Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-24-Speech-2-331"
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"Mr President, for this special honour of an invitation to speak to you, and for your successful Presidency of the Parliament, let me thank you. Let me thank you, European parliamentarians and members of the European Commission, led by President Barroso: it is thanks to the work of all of you, and the generations whose work we build on, that today we enjoy a Europe of peace and unity, which will truly rank among the finest achievements of human history and which is today a beacon of hope for the whole world.
That is why I am also proud that by a large majority our British Parliament ratified the Lisbon Treaty.
I believe that we in Europe are uniquely placed to lead the world in meeting the wholly new and momentous challenges of globalisation ahead. We are uniquely placed because of what we have achieved in our Union. I want to thank the Members of this European Parliament. You should all be proud of what together we have achieved – the greatest and biggest single market in the world, now bringing opportunities to 500 million people, and the most successful endeavour in economic cooperation anywhere in the world. You should be proud that this is an achievement of the European Union.
You should be proud, too, of the comprehensive framework of environmental protection that we are building – a defining achievement of European coordination, with this continent the first in the world to set itself unequivocally on the path to becoming a low-carbon economy.
You should be proud, too, that, through the world’s biggest programme of aid, the most sustained commitment to saving and changing lives anywhere in the world has been made by this European Union.
So many of the consumer rights and workplace rights we all enjoy across Europe have resulted from the campaigns led by individual Members and groupings of this House.
Let us not forget that the European Union has the most comprehensive social protection anywhere in the world – a set of rights and responsibilities that was enhanced for the people of Britain when, I am proud to say, our Government led Britain into the Social Chapter.
Mr President, these successes of Europe would have been impossible without the cooperation between peoples that you and this Parliament have delivered. Yes, we can see unity advanced by officials meeting officials across frontiers. Yes, we see unity when leaders meet leaders. But the unity that will last is the democratic unity rooted in the common values of people now represented in this Parliament, and more than treaties, more than institutions, more than individuals, it is these defining values that bind us closely together – our belief, as a European Union, that liberty, economic progress and social justice advance together or not at all.
These are the values rooted in the lessons we have learned by working together – the truth that freedom must never become a free-for-all, that markets should be free but never values-free, and the belief that being fair is more important than laissez-faire.
We have learned again in this crisis that wealth is of no great value to society unless it serves more than the wealthy. Riches are of value only when they enrich not just some communities, but all.
This is not simply our political philosophy – in Europe we believe these truths because we have lived them in the work we have done in our countries.
Now, in the midst of a global crisis of a speed, scope and scale quite unprecedented in history, I want to discuss with you how, by applying these values that are now part of our DNA – these lessons we have learned over time in Europe – Europe and the world can rise to the four great challenges of globalisation: financial instability in a world of instant global capital flows; environmental degradation in a world of energy shortages; extremism and the threat it brings to security in a world of unprecedented mobility; and growing poverty in a world of worsening inequality.
I want to discuss too how, with a global economy managed properly by us working together, billions of people in Asia and elsewhere, many of whom are just producers of
goods, can become tomorrow’s consumers of
goods, how we can see over the next twenty years the biggest expansion of middle class jobs and incomes ever seen, and how, despite all the problems we have today, we can see ahead a world economy that will double in size, creating new opportunities for all of us in all our countries.
I want to discuss how we can build, from a world which today looks unsustainable, unsafe and unequal, a truly global society which is sustainable for all, secure for all and fair to all.
Let me repeat: I believe that the European Union is uniquely placed to lead in building this future, precisely because we have proved over the last 60 years that we as Europe can meet and master the challenges of cooperation across borders, of coordination between peoples, and of building unity out of diversity.
Some of you will know that for many years I have advanced the case for a global Europe, and for the economic reforms to make it happen. I know that some critics suggested that I was supporting global action more because I supported European action less. But I have made this case so strongly in recent years precisely because I passionately want Europe to be leading on the world stage, and because I believe that the countries of Europe, having come together around values of liberty, fairness and responsibility, have so much to offer the world as it, too, comes together.
I want to see a globalisation that is open, free-trading and flexible, but which is also reforming, inclusive and sustainable. That is the message, at these most testing of economic times, that Europe can send to, and share with, the rest of the world.
Today, as you know, an international hurricane is sweeping the world. No European country is immune from its impact. It is hitting every business, every worker, every homeowner and every family too.
Let us be honest with each other: our global economic system has developed and become distorted in ways that run contrary to the values that we celebrate and uphold in our families, in our communities and in every other part of our lives – values such as being fair to others and taking responsibility, honouring hard work and not rewarding irresponsible excess.
And if anyone, in any country or continent, is in any doubt about how the human will and the courage of representatives with a mission can build a new future out of past decades of despair, let them simply reflect upon how, 60 years ago, Europeans talked of enmities that were forever entrenched and relationships that could never be repaired. They talked of a hard, long and bitter Cold War. They did not believe it possible that our Europe could ever be fully at peace, far less that it could unite and cooperate.
Complex products like banking derivatives, which were supposed to disperse risk around the world, have instead spread contagion. No longer can we allow risk to be transferred around the world without responsibility. I say that every part of what has been a shadow banking system must now come under the supervisory net.
Established limits to markets agreed in one country or region are being overtaken by global competition between all countries. I say that it is not enough to promote self-regulation and allow a race to the bottom: we have to agree international standards of transparency, disclosure and – yes – of remuneration too.
Just as globalisation has been crossing national boundaries, we know it has been crossing moral boundaries too. As we have discovered to our cost, the problem of unbridled free markets in an unsupervised marketplace is that they can reduce all relationships to transactions, all motivations to self-interest, all sense of value to consumer choice and all sense of worth to a price tag.
Yet a good society and a good economy need a strong sense of values. Not values that spring from the market, but values we bring to the market; the solid virtues of honesty, responsibility, fairness and valuing hard work – virtues that come not from markets, but actually come from the heart.
So starting at our debate today, as we prepare for the London Summit next week, I propose that we, as Europe, take a central role in replacing what was once called the Washington Consensus with a new and principled economic consensus for our times.
Faced with all these global problems, we cannot stand where we are. We have to act. Of course, we have a choice, and I know the temptation for some is to meet this new insecurity by retreating – to try to feel safe by attempting to pull up the drawbridge and to turn the clock back. But I tell you that if there is anything we know from past history, it is that protectionism is the politics of defeatism, the politics of retreat and the politics of fear, and that, in the end, it protects no one at all.
Instead of heading for the rocks of isolation, let us together chart the course of cooperation. That is in all our national interests. That is why I propose that Europe take the lead in a bold plan to ensure that every continent now makes the changes in its banking system that will open the path to shared prosperity, that every country participate and cooperate in setting global standards for financial regulation, and that every continent inject the resources needed to secure economic growth and jobs.
Then let them think of how today, after years of cooperation and unity, none but those on the political extremes would question that we are stronger together and safer together than ever we were apart.
What is the agenda? First, the market is there to serve us; we are not here to serve the market. That is why we in Britain, other countries in Europe and, yesterday, America, have removed uncertainty from the banking sector in order to get lending moving again for those people who need it to get on with their ordinary lives in the midst of extraordinary times. I believe that the common principles behind the US, the UK and the European plans for cleaning up the banks’ balances sheets will help to rebuild confidence and help to restore lending to the wider economy.
For the first time ever across our world, we have a consensus, reflected in the de Larosière report, the G30 report of Paul Volcker, the Turner report in the UK and the financial stability reform, that, in the interests of protecting people’s savings, tough regulatory standards should be set across Europe and across the world, and be implemented and fully monitored, not just in one country, but in every continent of the world.
I believe that, for the first time, we can also agree the big changes necessary for coordinated action that will signal the beginning of the end of offshore tax havens and offshore centres.
Let us say together that our regulations should apply to every bank, everywhere, at every time, with no opt-out for a shadow banking system, and no hiding place in any part of the world for tax avoiders who are refusing to pay their fair share.
We know also that a worldwide fiscal and monetary stimulus to our economy can be twice as effective in every country if it is adopted by all countries. I believe that this year we are seeing the biggest cuts in interest rates the world has ever seen, and we are seeing implemented the biggest fiscal stimulus the world has ever agreed.
I am confident that the London Summit can build on the action that the European Council and the G20 Finance Ministers agreed a few days ago. We will do whatever it takes to create the jobs and the growth we need. I believe that the whole of Europe will agree with President Obama in saying that our actions should be sustained and robust until recovery is achieved.
We also have a responsibility to the unemployed. I believe that no one should go unemployed for months without the offer of training, a job or help to obtain a job, and that no school-leaver should be out of school and out of work for long without being offered the chance to get the skills they need for the future.
I believe also that in this crisis we must take urgent, serious and large-scale action to build a low-carbon recovery and make our economies sustainable. Europe led the Industrial Revolution and now it can lead a low-carbon revolution – through investment in energy efficiency, the expansion of renewables and nuclear power, the demonstration of carbon capture and storage, the development of the smart grid, and the commercialisation of electric and ultra-low-carbon vehicles. That is why I am proud to be part of the European 2020 package on energy and climate change that we agreed in December 2008 – a decision of this Parliament also which has set the highest standards for global leadership on the road to a climate change agreement we all want to see at Copenhagen later this year.
What we are now experiencing in some of the countries of eastern and central Europe demonstrates why we must build anew the international economic cooperation to help countries whenever they are in times of need.
A new, reformed, International Monetary Fund, in which we welcome greater representation from the emerging economies, and which must have at least USD 500 billion in resources – twice what it has today – must be empowered to help countries that are facing a flight of capital, help them assist restructuring the capacity of their banks and enable them to restore lending to their industries. I want an International Monetary Fund that does not just react to crises, but prevents crises, and I want a World Bank that has the resources to prevent poverty and to facilitate, amidst the collapse of trade credits, the expansion of trade around the world.
As we remember and celebrate that our European Union and this Parliament have so successfully expanded to welcome new members of our family, I say to EU Member States from eastern Europe now that we will not walk away from you at any time of need. We will do all that we can to be on your side.
Let us not forget either that, for hundreds of millions of people in the poorest countries, thrust into extreme poverty, this crisis is nothing less than a matter of life and death. The grim truth is that, because banks can fail and markets and trade collapse, half a million extra children – ten and a half million children in all – will die this year because they are literally too poor to live. Ten and a half million children is not just a statistic. It is one child, then a second child, then a third child, then a fourth; each of them not just a child, but somebody’s child; each a funeral that should never have happened; each a life that could be saved – a tragedy, I believe, that strikes at the very soul of my being and yours.
Times that are difficult for us must never become the excuse for turning our backs on the poorest of the world or allowing broken banks to lead to and justify there being broken promises on aid. Instead of allowing our European aid pledges to drift towards being mere intentions, then vague aspirations, and, eventually, tragically quiet betrayals, we should instead redouble our efforts to make sure that ours is the generation that finally does make poverty history.
We can, together, deliver the biggest fiscal stimulus, the biggest cut in interest rates, the biggest reform in our international financial system, the first international principles governing banking remuneration and banking standards, the first comprehensive action around the world against tax havens and, for the first time in a world crisis, new and additional help to the poor.
How do we build this global consensus for the global changes we need? Let me say that one of the great opportunities ahead for us is for Europe and every other continent to work together. Today I want to emphasise also that Europe and America can work more closely together.
On 9 November this year, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of something that surely for each of us in this Chamber must count as one of the most defining events of our lives – the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was a wall torn down by the resolution of people determined that no barrier, no intimidation, no repression, would ever again be allowed to divide the people of Europe.
