Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-25-Speech-2-229"
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"en.20070925.30.2-229"2
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"Thank you very much, Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, for your thoughts, comments and questions.
That was, and I knew it would be, an easy debate for the Council. Easy because the Council and the European Parliament are agreed on what is fundamental and that is obtaining, at the next session of the UN General Assembly, a resolution on a moratorium and the abolition of the death penalty; I am of course pleased to see that we are united on the central objective of the debate we have had and that we shall be working together to make it possible.
As was mentioned by a Portuguese MEP, I too am very proud, to be taking part in this debate as a representative of Portugal, because we were the first country in Europe to abolish the death penalty. It is a theme, an issue, a problem on which the Portuguese are especially sensitive and I am proud to be able to say so here and to have the opportunity to be leading the Council’s efforts at the United Nations at this moment with a view to achieving the objective we have set ourselves.
I am not here to talk about the past. We must learn from the lessons of the past, of course, and that is why we must naturally avoid any errors we might have committed and which did not in the past make it possible for us to achieve the objectives we had set ourselves. The past is past; let us now focus on the future. Let us focus with determination, with resolve, in the knowledge that the task is not, politically speaking, an easy one, but that it is possible. When we speak of flexibility we are talking about confidence in the work of the Presidency. What we are seeking and specifically requesting – and we are sure that the European Parliament will grant us this since it understands that this is a politically complex and at times even difficult issue – is naturally the European Parliament’s confidence in the Presidency and the Presidency’s efforts, so that we can finally bring this objective to a successful conclusion.
We shall be submitting the draft resolution at the beginning of October – early to mid-October. That is our intention and I can tell you that the many demarches and contacts we have made give us some confidence. We hope that our confidence will grow with the passage of time because our cause is a just cause. I should also like to say, finally, that the European Union already has co-authors who are going to sign this draft resolution with us; I must also tell you here that I am very proud that those co-authors include Portuguese-speaking countries representing Africa, representing Asia and representing Latin America too – countries which like us, like the Portuguese, are also underwriting respect for the total value of life.
We are confident, I repeat, that with your support and your confidence, the Portuguese Presidency will bring to fruition this objective we have set ourselves at the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly and that we shall in fact have a resolution approved in the terms in which the European Parliament and the Council wish to see it approved."@en1
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