Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-03-24-Speech-3-125"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20100324.13.3-125"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, our colleagues have done many interesting things in relation to this issue and they agreed unanimously that this is a wonderful facility to put in the hands of our citizens.
The citizens’ initiative was a powerful and convincing argument against the ‘no’ side in the Treaty of Lisbon referendum in Ireland, especially when they argued that it was a grab for power by the European Union rather than a truly democratic attempt to involve the citizens. But there is a big difference between putting something into a treaty and putting it into effect, and there is a big challenge here for us.
On the one hand, there is a danger – and a real danger – that the process could be hijacked by vested interest groups and by powerful lobbies who would have no difficulty in getting a million signatures. That is why the suggestion by my colleague, Mr De Rossa, concerning the involvement of the Ombudsman, might be well worth considering.
On the other hand, however, this has real possibilities for citizens. One initiative started by my colleague, Mr de Castro, is well worth considering, that of making Sunday special and whether we want to rest on the seventh day, like our creator, or treat it the same as any other day of the week. That is an important consideration.
So I think there is great scope here, and I look forward to its development."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples