Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-02-20-Speech-3-059"
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"en.20080220.3.3-059"2
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"I congratulate the rapporteurs Mr Corbett and Mr Méndez de Vigo on their excellent work and the good example of cooperation. The Portuguese Presidency had the historic mission of turning a mandate into a Treaty, the Treaty of Lisbon, which is to be ratified by the Portuguese Parliament next April. The new Treaty is not the remedy for all the European Union’s ills, but it represents added value for democracy. The powers of the European Parliament are enhanced, as are the powers of the national parliaments, but participatory democracy is also enhanced – specifically by means of the citizens’ initiative which enables one million citizens to ask the Commission to launch a legislative initiative in a specific field; in addition the Charter of Fundamental Rights is now legally binding.
The European Union is not perfect, but it is irreplaceable in its world role. We need a Europe which is more involved and influential in solving world problems, such as climate change, food security, energy policy, international terrorism, organised crime, immigration, etc. There is now an urgent need for each of the 27 Member States which signed the Treaty of Lisbon on 13 December 2007 to proceed to ratify the Treaty. That is a decisive stage in our achieving a Europe which is more efficient in decision-making, closer to citizens, better able to respond to the challenges of globalisation and more effective in external relations. Let each and every one of us assume our responsibilities because the world does not stop.
Whilst Europe was spinning out its pause for reflection and wasting energy looking for a way out of its institutional problems, the emerging economies were continuing to grow, armed conflicts were spreading, climate change was becoming obvious, energy problems were becoming more acute and many people were dying for lack of food and medical assistance. Notwithstanding ultranationalist opinions and euroscepticism, Europe cannot stop – and it is not going to stop."@en1
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