Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-12-Speech-3-074"
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".
I would like to thank all the Members of the European Parliament who took part in this very interesting, very dynamic and rich discussion, which will be useful in the final preparations for the European Council session tomorrow and the next day.
I would like to thank Mrs McGuinness for the information about voting day in Ireland. I wish them all the best. I hope the Irish voters will decide in favour of the European Union.
Regarding the other important set of topics, that is to say the climate and energy package, I would say the following: yes, Mr Watson, we are aware that it would be useful for governments – and not only governments but perhaps also European institutions and other important players – to set an example in achieving greater energy efficiency, reducing energy consumption, and the like. Maybe we will be able to reach an agreement and maybe not. The fact is that it would be useful because energy efficiency certainly is and will be an important element of the climate and energy package debated by the European Council.
Let me reiterate that we have initiating commitments from March last year, when Germany held the Presidency. We now have to implement them. We have quantified targets which we must reach by combined efforts. We must agree on how to share out those efforts. I have already said that it will not be possible to reach that agreement tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
However, we can agree on some basic principles of sharing these efforts among the Member States and on some limits regarding the time frame. I have said that we wish the agreement among the Member States to be reached before the end of the year and the joint decision with the European Parliament as soon as possible in 2009.
A few words about financial stability, which will be the third important topic of the European Council session. For this session of the European Council, ECOFIN has prepared an interim report on the situation on the financial markets, and I would like to say something more on that subject. The impression is being created that European organisations and institutions are standing idly by while the crisis rages out there in the financial markets.
I must stress that European organisations are not standing idly by. I would like to emphasise that they are taking action. At the debate on this topic yesterday, initiated by Mrs Berès, Commissioner Almunia responded by saying that before we act we must establish with certainty which measures are really necessary and which ones may cause even more damage.
ECOFIN will therefore continue to tackle this problem. After this European Council session, that is to say as early as April, an informal meeting of the ECOFIN Council is planned to take place in Slovenia. The central topic of this meeting will be the problem of financial stability. We expect the European Council to offer some concrete guidelines in this matter.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I will end by reiterating my conviction that the most important things in all this are cooperation and synergy, especially among the three key institutions of the European Union: the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council. The Slovenian Presidency will do its utmost to make that synergy as strong as possible.
Allow me to announce that the President of the Council will give a report to the Parliament on the European Council session this week.
We will try and take into account as many of the opinions and proposals put forward in this debate as possible. I would also like to try and answer at least some of the questions.
Firstly, I would like to repeat that the European Council session this week is devoted to three main issues: launching the new phase of the Lisbon Strategy, the energy and climate policy package and the financial stability problem. These are the three primary topics.
The Mediterranean Union is not among the primary topics. I would like to thank Mr Schulz for his question and make it clear that an in-depth debate on the Mediterranean Union has not been planned for this session of the European Council. However, the Presidency will respond to the wish expressed by a Member State and enable the proposal for a Mediterranean Union to be presented, probably during the dinner for the heads of state and government on Thursday evening, but we are not planning any special debates on the subject.
I will now turn my attention to the main topics, although I will first mention the Presidency’s opinion on a Mediterranean Union. I will remind you of the words of our Prime Minister and President of the European Council, Mr Janez Janša, in this assembly on 16 January: ‘We wish to strengthen institutions and processes such as the Barcelona process and Euromed, but we do not need duplication or institutions that would be competing with EU institutions and would only cover part of the European Union and neighbouring countries. The EU is a total entity and only as a whole will it be effective in establishing peace, stability and progress in its neighbourhood and beyond.’ This is the position of the Presidency and I believe it will be taken into consideration in the future.
Now a brief word about the main topics. The Lisbon Strategy: several opinions expressed the need for a change in the structure, mechanisms or integral guidelines of the Lisbon Strategy. However, I would like to emphasise here that both the European Council and the Commission are of the opinion that the Lisbon Strategy is effective. The Council and the Commission agree that the Lisbon Strategy is producing results. They agree that the real economy in the European Union is in relatively good shape compared with some other global players.
Therefore, our view is that the mechanisms, existing structures and guidelines of the Lisbon Strategy should be preserved and that attention should be paid to its implementation. It is a fact that circumstances change and that our measures should be adapted appropriately, but those adaptations may be made by changing the text accompanying the guidelines, which has actually been done.
I would like to say a few additional words about the social dimension. It is one of the key dimensions of the Lisbon Strategy. The Council is very aware of that and I fully expect it to express this in the conclusions of the European Council session. There cannot be any doubt about that.
It has been said that the Treaty of Lisbon, if and when ratified, will change the balance between social and other dimensions. I am convinced that that is not true. The European social model will not in any way be damaged by implementation of the new Lisbon Treaty – on the contrary."@en1
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