Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-02-20-Speech-3-018"
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"en.20080220.3.3-018"2
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"Mr President, President-in-Office of the Council, Vice-President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, like everyone else, I would first like to offer our thanks and congratulations to our fellow members Íñigo Méndez de Vigo and Richard Corbett for the report on the Treaty of Lisbon and particularly for the excellent work they have done. As a friend, however, I can also tell them that that is what they are paid for.
The members of the PPE-DE truly believe that these areas should be the subject of European policies. Of course, many of us – as the rapporteurs point out – deplore the fact that the constitutional approach has had to abandon any mention of the symbols of Europe.
The big challenge now is the ratification of the Treaty. On behalf of PPE-DE members, I call upon the Member States to follow the lead of Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Malta and France, and to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon promptly, so it can enter into force by 2009.
Thank you for your attention, and I hope that today, the chairman of the Socialist Group, Martin Schulz, will follow my example.
Our debate comes at a time when five Member States have already ratified this Treaty and Poland has announced that it is preparing to start its ratification process. On behalf of the members of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats, and within the PPE-DE Group, I would like to reiterate how important this Treaty is for the revival of the European dynamic.
After two years of deadlock and institutional misgivings, the European Union has given itself the tools it needs to function effectively. PPE-DE members believe this Treaty makes the EU more democratic, more visible and therefore more influential within its own borders and in the world.
The Treaty of Lisbon signals the return to politics in Europe. The increased democracy, clarity and visibility, and the strengthening of the European Union’s effectiveness have been highlighted by our rapporteurs as the major advances of the Treaty of Lisbon. Democracy is strengthened by extending the powers of the European Parliament, the only institution elected by direct universal suffrage. Codecision becomes the rule. The President of the Commission will be elected by the European Parliament. The role of the national parliaments will be enhanced on matters of subsidiarity. This is something our group is very keen on. Europe will no longer be absent from national debates. They will not have an excuse to criticise us any more. Citizens will now have the right of initiative. By collecting a million signatures from the citizens of the 27 Member States, they will be able to issue a direct invitation to the Commission to present a new proposal.
In addition, the rights of citizens will be protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the binding legal force of which is enshrined in the Treaty. We are very proud of this advance. With the opening to the public of legislative debates in the Council, Europe will be more transparent, and with clarification of the European Union’s competences, its functioning will become more comprehensible.
The expansion of qualified majority voting in the Council will reduce the risk of institutional deadlock and make it possible to implement necessary common policies. Furthermore, Europe will affirm its role as a political actor on the international stage. Where it is competent, the EU will make its voice heard and make the decisions required for energy policy, foreign policy, judicial and police cooperation and environmental policy.
Regarding energy, the Treaty introduces a legal basis for a European policy on energy supply and renewable energies. In foreign policy, the EU will finally be represented by a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. In the face of a changing world, with many challenges of all kinds, the European Union must have the means to affirm its position as a key player to its partners throughout the world.
I already noticed, a little while ago in the Middle East, that more was being asked of Europe, not just that Europe should pay but that it should bring its full political weight to bear, and this will also be the case in Kosovo and the Balkans. In the field of police and judicial cooperation, it is essential that the EU takes robust, coordinated measures to fight the globalisation of crime and terrorist threats.
The Treaty of Lisbon gives the EU the means to undertake far-reaching reforms to achieve this. Through being more intelligible and more united, the European Union will be able to assert itself as the world leader in the fight against global warming. It will also send clear messages to the emerging countries encouraging them to adopt a genuine sustainable development strategy."@en1
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