I talked to President Obama yesterday about what I want to talk to you about today: a new era of heightened cooperation between Europe and America. Never in recent years have we had an American leadership so keen to cooperate at all levels with Europe on financial stability, climate change, security and development. Seldom has such cooperation been so obviously of benefit to the whole world.
Starting with the EU-US Summit a few days from now, when President Obama comes to Prague, we can transform that summit from just an annual meeting into an unstoppable progressive partnership to secure the global change that the world now needs.
Think of all the advances we – Europe and America – in a new era of transatlantic cooperation, can work together to achieve. Let us work together for a new worldwide climate change agreement – a climate change agreement initiated at the G8 in 2005 by Chancellor Merkel – for the biggest cuts in carbon emissions the world has ever seen. Let us work together, Europe and America, to defeat the growing threat of terrorism from Pakistan and Afghanistan that can strike any of our countries’ streets at any time.
With France under the leadership of President Sarkozy joining the centre of NATO again, let Europe and America work together to achieve something that was once a dream but is now, in my view, possible: a world where nuclear weapons do not proliferate and where the nuclear powers agree real reductions in their arsenals of nuclear weapons.
Let us work together also for an urgent imperative all of us want to see in our lifetimes and something that all parties in this Parliament, I believe, crave: peace in the Middle East, with a secure Israel side by side with a viable Palestinian state.
But the most immediate and the most urgently-needed gift our European and American cooperation could give is that, as a result of our actions, there will be more jobs, more businesses and more trade, as together we meet and master these great financial challenges of our time.
There is a quote from one of the most famous Europeans of all, Michelangelo, that it is better to aim too high and fall short, than to aim too low and succeed. That is the choice, written by Michelangelo, that we face now, because, as I look round this Chamber today, I see that all of us here are not just witnesses and not just spectators, but potentially the makers of change, free to shape our own destiny.
The people of Europe need not be mastered by events. No matter what they are, we can be master of them. So let it be said of us that, in the worst of times, in the deepest of downturns, we kept to our faith in the future and together we reshaped and renewed the world order for our times.
Friends, today there is no old Europe, no new Europe, no East or West Europe. There is only one Europe, and it is our home Europe.
I believe that only once the history books have been written will we be able to truly grasp the range and scale of the extraordinary challenges each country on every continent is having to deal with as a result of globalisation now. This is more than a moment of change in our common history. This is a world of change, and we should remind ourselves that the most epoch-making decades in European history have never been fully understood as they have happened.
If you look back to the Renaissance, one of the greatest ages the world has ever seen, we cannot attribute its impact on the world to a single date or person or breakthrough. Or the Enlightenment – we cannot say with certainty when or by whom or how it was launched, merely that today’s Europe and today’s world could not exist without it. When we look back at the Industrial Revolution, we cannot point to the day the whistle blew and it began, or highlight just one inventor or entrepreneur or a management committee that oversaw it. We can only say today, of events that were not properly understood at the time, that we are all beneficiaries of them.
In this generation we face a world of change not yet fully understood, in which we can either hasten or delay progress by the myriad of decisions that we take every day. I say, in this world of amazing change – climate change, environmental demands, energy needs, the risk of terror, poverty and inequality that has to be tackled, a financial crisis that has to be dealt with – let us not retreat into the protectionism that is the road to ruin.
Let this be our legacy: that we foresaw and then shaped a truly global society for our new times; that, instead of globalisation being a force for injustice and inequality, we made globalisation a force for justice on a global scale; and that, faced with the most difficult of challenges, a united Europe, founded on shared ideals and based on shared values, helped build this world anew.
I stand here proud to be British and proud to be European, representing a country that does not see itself as an island adrift from Europe but as a country at the centre of Europe – not in Europe’s slipstream but in Europe’s mainstream."@en1
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