Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-23-Speech-2-037"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20071023.7.2-037"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to dedicate my first words today to the memory of a friend of mine. In memory of MEP Fausto Correia, who died a few days ago. He died young. His death is of course a great loss not only to the European Parliament but also to the Portuguese Socialist Party.
We worked speedily with all the Member States which, without exception, showed a constructive spirit and a will to overcome the remaining difficulties. This enabled us to present a full text of the Treaty on 3 October, and brought us much closer to our goal.
The issues that remained for the Lisbon Summit were limited, though obviously politically sensitive. In this context, our strategy was to try to reach an agreement on the first day of the summit. This seemed to us not only possible but also highly desirable as it would send a strong signal to Europe. The signal that the EU is capable of taking rapid decisions, even decisions that everyone acknowledges are difficult. Moreover, it was very important that we should be able to resolve these institutional issues on the first day of the informal Council and, on the second day, right after that decision, to discuss globalisation and how Europe should tackle global issues.
In Lisbon it was therefore possible to reach agreement on the following issues, enabling us to finalise the agreement on the Treaty:
First the Ioannina clause, and in the agreement a solution was reached at two levels:
a declaration relating to the system for decision-making in the Council by a qualified majority that clarifies the actual Ioannina safeguard mechanism;
in addition a protocol that determines how this mechanism for consensus in the European Council may be amended or revoked. As I have had the opportunity to say before, the Ioannina issue, as I saw it in the agreement at the last Council, required this clause to be mandatory by law, but not to be in the Treaty. The solution that we adopted, a declaration plus a protocol guaranteeing that the decision on Ioannina can be amended only by consensus, seemed to us to be the solution that was most true to the spirit of the last agreement.
Thus we provided guarantees on the Ioannina compromise without undermining the integrity of the process of qualified-majority decision-making.
There was also a need to resolve a political issue regarding the number of Advocates-General in the Court of Justice. A declaration was agreed to the effect that the Council would approve any request from the Court of Justice for the number of Advocates-General to be increased by three (eleven instead of eight). In that case, Poland will have a permanent Advocate-General and no longer take part in the rotation system, while the existing rotation system will involve the rotation of five Advocates-General instead of the current three.
As for the appointment of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, we agreed on a declaration to the effect that the European Parliament should take part in the appointment process even in the first stage, from January 2009, through appropriate contacts.
The Conference also approved a declaration clarifying the delimitation of competences between the Union and the Member States as provided for in the Treaties.
Fausto Correia was a man of fine political and human qualities. You all had the opportunity to get to know him. He was an intelligent politician, open and always committed to noble European ideals. But I would like to lay special emphasis here on his human qualities of generosity, companionship and tolerance. Indeed, it is our human qualities that give meaning to our political life.
Finally, the issue of the composition of the European Parliament. As you know, Article 9a of the Treaty on European Union has been amended to state that the number of MEPs shall not exceed seven hundred and fifty, plus the President, i.e. 751, maintaining degressive proportionality.
Two declarations were attached to that amendment:
one stating that the additional seat in the European Parliament will be attributed to Italy;
the other guaranteeing that the European Council will give its political agreement on the composition of the European Parliament, based on the proposal from Parliament itself.
The Council therefore accepted the criteria put forward by Parliament and went ahead with what it considered an acceptable adjustment, with a view to adapting the current framework during the 2009-2014 period.
Apart from the issues that I have mentioned, the concern of the Portuguese Presidency was also to build into the Treaty those rules and exception clauses that were in the mandate, naturally respecting the positions of the Member States that wanted to obtain them, but always concerned to avoid detracting from the Community decision-making process and the overall coherence of the Treaty.
Thus we have a new Treaty. It is a new Treaty and a good Treaty. A Treaty that resolves the crisis of the past and puts Europe in a position to set its eyes on the future. A Treaty with significant advances, some of which I would like to highlight, if I may.
This Treaty adopts, without alteration, the enlargement of the European Parliament’s participation in the legislative process, as well as the innovations in the budgetary process, thereby enhancing the Union’s democratic legitimacy;
This Treaty improves the decision-making process, specifically by extending qualified-majority voting to the area of freedom, security and justice;
Again in the area of freedom, security and justice, this Treaty enshrines the necessary legal bases for the development of more effective immigration and asylum policies, as well as police and judicial cooperation in the fight against terrorism and organised crime that strengthens security for our citizens;
His passing is a personal loss to me, the loss of an old friend, with whom I shared many moments of my life, and I will miss him very much.
This Treaty clearly lists the areas in which the Member States have transferred powers to the EU;
This Treaty strengthens the supervisory role of the national parliaments.
However, among all the advances contained in this Treaty, there is one point that I would like to highlight in particular: this Treaty explicitly gives legally binding force to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, due to be proclaimed by the European Union’s three institutions on 12 December.
In addition is the EU’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights and the fact that a solution has been found to the issue of the legal framework of European citizenship, as requested, moreover, by the representatives of Parliament.
Regarding external relations, the new institutional framework created by the Treaty – notably the addition of the post of High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission for Foreign Affairs – is a reflection of Europe’s foreign policy ambitions, that will allow Europe to play a more prominent role on the international stage and give it the means to cooperate effectively with our partners.
