Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-01-14-Speech-3-020"
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"en.20090114.3.3-020"2
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"Mr President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud of the dexterity and capacity for action demonstrated by the Czech Presidency over the issue of gas supplies to EU countries. And I would be delighted if the President-in-Office of the Council, Mirek Topolánek, in the talks on the future of the EU, that is, on the Treaty of Lisbon, could show the same determination as we witnessed in the gas negotiations with Vladimir Putin and Yulia Tymoshenko.
The ambition of the President-in-Office of the Council should be to play the role of a group leader, not just a maintenance man. Mr President-in-Office of the Council, you have a unique chance to demonstrate that all states, regardless of size, are equal partners in the European Union. If you can keep your nerve, Mr Topolánek, you will go down in history.
You have been given the opportunity and the power to declare publicly that the Treaty of Lisbon is dead in the wake of the Irish referendum and that it has led us up a blind alley. You are in a position to propose the creation of a new visionary document which will constitute a true common denominator of the interests of individual EU members and which will win the support of citizens in referendums. There is no need to promote blindly the Treaty of Lisbon, which reinforces the undemocratic power of officials while papering over the failure of the European elite to reach agreement and, in particular, their reluctance to be held accountable to citizens.
Mr Topolánek, you represent here a country which, in the last century, succeeded in breaking free from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which survived the treachery of Munich, and which withstood the horrors of Nazism. You represent a country where people took a stand against the invasion by Warsaw Pact troops. You represent a country which spent 40 years under the thumb of the Soviet Union, which spiralled down inevitably into planned poverty under the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, and which shook off a totalitarian regime without shedding blood.
I refuse to believe that as prime minister of a country with such historical experience, you would want decisions on social policy, energy, taxes, justice and security to be taken anywhere other than in the individual Member States. I do not believe that you actually want the exclusive powers of the Union to overrule the powers of Member States. I do not believe that you want the Union to intervene in the protection and improvement of human health, industry, culture, tourism, education or sport. I do not believe that you welcome the fact that, in more than fifty areas, the Treaty of Lisbon abolishes the right of national veto and lowers the voting weight of smaller countries, including the Czech Republic.
Mr President-in-Office of the Council and Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, have the courage to tell the other 26 Heads of State what you say in private at home. Say that the Treaty of Lisbon is no good and that you reject it. Do this in the name of democracy and freedom. This will not earn you the applause of the so-called ‘European elite’, Commission officials, or even the majority of this Parliament. But what you will earn is the admiration and respect of citizens, who are easily forgotten here, and you will boost your prestige in your own country. You are presiding over 450 million citizens, not just a few politicians and officials.
In the Czech Republic, you often refer to the Treaty of Lisbon as a necessary evil. Yet what makes the evil necessary? Stop persuading yourself that the Treaty of Lisbon is a necessary evil. It is simply evil, and you can change it. Initiate work on a new document, refer to the Rome Treaties and the Messina Declaration for inspiration, and promote the common interest of the European Union. That is, freedom, prosperity, competitiveness and security, not euro-health, euro-taxes, euro-parks and euro-beer.
Mr Topolánek, necessary evil is a coward’s alibi. You are no coward, or at least I hope you are not. You are backed up by the Irish referendum, you are supported by the 55% of Czech citizens who are opposed to the Treaty of Lisbon, and you can rely on the powerful voice of the Czech President, Václav Klaus. I am sure you know that the greatest cowardice is knowing what should be done and not doing it."@en1
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