Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-18-Speech-3-053"
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"en.20080618.2.3-053"2
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"Mr President, there is no problem as regards respect for the Irish voters but we should have equal respect for the decisions made by 18 democratically elected national parliaments and, further, show equal respect for the remaining eight Member States, to allow them also freely to decide about the Reform Treaty. With all due respect for the Irish vote, the EU of 27 cannot be taken political hostage by the limited number of opponents to the Lisbon Treaty. There is no alternative to the EU reform. Yes, Europe can stop, but the world around us will not stop because of us, and the most dramatic casualty of this vote will be Europe’s solidarity: our common foreign and security policy and energy solidarity.
There is also an ethical dimension which we need to address. This referendum is a wake-up call for a credible commitment to our principal values. Our citizens may never become fully informed about the details of the Treaties, but they can always be trusted to differentiate between integrity and real commitment on the one hand and half-truths and
on the other. Instead of living from one national election to the next, instead of indulging in consumer democracy geared to getting more and more money from Europe, we need leaders who can make the appeal to our citizens: ‘First of all, what can you do for Europe?’ And believe me, if we have such leaders, we will find citizens who will support us."@en1
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