Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-12-Speech-3-012"
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"en.20080312.3.3-012"2
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"Mr President, this week’s Council takes place somewhere along the road between despair and hope. Although the major difficulties seem to be overcome, the Lisbon Treaty is not yet ratified, and questions linger over some of its provisions. Uncertainties abound about the political direction of Russia, Turkey and some of our neighbours in the Middle and Near East. Economic growth is slowing, haunted by the impact on GDP of past banking-sector crises in Sweden or Finland or Hungary or Spain, to say nothing of Argentina or Japan. It makes concerted action by our central banks this morning all the more welcome.
Beyond these considerations, the major global challenges of population growth and migration, of international crime and terrorism, of climate change and energy security continue to weigh on the minds of our policy makers. The urgent implementation of the Commission’s proposals to tackle climate change is incumbent on the Member States and on this House. The contours of the challenge are wide.
The report from the High Representative on the impact of climate change on security and stability shows us that there is a real and immediate concern, with the danger of military implications, including the use – sometimes discussed – of NATO as an instrument of energy security. Yet, blinded by short-term economic thinking, some of our Member States are already busy trying to limit their commitments to the Commission’s proposals on climate change. Look at the draft Council conclusions – paragraph 18 – and see some of the weasel words that have been inserted.
These twin dangers carry the threat of a retreat into a Fortress Europe. It is only by increasing internal solidarity that we can avoid the trap that Member States fall into, such as choosing South Stream over Nabucco. It is only by extending solidarity beyond our shores that we can enjoy peace around the Mediterranean, that
or around the Caspian Sea. Einstein was right when he said that peace cannot be kept by force, it can only be achieved by understanding.
We also need to lead by example. I hope that in the Council conclusions we will see a commitment by national governments and the European Union to cut energy use in our own government and institutional buildings and in our car fleets, with binding targets to achieve that.
There have been stern warnings from the IPCC and others of the cost of inaction. We must act and we can because, despite the strong headwinds, the economic fundamentals of the euro area economy are strong, as the President of the Commission says, with domestic demand and exports continuing to grow – a sign that the Lisbon Strategy is working and must be pursued.
We hear what people are saying in this House. Mr Wurtz’s group was leading a protest about the threat to 12 000 jobs at Unilever. Mr Schulz wrote a letter to 27 Heads of State and Government calling for a change in economic direction, binding social standards and greater social protection. Yet these actions ignore the reality of what is happening in the global economy where, as more and more countries have opened their economies, the global ratio of trade to GDP has grown faster than total output. Half of our income now comes from trade and even developing countries now account for a third of world trade. The integration of the world economy is proving that it is not a zero-sum game. While Europe’s share of that economy may be shrinking, the overall growth means that we continue to create jobs and wealth. That is why we have created 6.5 million new jobs in the last two years. My group has long argued this and we are pleased that it has been recognised by Mr Jacques Delors and Mr Poul Nyrup Rasmussen in the manifesto that they drafted for the PSE Group, which was adopted in Oporto some 15 months ago.
Mr Schulz, if there is an ostrich in this room, it is not to be found in seat 21 [Mr Barroso’s seat]; it is to be found in seat 6 [Mr Schulz’s seat]. I think that explains why the PSE Group has lost its former role as the motor of this institution.
The European Council must show more urgency in achieving its research and development targets. It must boost the market for venture capital and the mobility of researchers to foster innovation. It must improve transparency and supervision in the banking sector to ward off danger. Mr Lenarčič, you must pay attention to social cohesion and environmental stability but you must do so secure in the knowledge that markets are the most powerful tool we have to improve living standards."@en1
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