Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-14-Speech-3-012"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070314.3.3-012"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, President-in-Office, honourable Members, the meeting in Berlin on 25 March is an important occasion. Fifty years of European integration is certainly worth a celebration. It is an occasion to highlight all that unites us and to emphasise our common values and principles.
To conclude, I believe we are on track for a Declaration in Berlin on 25 March which meets the goals sketched out by the Commission last May, endorsed by the European Council and backed by this House. It will bring a momentum and urgency to the efforts to settle the constitutional and institutional debate. It will mobilise the efforts of all-round core priorities, it will show a European Union united in its commitment to meet the aspirations of our citizens and to bring to the future work of the Union the same dynamism and achievement that we have enjoyed for 50 years of the European adventure.
But we can make it even more important by looking forward as much as we look back. This is an opportunity to put forward our shared objectives and ambitions, to underline our mutual respect and solidarity, and to reiterate our determination to build a better and stronger Union for the benefit of all Europeans.
That is why the Commission took the initiative in May last year to suggest an Interinstitutional Declaration on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the signature of the Treaty of Rome. The German Presidency has been working hard to find a text which meets a number of different goals. We all agree that the text should be short and accessible, and that it should be an easy read with a shelf-life of more than a few days or weeks. We all agree that it should celebrate the achievements of 50 years of European integration, but also look ahead to inspire Europeans for the future. We all want to see reflected in the text what it is that makes Europe special for us, in what we value and in how we work. This is not an easy task, but we are in excellent hands with Chancellor Merkel, Foreign Minister Steinmeier and their competent staff.
I think that the decision to directly involve both the European Parliament and the European Commission has proved fully justified. The discussions that we have had between the Parliament and the Commission and with civil society representatives have provided valuable food for thought that can contribute to the overall reflection and to the essential work of the Presidency. The bilateral discussions and the exchange at the European Council last week have pointed to a broad consensus on the purpose, scope and flavour of the Declaration. The end result will be a truly European commitment to move forward.
Much of the discussion in these final days will be centring on how to give the right flavour to the text on the Union’s future ambitions. In January President Barroso set out in this House our thinking on some key points. Last week’s European Council should give us renewed confidence that we need not be shy. We can be both ambitious and credible. The European Union can and will continue to be a motor for positive change in Europe and across the world.
We believe that the text should be concrete without being too specific. It should reflect the genius of the European Union in striking the right balance between the general and the particular, the common and the individual. We promote growth and economic development within a strong social framework. We enhance security and we promote individual rights. We work hard to support the interests of Europeans, but with a keen sense of responsibility to the global community, as Minister Steinmeier also just explained. This is sometimes misunderstood as recipe for a lowest-common-denominator Europe. This is wrong. It is rather a practical recognition of the fact that in a complex, fast-moving world we have to be light on our feet and we have to find new solutions to deep-seated challenges. This is exactly what we are now doing on climate change and energy.
It is also important to give a sense that the European Union is defined not only by what Europe does, but how the Union works. Democracy, transparency and accountability are important guiding principles for the Union of today. It would be an important signal for the Member States and the institutions to underline the Union’s commitment to a democratic way of working.
The Berlin meeting comes exactly half way through the German Presidency and represents an important stepping stone on the path to a relaunch of the treaty review to strengthen the institutions of the European Union. It follows an exceptionally successful European Council meeting last week, a European Council which has proven doomsayers wrong and has demonstrated that a European Union of 27 is just as strong and bold as its earlier incarnations. Enlargement has added purpose and dynamism to our work and I am convinced that it can continue to do so.
As we look ahead, the June European Council will provide the other key test. Can we agree an outline on the way forward for the constitutional and institutional debate? Last week’s work will certainly help. It has surely helped to put to rest the myth that the European Union is in some way obsessed with navel-gazing and detached from citizens’ real concerns. The message should come out loud and clear that, if we are concerned about our institutions, it is because we want them to work well so that we can deliver on our citizens’ expectations and meet high standards of democracy."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples