Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-08-Speech-2-311"
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"en.20080708.35.2-311"2
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"Mr President, I should like to say a few words on our joint enterprise – the SET Plan.
We all know that on energy and climate change we face an enormous challenge. It is perhaps the defining challenge of the 21st century. Let us be under no illusions that it will be easy. The targets we have set for Europe for 2020 are an important milestone, but they are no more than that. A much more profound change is needed in the longer term: a complete overhaul of the energy systems that have delivered our current prosperity and wealth.
To fulfil our promises we will need new knowledge and new tools. These will be delivered by research and innovation in energy technologies. That is why the SET Plan is so important for Europe. We need to snap out of the lethargy that has characterised energy innovation in recent decades. We have to invest more and better. We need a new mind-set in the way we work together in Europe to develop and deploy such technologies.
I very much welcome Parliament’s report on the SET Plan. It shows that there is a solid consensus at EU level for effective action in this area. Of course, we do not all agree on which technologies we need but, as we know, it is up to each Member State to decide on its preferences on the basis of their preferred energy mix, indigenous resource base and exploitation potential.
But more important than what we disagree on, for me, is what we all agree on. We agree on the crucial importance of energy savings and energy efficiency.
We agree that the capacity of the European research base has to be enlarged, strengthened and freed up to work in a much more dynamic and transnational manner. We agree on the need for more resources, public and private. And we agree on the need for enhanced international cooperation to face a global challenge.
You know my ambitions for the EU research policy and the development of the European Research Area.
The SET Plan and the development of our research policy go hand in hand. I see it as a pioneer in many respects, including ERA initiatives such as joint programming. I believe that the SET Plan will start a process that will act as a model for the organisation of research and innovation activities within Europe, a process that will change the way we do research in Europe and one that will ultimately change Europe.
Last week I was present at the annual meeting of the DFG – the German Research Council. Their President, Matthias Kleiner, said something memorable: A vision without action is a daydream; action without a vision is a nightmare. There is probably no better example of how true that statement is than the SET Plan we are discussing today. We need a clear vision and we have to act urgently."@en1
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