Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-12-12-Speech-3-008"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20071212.2.3-008"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, at the last European Council in Lisbon in October we were able not only to reach political agreement on a new Treaty but also to launch a debate at Head of State or Government level on Europe’s interest and the best way to promote that interest in the era of globalisation.
Today we are well placed to continue the internal reforms, to reinforce our ability to compete at global level and, at the same time, to maintain our values of economic and social cohesion and solidarity. Today, we are well placed to provide the global vision that the world needs for a multilateral order, a system of collective security, open and fair trade and sustainable development, which respects the environmental balance of our planet. Today, we are well placed to pursue European interests in the partnerships and in the relations with our allies and the world’s other great powers.
Two weeks ago, together with the President of the European Council, I was in China and India for the summits between the European Union and these two emerging powers. It was fascinating to see the pace of economic development in that part of the world. We need to be attentive to what is going on in Asia. It is true that economic development has helped to take millions of human beings out of poverty. I have no doubts their progress will have a direct impact on future generations of Europeans.
The crucial question is: what are we going to do in the face of such a structural transformation? We should have no illusions: globalisation also means deep changes in the world balance of power. The truth is that, not many years ago, here in Europe, when people spoke about globalisation, they were thinking mainly about Westernisation or, sometimes, Americanisation. Today, when we in Europe speak about globalisation, many people think, above all, of the growing, emerging economic powers in Asia.
So the world is changing, and I believe this is also making the need to adapt our common European project to the new challenges more obvious. That is why, today, there are conditions for accepting the declaration on globalisation that European Union leaders will adopt this week. It is more obvious than ever that even the greatest powers of Europe cannot tackle the challenges of globalisation alone. It is obvious that, more than ever, we need a strong European Union.
I believe that the rise of the powers of Asia on one hand and the awareness about the climate change challenge on the other are, in fact, two very important driving forces for the European Union, because they show us that there is a challenge called globalisation and that there is also an opportunity to grasp.
Therefore, I think that this week’s European Council will have a very important meaning and a great significance. Some years ago it would have been impossible for European leaders to agree on the declaration on globalisation they are about to support. Now it is quite clear that the goals of the European Union are not just internal: the goals of the European Union are also global. We need to promote our interests and to promote our values in the new global order that is emerging. That is why I think we can take very important decisions this week. We should do that with full confidence in our capacities, above all trusting the ability of European societies to rise to the circumstances.
In particular, we should not forget that, in Europe, we have impressive human skills, great traditions of knowledge and critical knowledge, the capacity to adapt. We have sophisticated scientific and technological knowledge. More importantly, we have free societies organised under the rule of law, and this gives us a great advantage in a world that is changing – and changing fast.
This is the European way of life. To preserve it and to improve it is our best investment. With the right policy agenda, we can face globalisation with confidence. Globalisation poses specific challenges. One of these is mass migration, which is, to some extent, a new phenomenon in Europe – at least with the dimension it has taken recently.
Last week the Commission adopted a communication on migration, which will be discussed in the European Council. It stresses the need to see the issue in an overall perspective. It is, of course, central to our border controls and security, but it also has huge economic and social implications, and demands to be a central theme in our relations with partners worldwide. Migration is close to the concerns and interests of citizens. It cannot be tackled by any individual Member State on its own. As I have said several times, also in this House, it is completely absurd in a European Union of 27 Member States, where we have freedom of circulation of people, to have 27 policies of immigration. We need to have a common approach to immigration, and we need to recognise that the problems some of our Member States are facing should also be considered as European problems.
The Lisbon Treaty will be signed tomorrow, and on Friday the European Council will start on its task of seeking concrete results for a Europe at the service of citizens in the age of globalisation. I think it is important to stress the link between these two facts. Europe is solving its institutional problems but it is doing so primarily because it takes the interests of its citizens into account and also because it seeks to project its interests and values at global level. Both ways are, ultimately, ways of achieving the same objectives.
We need an integrated policy, one which makes sense to European citizens, to immigrants and to international partners. The goal of our document presented to this Council is to spark debate, first at the European Council, but also in European societies, including, of course, this Parliament, and launch a process leading to a comprehensive policy. By addressing an issue that is a central concern of European citizens, just a day after the signature of the Lisbon Treaty, the Union continues its approach, one which is based on concrete results for Europe and concrete results for our citizens. This is the right way to move forward, and I think this week’s European summit can take us a step further in our wish and our will to shape globalisation and shape it with our values.
The signing of the Lisbon Treaty is no mere formality. It signals 27 States’ agreement on a Treaty and it marks their acceptance of a common commitment to Europe. It is, without doubt, a highly potent symbol of the long way we have come since the deadlocks of 2005.
Similarly, the proclamation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights by the President of the Council, the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Commission, which will take place in this House in a few hours’ time, is proof positive that the European Union intends to keep the rights of citizens at the heart of its activities.
On Friday, the European Council will give us another opportunity to show a European Union that is seeking to define its position in the light of globalisation. This positioning is partly to do with the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. The truth of the matter is that what we are consolidating today is simply the external dimension of the Lisbon Strategy, essentially the idea that Europe’s response to globalisation must be pro-active and confident, not negative and passive. Only yesterday the Commission adopted an important package of communications and decisions preparing a new cycle of the Strategy for the period 2008-2010.
Mr President, the Lisbon Strategy is working: it is creating growth and jobs. We now have the best figures since the 1980s in terms of job creation. The Lisbon Strategy is helping to position Europe and European citizens to succeed in the age of globalisation. The Lisbon Strategy has given Europe a common, pragmatic economic agenda, fully respecting national differences.
However, complacency would be fatal to Europe’s prospects of shaping globalisation. Much more remains to be done: progress is uneven between policy areas, and some Member States are moving much faster than others.
Yesterday’s package responds to the need for Europe to act, to face up to growing uncertainties in the global economy, and to the need for an even higher priority for the social dimension, education and skills, but also information and communication technologies, flexicurity, the need to have a common energy policy and to fight climate change.
The declaration on globalisation that the European Council is about to adopt fully acknowledges the role of the Lisbon Strategy. The declaration should set out our conviction that the Union has every reason to feel confident about its future. Today’s European Union is showing how the preservation of European political, economic and social values and the defence of European interests are fully compatible with a proactive approach to globalisation."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples