Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-27-Speech-3-023"
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"en.20070627.3.3-023"2
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".
Mr President, Mrs Merkel, Mr Barroso, my group will have the opportunity to return in detail to the various important dimensions of the future treaty that you mentioned.
I should like to confine myself today to just one issue that the President-in-Office of the Council has not mentioned. What, in practice, is going to change the decision taken by the 27 to withdraw free and undistorted competition from the list of the EU's objectives? Because one of two things is true: either the European leaders believe that this is merely a communications exercise designed to reassure, at little cost, the people of Europe, a growing number of whom see this obsession with competition as one of the reasons for the erosion of the social
for the rapid growth in job insecurity and, vice versa, for the explosion in dividends; or this is a serious matter and, therefore, we absolutely must know what its practical implications are.
Those behind the first theory have solid arguments to draw on. Firstly, the framework principle of an open market economy in which there is free competition appears on numerous occasions in the parts of the current treaty that will be replicated as they stand. Secondly, a protocol specially devoted to reaffirming competition policy has been adopted by the European Council itself and will be included in the final text. Finally, some of the provisions of the treaty that are based on the principle in question have not been amended in any way whatsoever. It follows, then, that, despite the impact made by the European Council, there will be nothing new under the sun in this regard.
If there is nothing new, I believe that this will be a case of disgraceful deceit on the part of the Heads of State or Government who, in the eyes of many of our fellow citizens, are still pushing for a pluralist public debate on the future treaty as a whole, or the double treaty as a whole, a debate that would culminate in an EU-wide referendum. I shall therefore listen very carefully to your explanations on this subject, Mrs Merkel. What is going to change in relation to free competition, and will these changes affect the substance of the draft Constitutional Treaty or not?
In any case, I call on all those who are sensitive to this issue to take the European leaders at their word: free competition is not your aim – let us see if it is not! The first, imminent, test will be the fate in store for the draft directive on the opening up to competition of all postal services. In countries such as Sweden, in which this liberalisation is under way, it clearly has unfavourable consequences for employment and social and territorial cohesion, two areas that remain objectives of the Union. Logically, then, this directive should be withdrawn or rejected. Let us meet in July for this test of truth."@en1
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