Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-12-12-Speech-3-010"
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"en.20071212.2.3-010"2
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".
Mr President, President of the Commission, President-in-Office, ladies and gentlemen, the Lisbon European Council marks a return to a Europe of achievements and added value. For the people of Europe, this Council sets the seal on greater freedom of movement and closer integration. Many institutional problems have been resolved and two years of stalling and uncertainty are drawing to a close.
Tomorrow in Lisbon, 27 signatures on the Reform Treaty will confirm our shared destiny in a European 21st century based on our common values, our prosperity, security and solidarity. From January 2009 we aim to apply our new method of operation. This is important because the Lisbon Treaty provisions will have an impact on the next European elections and thus on the appointment of the President of the Commission.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Charter of Fundamental Rights is the major innovation in the Lisbon Treaty because it delivers a clear response to two basic questions: who are we and what is the nature of our joint endeavour? The Charter embodies our sharing of values and, at the same time, reflects a consensus on our unity in diversity. If we neglect either one of those elements we will incur opposition and reluctance on the part of our peoples. I hope that both the spirit and the letter of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights will apply across the widest possible area of Europe, for this Charter truly does enshrine our individual identification with the European Union and our connection to a European Community of shared values.
The Reform Treaty also extends the scope of democracy by enhancing the power of the European Parliament, establishing a fairer voting system in the Council, giving the national parliaments a bigger role as guarantors of subsidiarity and bringing the Union closer to ordinary people, who will now be entitled to initiate legislation.
The European Parliament will have more duties and more responsibilities to Europe’s citizens. Our Assembly must therefore be more rigorous, and it needs a higher profile. My group is ready to contribute both in the legislative process and in bringing forward new ideas. I also support the proposal to set up a Reflection Group. It will have a crucially important role to play in charting our course over the next 20 or 30 years. If we intend to build a Europe founded on prosperity and security, as well as values and a shared sense of solidarity, we need the capacity to reflect on the future of the European social model.
Once the treaty has been ratified we shall be able to focus on those policy areas where people want Europe to do more. Issues like climate change, energy, immigration and security need to be tackled at European level.
Ladies and gentlemen, the second decision anticipated in Lisbon is of more than symbolic significance. It concerns extension of the Schengen
to those Member States which joined the Union in 2004. Freedom of movement is a sensitive issue, particularly for people who have borne the yoke of occupation and have been deprived of freedom. Living in a Community of shared values cannot be reconciled with the imposition of distinctions between people on the move inside the European Union. Having said that, equal treatment also implies equality before the law. If those principles fall by the wayside, we will never achieve social cohesion, and the people we represent will turn their backs on Europe.
I also welcome the extension of police and judicial cooperation among the Member States. In an open Europe, it offers an effective means of combating the scourges of trafficking in human beings and illegal immigration. Ladies and gentlemen, Thursday’s European Council brings us one step nearer to achieving a more open, more democratic Europe and one with a capacity to act. And remember, too, that a Europe which guarantees unity in diversity contributes not only to stability within its own borders but also to peace throughout the world."@en1
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