Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-10-21-Speech-3-008"
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"en.20091021.2.3-008"2
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"Mr President, I broadly agree with the lines expressed by Cecilia Malmström on behalf of the European Council. Let me highlight two main issues: the Lisbon Treaty and all institutional matters on the one hand, and the fight against climate change and the prospects for Copenhagen, on the other.
First, Copenhagen must show that the drive to cut emissions is on its way; second, it must show that we are prepared to help those ready to take that step. This is the best way to make the case for the kind of active Europe that the Lisbon Treaty brings – driving ahead with an agenda that shows that the European Union brings concrete benefits for its citizens.
To have an ambitious agenda, we need to have an effective institutional framework, and I come back to my first point. The Lisbon Treaty is the first Treaty of the enlarged Europe. This generation, particularly among our friends in central and eastern Europe, remembers well when Europe was divided, but we are not here for ever. Institutions will last, so we need to have institutions for the enlarged Europe. The Lisbon Treaty is the Treaty for the Europe of the 21st century, with strong institutions which are able to deliver concrete results in the Europe of 27 and more members in the future. Institutions alone, however, are not enough. We need a strong political will to achieve our goals, and I hope that the European Council at the end of this month will show that will for a strong ambitious outcome at Copenhagen.
First of all, I think this European Council should be able to take the final decisions to see the Treaty of Lisbon pass into force. For many years, we have known that the ratification of a new Treaty is not an easy business. We have had many setbacks and some disappointments, but every time the overriding case for the Treaty has won through – the compelling case for a democratic and effective Europe. I am confident that this will continue to be the case in jumping this final hurdle to seeing the Treaty enter into force after the strong support given to the Lisbon Treaty by the people of Ireland.
After the conclusion of the ratification process in Poland, we can now say that all Member States have democratically approved the Lisbon Treaty. We only need to see the process of ratification completed in the Czech Republic. Of course, the constitutional procedures under way in the Czech Republic must be respected, so too must be the need to respond to the democratic will to see the Treaty enter into force. That democratic will was clearly shown by the Parliament of the Czech Republic, so I hope that no artificial obstacles and no artificial delays will now cause more difficulties before full ratification.
I have already set out to this Parliament the importance of minimising delays in the nomination of the European Commission. However, we must do all we can to have a Lisbon Treaty Commission as these are critical times for Europe. We need to be able to push ahead with an agenda this Parliament supported when it elected me President for a new term. To achieve this and to have the institutions working properly, we do need ratification of the Lisbon Treaty if we want a strong, coherent and effective European Union. So, I again make it clear that the European Council must assume its responsibilities and there must be a recognition of urgency and a realisation that there will be a real cost to Europe as long as the European institutions cannot work properly.
At the same time, it is right to push ahead now with the work on implementation and to be ready for the entry into force of the Treaty. I know that this Parliament is fully committed to this work. I am pleased to be cooperating with you to ensure that the benefits of the Treaty will come into play as quickly as possible. There are many areas in which this Parliament has already begun its work and has made a major contribution, crystallising ideas in areas like the European citizens’ initiative. I know that this afternoon, you will be debating Elmar Brok’s report on the European External Action Service. The report starts from exactly the right basis to ensure that the service, like the rest of the Treaty’s innovations, makes our Community system even stronger and better performing.
I know there have been concerns from the outset that the EAS will be some kind of intergovernmental body floating outside the European Union system, but the service should be firmly anchored in the European Union system. It should inevitably work very closely with all the institutions, the Commission first and foremost. The decisions it prepares will be taken by the Commission or by the Council in CFSP matters. In fact, I am convinced that its success will depend on this to ensure that the European Union’s external action is more than the sum of its institutional parts. If it can work with the democratic underpinning of this Parliament, the Council’s connection with national administrations and the Commission’s expertise and European vision, that service can truly become a powerful tool for the European Union to achieve its goals on the global stage. A
European external service, a service based on the Community method, will be a strong service for Europe and a strong tool for a united Europe projecting its influence in the world.
At the same time, the European Council must take forward an active policy agenda. It must maintain the momentum of our work to address the economic crisis, mainly its impact on unemployment. We must carry forward the work we agreed at the G20. We must do everything we can to see that the proposals made by the European Commission on financial supervision enter into force as soon as possible. We must push on with our programme to address energy security.
The most important issue in policy terms in the Council will be Copenhagen. A successful outcome at Copenhagen remains a primary concern for Europeans and a major task for the global community. There are less than 50 days to go to Copenhagen. Progress in the negotiations remains slow. It falls again to the European Union to show leadership and to keep up the momentum. The targets we have put on the table have provided an inspiration for others to step up their actions, but we all know that to galvanise real global action, we need to take a further step. We need to help developing countries with concrete ideas on finance, as the European Commission proposed last month. We estimate that by 2020, developing countries will need an additional EUR 100 billion or so a year. Domestic finance, namely from the large emerging economies – developing but emerging economies – and the carbon market should cover a large part of this, but large-scale international public finance should also be forthcoming, with the European Union paying its fair share.
The Copenhagen agenda is not just about climate change. This is, of course, the main target, but the climate is also a question of a development, and we should not forget that very important dimension. This will be a major commitment, especially at a time when public budgets are already under pressure, but we all know that the longer we wait, the higher the costs will be. The task for the European Council is again to find creative solutions, to show that the European Union is united behind the need to fight climate change."@en1
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