Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-06-Speech-3-051"
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"en.20070606.12.3-051"2
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"At the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference the EU must look to the future, and must look into the very essence of its being. It was here in Europe that the enlightenment proclaimed the transcendent value of human dignity and prescribed a union of people to bring this value to life.
As long ago as the 18th century, Kant set down the maxims for eternal life and said that the national constitutions of countries cannot accomplish their tasks without the appropriate external order. Modernity is built on anthropocentric politics, on flexible institutions and on power as a conduit of justice.
The European Constitution is one of the tasks ahead of us that can enable us to accomplish, during our lifetime, the modernity of which Europe is the cradle. Do we not want a project of justice that is only possible if underpinned by political sharing? If so, then the Constitution is the answer. It provides the foundation for large-scale democracy, for strengthening Parliament’s power, for restoring the balance between the centre and the Member States, for the Charter of Fundamental Rights, for political work within a network, and for rules on decision-making that confer governability and effectiveness, with a view to achieving a human and open Europe.
The world is, with increasing frequency, confronting us with new realities. The political elites have a responsibility to build new paradigms and to define new ways of living. As we proceed along this path to consensus – and, at this point, I should like to pay tribute to the efforts of Mr Barón Crespo and Mr Brok – I am saddened by the devaluation of the symbols of Europe. It is not as though this responds to any real cause for concern among the citizens. Rather, it responds to spectres raised in random, extremist discourse. Europe is in a phase of re-establishing its foundations and now is not the time to do away with its symbolic dimension. Paul Valéry once said that Europe would be built only under the threat of decline.
Perhaps we could retort that Europe is being built by moral will and serene reason. One thing is for sure, when it comes to this odyssey, there can be no room for half measures."@en1
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