Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-10-21-Speech-3-079"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20091021.2.3-079"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, first of all, thank you very much for this lively and interesting debate. It is very clear that the sense of urgency about the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty is tangible in this House and in this debate. As you will understand, the Commission, like Parliament, is eagerly awaiting the entry into force of this new Treaty.
The Commission of course – and I say this in response to some of the questions raised during the debate – stands by its budget proposal. We hope that Parliament will also confirm our ambitions by your vote. As President Barroso said yesterday in the Question Hour, what has been done so far is not enough.
The employment situation is such that we all need to do more at European, but also at national, level. Unemployment is our first concern today and we hope that we can count on the European Parliament in continuing work on this, and also to put pressure on the Council, and at national level, to approve our proposal on easing the management of the structural funds, because that could definitely help.
Another issue raised concerned the administrative burden. This Thursday, the Commission will adopt a very far-reaching Communication on administrative burden reduction. That Communication will set out what has been achieved so far and what still remains to be done. It also builds on the important work done by the Stoiber Group. According to this particular report, the picture is very positive, and the proposal for how to deal with the administrative burden reduction is on the table. Unfortunately the majority of these proposals are pending before the Council, so again we hope that the European Parliament will help us to put pressure on the Member States to actually move forward on these issues.
I would also like to say something about financial market supervision which has, of course, regularly appeared on the Commission agenda over recent months. A complete new supervisory framework must be set up at EU level, and we are pleased to see that some progress has been achieved. There is broad agreement in the Council on the Commission proposal on the Systemic Risk Board for macro-prudential supervision. We hope Parliament will give its support to this. Much more effort is needed when it comes to the supervisory authorities for micro-prudential supervision and, again, we count on the will of both Council and Parliament to arrive at an ambitious and efficient solution as soon as possible.
Finally, let me say something about the topic which also features at the top of the Swedish Presidency’s agenda, namely climate change, because we only have a few weeks to go to the Copenhagen conference. I think several of you have touched upon what will be the core issue which will determine success or failure. I would call it climate justice, because this is about the relation between developing and developed countries and the will to present a credible proposal for the financing of both mitigation and adaptation measures and the way we also show our willingness to lead the way.
The Commission – and it is the only body to have done this – has presented a proposal for financing. It has been criticised by many as not being enough. I am sure it will not be enough, but it is the first step, and hopefully it will also make the others come up with their own efforts and put something on the table that we will be able to negotiate in Copenhagen. We will, of course, continue to be fully active and not lower our level of ambition, but instead encourage all other parties and partners to take a full part and take a seat at the table – including the United States, for the first time – so that we can respond to all the concerns of citizens.
I can assure you that we have no intention of lowering our ambitions, but instead will make sure that we work proactively for a good deal in Copenhagen.
We all know that the political process of approval has now been concluded in all Member States. It is, of course, for each Member State to finalise the ratification process and, in so doing, they have to respect their internal procedures, but it is also clear that no individual Member State acts in a vacuum. Their decisions or delays will have an impact on all.
We of course hope that the Czech Republic will very soon be in a position to ratify the Treaty. I would also like to remind everybody here about the loyal cooperation that is one of the principles and main features of the European Union. I think it is of crucial importance that Member States can trust each other on the commitments made.
May I also comment on the fact that many of the Members of Parliament here have made a distinction or a divide between reality – with unemployment and an economic crisis – on the one hand, and the text of the Lisbon Treaty on the other, but of course, the whole idea is that the text of the Lisbon Treaty is there to deal with the context and that we will be better equipped to take effective decisions on immigration or asylum policy, on energy security, etc. This is the whole idea, and we have to link them instead of dividing them, but we hope that we will very soon come to the end of this eternal debate on institutional issues and be able to use these new effective instruments.
The Commission is now working actively to prepare for implementation when the Treaty enters into force. I know that this afternoon, you will be devoting a specific debate to the External Action Service. This is therefore not the time to enter into a full discussion on that issue. But I would say that we are facing a real challenge here.
It is a challenge to draw together the different players in the field of external relations, and the overall aim has to be to achieve a diplomatic synergy. A certain degree of creative thinking is necessary while respecting the interinstitutional balance.
We also need the Service to be fully accountable to this House – to the European Parliament. I strongly believe that the setting-up of the External Action Service can be a success if Council, Parliament and the Commission work closely together. We must also respect the fact that it is for the High Representative and Vice-President of the Commission to make a proposal in agreement with the Commission.
On another important issue, the European Citizens’ Initiative, the Commission intends to launch a Green Paper in mid-November. We intend to hold a broad consultation with citizens, civil society and all stakeholders in order to launch the legislative proposals very soon after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.
The consequences of the economic and financial crisis will appear high up on the Council agenda. We heard this particular theme evoked often during the debate. I agree with those who said that there is no room for complacency. It is true that the policies in response to the crisis are starting to bear some fruit – financial markets are starting to consolidate and confidence is improving – but we are far from full recovery and the consequences of unemployment are, and will remain, very severe. Political efforts must also continue to support active labour market policies."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples