Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-12-16-Speech-2-264"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20081216.31.2-264"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to thank the President for a successful French Presidency. I refer to its success in the international arena, having in mind the crisis in Georgia, and to its success concerning issues of importance to the ordinary citizen. On a personal level, I am delighted that the French Presidency finalised the work on the regulation concerning cross-border maintenance payments in the European Union. I myself have worked long and hard on this regulation. I am therefore delighted that, pursuant to Council approval, we will at last be able to ensure proper financial support for those children who seem to have been simply forgotten by one of their parents, when that parent is resident abroad.
On the other hand, as a member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, I am concerned about the concessions and institutional promises made to Ireland, which represent a return to the principle of one Commissioner per country. It is anticipated that the European Union will enlarge further to include 30 or more Member States. An equally large number of Commissioners would result in further bureaucratisation of the work of the European Commission. The competences of the Commissioners appointed would be subdivided. The Commission itself would become more expensive, less effective and more difficult to manage. I also hope that the debate preceding a further referendum in Ireland will be conducted in the spirit of European solidarity, taking account of the substantive content of the Treaty of Lisbon, clearly explained, with institutional changes included. These matters are important both for the citizens of Ireland and also for the functioning of the entire European Union."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples