Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-10-21-Speech-2-446"
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"en.20081021.43.2-446"2
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".
Madam President, the seat of the European Parliament, where we find ourselves today, is viewed as a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation. That is the only reason why the European Parliament maintains two seats equipped to hold plenary sessions, namely in Brussels and in Strasbourg. European taxpayers pay several hundred million euros per year for this purpose.
Polish shipyards, particularly the Gdańsk shipyard, are a symbol of the struggle against the Communist government. They symbolise the fall of the Iron Curtain which had divided Europe in two. That is why the flagpoles which stand outside the European Parliament buildings, and which fly flags of the Member States, were made in the Gdańsk shipyards. It is thanks to the heroic actions of Polish shipyard workers, who fought for a re-united Europe, that today we are able to meet here together. These people deserve our respect, they deserve a dignified life and a decent living.
The closure of the shipyards, which is what the European Commission proposes, will involve the brutal dismissal of several thousand qualified workers, and in addition to this, a further eighty thousand people will lose their livelihoods. Such a move could result in mass economic migration. Polish shipyard workers do not want this to happen, they want to stay in their homeland and work in modern, profitable shipyards.
I therefore appeal to Commissioner Kroes – let us not destroy this great potential. Let us give Polish shipyards a chance to recover from financial ruin. Madam President, I am aware that the current Polish government, and the Treasury Minister in particular, made a lot of mistakes last year. However, tens of thousands of innocent people should not have to pay for Aleksander Grad’s incompetence. Especially now, at a time when Western European states are pumping tens of millions of euros into their banking systems, without a thought for the principles of free competition, a negative decision from the Commission would be interpreted in Poland as a sign of bad faith."@en1
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