessary preconditions for this.
Allow me to say a few words by way of conclusion. The 50th anniversary represents an opportunity for us all to build up strength for the challenges that lie ahead. On this day, let us emphasise the things that unify us. Let us take advantage of the symbolism of this day to send out a signal of unity. Our Presidency’s motto is ‘Europe – succeeding together’. The people of Europe expect European politicians to show the will, courage and resolve to act together.
This is the spirit in which we intend to proceed to the second half of our Presidency; and for this I ask your continued support.
As the President has pointed out, on 25 March, the European Union will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome. This is a special day, a day on which we should pause for a few hours in our day-to-day political business to look back at the story of European integration – a unique success story, in my opinion – and also to look forward and ask ourselves how we Europeans can find answers to the pressing issues of our time.
We can be proud of what the people of Europe have achieved in the past 50 years, and so 25 March should be a day of confidence, above all. The European Parliament has made a vital contribution to shaping the process of European integration. Many successes would not have been possible without the persistence and commitment of the Members of the European Parliament in standing up for more integration, for more democracy and transparency within the EU.
Our Presidency supports constructive cooperation with the European Parliament based on trust. Thus far, Parliament has supported us to the best of its ability, and for this I should like to express my most particular thanks at this point. This support also applies to the preparations for the Berlin Declaration to be adopted on 25 March as a joint declaration by the three European institutions: the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the European Commission. Parliament and the Commission have made a committed, active contribution to drawing up this Declaration from the outset.
I am obliged to the President and all the Members of this House for the confidence you have shown in the Presidency in this important matter. I am also obliged to you for endorsing the procedure we suggested: I know from my talks and discussions in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Affairs how hard it has been for some of you to do so. I really am, then, most grateful for your confidence in the procedure.
Our Presidency has resolved to strengthen public confidence in and support for Europe. To this end, we need dialogue, and to this end we have been listening very carefully to the public in recent weeks and months. We invited citizens selected at random to what proved to be highly successful national conferences in Berlin, with the aim of learning what they hope for from the EU. As I see it, one thing is clear: if we want to win people over to Europe, we must give specific examples showing how they stand to benefit from European integration. We must work to ensure that the EU takes up the challenges of the future, and we must offer convincing solutions.
As the President has just pointed out, the European Council on 8 and 9 March showed that the EU is capable of action even with 27 Member States, including in the fields in which the public particularly expects it to; for example energy and the fight against climate change. The success of the Spring Summit gives us confidence as we continue our Presidency. We wish to take advantage of this tailwind for the Berlin Declaration, too. The Summit rightly sent out the message that, if we Europeans find the strength to act together, we can actively shape the future.
At the dinner for the Heads of State or Government on 8 March – which Commission President Barroso and you, Mr President, also attended – Chancellor Merkel described our ideas, as developed in the course of detailed discussions with representatives of Parliament, the Commission and the national governments. The text of the Declaration is yet to be finalised, of course, and I can assure you that what I have heard in today’s debate here will of course be included in our deliberations on the final version.
As I have already told the committees, we want the text of our Declaration marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome to be brief and coherent, using language accessible to citizens. What should the key points be? We want to start the Declaration by paying tribute to the common achievements of the past 50 years in Europe; which include, of course, peace, stability, prosperity and the ending of the division of the continent. These would not have been possible were it not for the desire for freedom of the people of Central and Eastern Europe, to which we should like to pay tribute specifically in the Declaration."@en1
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