Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-11-14-Speech-3-007"
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Mr President, President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, globalisation is not merely a phenomenon that must be viewed in terms of its economic consequences and technological implications. For you, ladies and gentlemen, for the Members of the Council of the European Union and for all of us in fact, it is essentially a political issue. It involves people losing their jobs, regions in crisis, disappearing economic sectors, and new security and environmental threats, but it also involves new job opportunities, new sectors of production and lower prices for a vast range of products, allowing improved financial resource allocation and growth of trade in goods and services.
The EU has global responsibilities and must be better prepared to face globalisation through a strategic, coherent and determined approach at global level. We must remain firmly committed to implementing measures at national level, meanwhile, that enable us to deal more effectively with the problems arising out of demographic change, the quality of public finance and its long-term sustainability, the labour market, employment, social cohesion, the internal market, competitiveness, research and innovation, energy and climate change and education and training.
At the same time the Community Lisbon programme has an important role to play in the new cycle by offering more effective guarantees of the necessary coherence of reforms. Parliament and Council’s ownership must be reinforced, and the exchange of good practices between Member States must be developed. Migration has a fundamental role to play in the context of globalisation by helping to increase growth potential and facilitate adjustments. According to a recent report, submitted to the Council this week, on this situation’s effects on the mobility of labour, EU demographic growth is increasingly supported by migration flows, and note should be taken of the decisive way these help to reinforce the flexibility required to face crises and to offset low levels of intraregional mobility.
In this globalised context the external dimension of the Lisbon Strategy must be reinforced and developed, projecting the EU’s political and economic goals and social and environmental standards beyond its borders. As you know, this was the aspect that was addressed in the discussion of the Heads of State and Government at the Lisbon informal meeting, where we developed issues relating to financial market instability and climate change in particular. This interesting and stimulating political debate, in which the President of this House also took part, reinforced our faith in the future.
As the Portuguese Prime Minister, José Sócrates, has already pointed out here, Europe has a duty to lead the globalisation process and is in a position to do so, taking advantage of the new opportunities that have been created, including in the area of ideas and cultural exchange. By strengthening relations between the peoples and interdependence between nations, the EU is making a key contribution to peace and global stability. Europe has the political and institutional conditions to respond consistently to the challenges that globalisation raises in the economic, social and environmental fields, and can therefore influence the process of globalisation. We need stronger strategic cooperation with our partners in order to develop a new global agenda that combines the mutual opening of markets, improved environmental, social, financial and intellectual property standards, and the need to support the institutional capacity of developing countries.
As the Portuguese Prime Minister also announced at the end of the Lisbon informal meeting, an EU declaration on globalisation will be approved at the European Summit on 13 and 14 December. This will be a clear sign to citizens and to the world of the determination and commitment of European leaders to stimulating the EU’s capacity to influence the globalisation agenda and to find the right responses.
The challenges ahead of us are both difficult and stimulating, and the Portuguese Presidency will continue to engage with them. We are counting on the European Parliament’s support, as we always have done, to promote and develop EU and national action that is agreed at global level and that allows Europe to assume its responsibilities in the global context and to succeed in meeting future challenges.
We sometimes tend to forget what Europe means for so many people in this globalised world. The images of migrants prostrate on our beaches are a cruel reminder of that reality and of how privileged we are here in Europe, which has become a bastion of hope, hope that it is possible to build a model combining freedom, economic growth, social justice and environmental protection based on partnership, cooperation and shared responsibility.
It is not just our success as Europeans that is at stake. A stronger Union for a better world is our Presidency’s motto, as you know, and we sincerely believe that Europe must play a crucial role in building a more just and a more balanced world.
Globalisation has fostered an unprecedented exchange of ideas and contacts between people. The prospects for both economic and cultural enrichment are huge, but the risks of various types of new global imbalance are also huge. We are faced with the challenge of shaping this new and increasingly fluid interdependence in an ever smaller world. Above all, coming to terms with and regulating globalisation is a key issue for our democracies and for the very concept of effective democracy: will we be able to keep political control of the fundamental options in economic governance and so many other aspects of our life in the hands of our people and our elected representatives?
I firmly believe that in various crucial areas we Europeans will be effective only if we are capable of providing new collective political solutions to the most serious problems of our time, such as economic growth and job creation, environmental protection, energy, migration and the fight against terrorism.
The European Union has been updating its internal policies to ensure competitiveness and fair and sustainable development. The strengthening of social cohesion and respect for the environment should guide economic reforms. Investment in research, innovation and education must drive growth and employment. We are not alone, however, and it would be irresponsible to become inward-looking, convinced that self-interest can be effective. This new world does not have effective walls or strongholds. We must work together with other countries and regions to achieve results which are positive for everyone.
Stability, freedom, security and prosperity will be consistent and lasting only if they are shared. This is Europe’s vocation. We must lead and shape globalisation according to our principles and our values, looking outwards with a universalist attitude, as we did during the finest hours of our common history.
Working together, the EU and its Member States have shown that they can address common problems and common challenges by harnessing their experience of 50 years of integration. The new Treaty of Lisbon provides more effective and more transparent institutional conditions for the EU to play its role in the world. The challenge is to preserve and strengthen what we have achieved in that time and to find ways of defending our interests and projecting our common values beyond our borders.
The renewed Lisbon Strategy has provided the framework for Europe to respond to this challenge. The launching of a new governance cycle gives us the opportunity to reflect on the path we intend to follow. The Commission communication under discussion today is an excellent starting point for the debate and provided the basis for the discussion between the Heads of State and Government at the Lisbon informal meeting on 19 October. Our work in the Council is based on this document and seeks to define a package of texts to contribute to the preparation of the Lisbon Strategy’s next cycle.
This week’s Ecofin Council has now adopted conclusions, the Competitiveness Council on 22 November will also approve some texts, and the 5 and 6 December Employment Council plans to adopt conclusions on the future of the European Employment Strategy in the context of the Lisbon Strategy’s new cycle. Other Council formations have addressed issues relevant to the preparation of the new cycle. I can confirm that we are essentially in agreement with the Commission: the renewed Lisbon Strategy must continue to be the appropriate framework for Europe’s response to the major challenges we face, especially the challenge of globalisation. Europe is making significant progress. The goals set out in the four priority areas, employment, knowledge and innovation, the business environment and energy and climate change, which were selected in 2006, are still appropriate.
The major lines of the new cycle must preserve the stability needed to consolidate results. It is important at the same time to make adjustments and improvements so that the full potential of the renewed Lisbon Strategy can be achieved. Taking advantage of the momentum generated by the progress already made, our priority must be to step up the pace of reforms to make our economies stronger."@en1
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