Ladies and gentlemen, the negotiations were tough and demanding, but Europe succeeded. Europe succeeded and achieved the crucial objective of having a Treaty that asserts European values and strengthens Europe as a global economic player, and of putting in place more effective institutional conditions to enable Europe to play its role.
Europe therefore emerges stronger from this Summit. Stronger to face global issues. Stronger to take up its role in the world. Stronger because it has sent a signal of confidence to our economy and to European citizens.
The Lisbon Treaty now demonstrates that Europe is ready, confident and self-assured. The Lisbon Treaty has once again made Europe ready for a new era.
Allow me to thank the European Parliament and its President, Hans-Gert Pöttering and its representatives at the Intergovernmental Conference – Elmar Brok (PPE-DE), Enrique Barón-Crespo (PSE) and Andrew Duff (ALDE). On behalf of the Portuguese Presidency I would like to thank you for your excellent collaboration in our work, your constructive suggestions, but mainly for your constant commitment to Europe reaching an agreement and to its reaching agreement quickly.
Ladies and gentlemen, when I presented the programme of the Portuguese Presidency to this plenary three months ago, I stated very clearly what would be the main challenge – the top priority – of the Portuguese Presidency: to draw up and reach an agreement on the new Treaty, putting an end to the six years of impasse in the institutional debate in which the European Union was immersed.
I would also like to thank the European Commission, especially the President of the Commission, to whom the Presidency is hugely indebted over these months for his valued assistance in bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion. Thank you very much, Mr President.
However, I must also express my deep gratitude to the General Secretariat of the Council, especially its Legal Services and its Director-General, Jean-Claude Piris. On behalf of the Presidency, I would like to thank them for their hard work, skill and dedication. They did an absolutely magnificent job.
I would also like to thank all the representatives of the Member States who took part, at various levels, in the Intergovernmental Conference. The Presidency will not forget the spirit of cooperation, commitment and openness that everyone displayed in seeking the best solutions.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me now to give very personal thanks. I would like to thank the Foreign Affairs Minister, sitting next to me, Luís Amado, the Secretary of State, Lobo Antunes, and all the Portuguese diplomats who gave their best during this period to ensure that it would be remembered, without doubt, as one of the great achievements of the EU Presidency.
Ladies and gentlemen, having achieved the goal of finalising the Lisbon Treaty, the Heads of State or Government were able to devote the morning of day two to debating the external dimension of the Lisbon Agenda and how Europe should respond to the challenges of globalisation. It was an excellent debate, featuring the valued contribution of the President of the European Parliament. It was also a debate looking to the future.
The President of the European Commission presented an important contribution to the discussion, based on the communication on ‘The European Interest: succeeding in the age of globalisation’. This document was highly praised by the Heads of State or Government.
The main points covered in the debate were the financial markets in the light of the recent turmoil, and climate change in view of the Bali Conference.
Among the various conclusions that could be drawn from the debate, I would like to highlight one: the idea that pervaded the debate on that Friday morning, that Europe is now equipped – and even duty-bound in some areas – to lead the globalisation process; be it in the reciprocal opening-up of markets, improving environmental, social, financial and intellectual property standards, or strengthening strategic cooperation with our international partners.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to say one last thing before I finish. It is true that 18 October ended with an agreement on the Lisbon Treaty, but that day also began with another important agreement that I would like to tell you about here: the agreement between the European social partners on the new challenges for the labour market. This was also an important agreement. Through this agreement, the social partners set an example of constructive engagement, responsibility and social dialogue. A good example of attention to the need for dialogue, of the need for reform in a globalised and constantly changing world.
Today, therefore, it is with great satisfaction that I address the house to present the agreement reached by the Intergovernmental Conference on 18 October. This agreement was the basis for the new Treaty of Lisbon. The Treaty will be signed on 13 December in the city whose name it will bear.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to end on a personal note. In political life it is rare that we have the opportunity to serve our country and serve Europe at a critical moment. I feel honoured to have had that opportunity. I would like to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the support from all the benches that I have always had in this House.
However, our work is not finished. We have much to do. For my part I would like to assure you that the Presidency will continue to work with the same commitment, energy and conviction that we began with and to work for a stronger Europe and a better world.
The Portuguese Presidency began with the task of transforming the mandate that we inherited from the German Presidency – which as I have said before was of exemplary clarity and precision – but to transform that mandate into a new Treaty. That was our mission.
The agreement we have reached confirms that the method and timetable we set out at the start of our Presidency were right. It was necessary – as I told you here at the start of the Presidency – to make the most of the June Council to endeavour to complete the Treaty not in December, as some advocated, but in October, at the informal Council, and we were right.
The truth is that we held the fastest Intergovernmental Conference in the history of the European Union on a treaty revision. We began on 23 July and completed it on 18 October.
When the history of this Treaty is written we will understand better the importance of that political decision, of not leaving until the end of the year the task that we were able to complete earlier. Europe needed a quick agreement and that is what it got. Europe needed a sign of confidence and that is what it got. Europe needed to turn towards the future and that is what it has done."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples