Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-12-12-Speech-3-007"
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"en.20071212.2.3-007"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the forthcoming European Council will first note with satisfaction the signing of the Lisbon Treaty, which is to take place in the Portuguese capital tomorrow, and the proclamation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which will take place here today in a little while. It will also call for the process of ratification of the Lisbon Treaty to be concluded swiftly so that the Treaty can enter into force on 1 January 2009.
The Lisbon Treaty, as I have said, will provide the Union with a stable and lasting institutional framework that will allow it to fully concentrate on the political challenges ahead, including globalisation and climate change, as clearly underlined at the informal meeting of Heads of State or Government on 19 April. In this context, the European Council will adopt a Declaration on Globalisation. The Declaration will make it clear that, in view of the global challenges that confront us, the European Union has both an opportunity and a responsibility to act. The Union’s internal and external policies need to be harnessed to that end. I am thinking of delivery on the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs, fulfilment of the ambitious commitments on climate change and energy agreed at the Spring 2007 European Council, definition of a global response to the recent turbulence in the financial markets, promotion of free trade and openness, work with our partners to pursue vigorous and coherent development strategies, development of a comprehensive European migration policy and efficient use of instruments and development of capabilities of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the European Security and Defence Policy, so as to allow the Union to play a growing part in building a safer world.
Finally, the European Union will help to ensure that globalisation is a source of opportunity rather than a threat and that it contributes to the prosperity of the individual. We also hope to establish at the forthcoming European Council a Reflection Group, to help the Union anticipate and meet challenges more effectively in the next twenty to thirty years. The European Council will review the progress made in the area of freedom, security and justice. We should mention, first, the abolition of controls at the internal borders of the new Member States, a measure of great significance and great importance for the daily lives of our citizens. The implementation of the policy on migration will also be examined and, in particular, the progress made in the implementation of the Global Approach to Migration with regard to Africa and the Mediterranean, as well as the Global Approach to the Eastern and South-Eastern neighbouring regions. There will be a report, in this context, on the organisation of the first Euro-Med Ministerial meeting on Migration, which will be taken into account in preparing the Joint Strategy and Action Plan for the second Africa/EU Summit, as reported here yesterday.
Other aspects to be examined in the area of freedom, security and justice will include the work to be undertaken to combat terrorism, notably as regards radicalisation and recruitment, and the progress in judicial cooperation. On economic, social and environmental issues, the European Council will review the work that has been done in the relevant areas with a view to the preparation of the next cycle of the Renewed Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs, to be approved at the European Council in Spring 2008. The discussion at the informal meeting of Heads of State or Government in October sought to strengthen the external dimension of the Lisbon Strategy and confirmed that the Renewed Lisbon Strategy is still the right framework to meet the principal challenges that confront us, in particular the challenge of globalisation. It also confirmed that Europe is making progress and that the objectives set are still appropriate, and the main focus of the new cycle will therefore be to maintain the necessary stability to consolidate gains and press on with reforms.
The European Council will emphasise the need to strengthen European competitiveness with the advantages of the single market combined with a sustainable industrial policy and promotion of innovation and skills. Development of the external dimension and improvement of the conditions in which consumers and undertakings, particularly small and medium-sized undertakings, operate will also be emphasised. In the employment and social policy area, the European Council will endorse the agreement on the common principles of flexicurity, underlining the role of the social partners in the design, implementation and monitoring of the relevant policies. The European Council will also report the results of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All and invite Member States to strengthen efforts to prevent and combat discrimination. I must also stress the importance of carrying forward the Energy Policy for Europe established by the Spring European Council. The progress achieved in the discussions on the third internal market package for gas and electricity and the debate on the Strategic Energy Technology Plan will also be noted.
The European Council will then review the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy and it is expected to agree that the objectives and priorities under the seven key challenges contained in that strategy remain fully valid. It will also welcome the Commission Communication on an integrated maritime policy and invite the Commission to come forward with the initiatives and proposals contained in the Action Plan. On external relations, the European Council is expected, on the basis of Ministers’ discussions at the latest General Affairs and External Relations Council held last Monday, to concentrate on the process of defining the future status of Kosovo, in particular, in an assessment of the period of negotiation. Since, as you know, Belgrade and Pristina failed to reach an agreement, it is hoped that the European Council will also discuss the role that the European Union may play in the process in future and the course of action to be taken in this connection with a view to resolving the issue, strengthening stability in the region and helping to bring it closer to the Union. The European Council will stress the importance of the various summits held in the past six months, in particular the summits with Brazil and Africa. The summit with Brazil was, as you know, an unprecedented and brilliant initiative and the EU-Africa Summit achieved some very encouraging results, which I had occasion to mention in the Assembly yesterday. Lastly, attention will be drawn to the progress recorded in relations with other regions, notably the Mediterranean, and in the area of cooperation for development.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Council’s conclusions reflect the results of the intense work done in the past six months and show that the main objectives of the Portuguese Presidency have been achieved. The European Union will still have a highly ambitious agenda of work before it. We believe that under future presidencies it will continue to proceed in the direction of a Europe of high growth, social prosperity and sustainable development, strengthening its role in global terms and in its relations with its partners at bilateral and also at multilateral level. Thank you very much, Mr President."@en1
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