Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-05-Speech-4-010"
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"en.20080605.2.4-010"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, my Group awaited today's statement by Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner with great interest. I should like to thank her again and say that the Commission's communication, adopted on 20 May, made very interesting reading.
We applaud President Sarkozy for having started the ball rolling, for having aroused the interest of the European Council and for having prompted a renewal of our Mediterranean policy, which my Group supports and hopes will prove tangible and rapid.
We know how difficult it is to pursue the ambitious goals of the Barcelona Process. On the one hand there is the unresolved Middle East conflict and tension in the Western Sahara. There is also the gap that sometimes separates us from the democratic, economic and social models of our partner countries, hampering attainment of the goals we have set ourselves. All of this is serious and makes matters difficult, but should not constitute a pretext to justify delays or changes of mind. We believe that President Sarkozy's political initiative and the backing provided by the European Commission go in the right direction, namely that of lending substance and reality to our political aspirations.
To this end the Commission has identified four projects, recalled by our Commissioner this morning, in addition to the activities already planned: motorways of the seas, depollution of the Mediterranean, environmental management, civil protection cooperation to tackle natural disasters and, lastly, a solar energy programme for the Mediterranean. Each of these projects is important, and rather than dwelling on them now we shall do so once the Commission has provided more details.
These are projects which, if carried out, will act as an incredibly important driving force, both to give the Barcelona Process a new lease of life and to complement measures already under way but not yet completed. I would recall the free trade area planned for 2010: we should like to know more about this, Commissioner, as well as about the state of play on the objectives set out in the association agreements and other ongoing projects.
To conclude, as concerns tangible projects to be completed within a reasonable time frame, I would also recall that, as well as the infrastructure of the seas and the North-South link, fresh impetus is also needed for a South-South motorway corridor connecting the countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean; this system must in addition be interconnected with Europe. Lastly, there needs to be a loan scheme providing help on issues such as water and infrastructure in the Middle East.
Finally, I wish to draw the attention of the Council and the Commission to two issues. The first concerns the administration and operation of the Euro-Mediterranean Assembly. The European Union has also made major commitments in the Middle East, and we expect these commitments to be followed up with political action. Can the Council tell us what real, practical prospects there are of such action?"@en1
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