Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-11-11-Speech-3-035"
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"Mr President, it is my pleasure to be back here again and to report to you on the results of what proved to be a very complicated and challenging European Council meeting.
Last week’s meeting was also about the economic and financial situation. Although there are signs of improvement in the world economy, the European Council stressed that there is no room for complacency. Next year, all but one of the Member States risk exceeding the 3% deficit ceiling, and our collective GDP has shrunk by 4.7% since the beginning of 2008. Both of these are strong reasons why we should not withdraw supporting measures until we have secured our recovery. In the meantime, we need to reinforce confidence and continue work on our exit strategies.
At the European Council, we made significant progress on strengthening financial supervision. We reached broad agreement on the establishment of a European Systemic Risk Board.
The Presidency will now begin to discuss the proposals with this Parliament. We want to reach agreement on a package for a new supervisory structure. We want to make sure that we do not suffer a repeat of the financial crisis we have just experienced.
With all this in place and on its way, we must focus on safeguarding jobs. Over five million Europeans have already lost their jobs, and far too many will still face unemployment. It is up to us to change this trend.
When I presented the priorities of the Swedish Presidency to you on 15 July, I said that the EU must emerge strengthened from the crisis. I told you that handling the economic and financial crisis was one of our most important tasks. It still is. For this reason, we intend to return to these important issues at the European Council meeting in December.
Another important outcome of this meeting was the adoption of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region – a strategy that is based on an initiative from this Parliament. Our ambition with the strategy is to address the urgent environmental challenges related to the Baltic Sea, and to contribute to the economic success of the region. I am convinced that this initiative will also have a positive effect on other parts of Europe, pulling regions together and making a positive contribution to the competitiveness of the EU as a whole.
We also discussed justice and home affairs. We welcomed the progress made in implementing measures concerning illegal migration in the Mediterranean, and we called for work in a number of specific areas.
I know that you also want to discuss institutional matters this afternoon. They were, of course, an important element of the discussions.
Indeed, one of the key issues was to ensure the rapid entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, which is crucial if we want to be able to confront the challenges that lie ahead together.
The consultations were many and they were very complicated, but in the end, we managed to gain acceptance for the request made by the Czech Republic.
Let me explain the situation on the eve of the European Council. We were in constant contact with Prague and other capitals. How would we solve the Czech request regarding the Charter of Fundamental Rights? There were many different views, and there were calls for various exemptions and special considerations from several other Member States.
With this agreement in place, President Václav Klaus was prepared to sign the treaty, and – as you all noted – he finally did so a week ago. The final instrument of ratification is now being deposited by the Czech Republic with the Italian authorities. This means that the Lisbon Treaty will enter into force on 1 December. I know that the vast majority of you here today share my satisfaction and relief that finally, this long chapter of preparations for institutional reform is coming to an end.
The European Council also assessed other treaty preparations. It agreed on guidelines for the European External Action Service and it invited the future High Representative to present a proposal for the organisation and running of the Service.
Now to the question of names. We need to fill the positions created by the Lisbon Treaty. We need, together with you, to appoint a new Commission. I plan to convene a meeting of Heads of States or Government on 19 November in order to nominate the President of the European Council, the High Representative and the Secretary-General of the Council.
Let me stress that the nomination of the High Representative will have to take place before the new Commission is appointed, and that this should be preceded by appropriate contacts with this Parliament. As you know, since this person will also be Vice-President of the next Commission, he or she will also be subject to the Parliament’s vote of approval.
I will not speculate on who these persons will be, but I would like to say that it is not just the name that is important, but also what they will be doing and how they will do it.
Last week’s European Council enabled us to make significant progress, not just on one key issue, but on several issues that are vital for the future of Europe and vital for the future of our planet.
I am grateful to my colleagues for their constructive attitude towards the challenges we face together. Nevertheless, you and I know that much remains to be done. I can promise you that the coming weeks will be very busy. I look forward to continuing our close cooperation with this Parliament on many of the important issues.
The Copenhagen meeting is actually now only 25 days away. The economic crisis is far from over, but we have a solid mandate going into the climate negotiations. We are determined to continue to work together to generate new sources of growth and higher employment.
I am grateful for the continuing support from this Parliament. I look forward to responding to your comments.
In contrast, we got a clearer message on climate change – the other main subject for the meeting. The message from a number of Member States was that they were not ready to commit to figures on climate financing, i.e. how to finance adaptation and mitigation efforts in developing countries.
Given these circumstances, I am satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. Let me point out the highlights.
Our objective at the European Council was – as December’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen approaches – to continue to lead the way on climate change. Let there be no illusions. The negotiations were both lengthy and difficult, but in the end, our discussions led to an endorsement by the European Council of the Commission’s estimate of EUR 100 billion annually by 2020, and it estimated that the level of international public support should lie in the range of EUR 22 billion to EUR 50 billion by the same year.
The year 2020 is only 10 years away. We need to act quicker than that, and so the Council noted that, in addition to this, we need global financing of EUR 5 billion each year from 2010 to 2012.
A final figure will be determined in the light of the Copenhagen conference. The EU and the Member States are ready to contribute their fair share, if other key players make comparable efforts. I am very pleased that at this European Council, we were able to reach agreement on a strong mandate on this.
A few days ago, I returned from talks with Prime Minister Singh at the EU-India Summit in New Delhi, and earlier last week, I held talks with President Obama at the EU-US Summit in Washington.
Thanks to the agreement at the European Council, the EU was able to negotiate from a very strong position. Our unity gave us the credibility to encourage others. We were able to present our commitments. We were able to express our expectations. And we were once again able to lead the way on an issue that is crucial to all citizens."@en1
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