Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-18-Speech-2-072-000"
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"en.20110118.6.2-072-000"2
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"Mr President, Prime Minister Leterme, members of the Presidency-in-Office, Mr Barroso, this week, we have the opportunity to compare two Presidencies: the one just completed and the one just begun. When it comes to the Belgian Presidency, I have to say that it delivered excellent work – many thanks for that, therefore. It did this despite difficult conditions – the political situation at home is not exactly easy, of course, the Treaty of Lisbon is new and even the relationship with the European Council is not all that easy. The Belgian Presidency had a clear focus on Europe, however. It wanted to take Europe forwards.
With the Hungarian Presidency, in contrast – up to now, at any rate – we have seen a Presidency that pays more attention to its domestic affairs, in other words, to holding on to power at home, specifically in connection with a very controversial media law that we will also be discussing at a later date. I hope that Mr Orbán will take a very close look at how the Belgian Presidency went, and perhaps follows its lead somewhat.
Mr Leterme, you spoke of economic governance. In this regard, I can but fully endorse what Mr Barroso had to say. All there is is an either/or situation. Either there is another crisis-provoking development in Europe – and not only in the euro area – or there is an attempt to create efficient economic governance based on cooperation between all the Member States, but also based on strong action taken by the Commission. You know, Mr Barroso, that you have our full backing in this regard. You achieved much in this area, Mr Leterme, but we need to go further now, and we need to take the next steps.
You said that this is primarily about tax, fiscal and social cooperation. That takes me to the second item where this Belgian Presidency very much excelled, namely, the social dimension. I think we all have an interest – though perhaps with differing emphases – in this social dimension being developed accordingly. Social Europe does not mean that every last thing is done in Europe’s socio-political sphere; rather, it means, for example, the things that you talked about and achieved in relation to fighting poverty. It is scandalous to see that poverty is actually rising in Europe to some degree. The same applies to what you said about the increasingly disparate distribution of incomes. In your Presidency, you made clear that this is not only a social issue; it is also an economic one. More poverty and more social inequality also translate to a loss of competitiveness. That has been proven economically, financially and empirically. The things that you said are very important.
Also important are the things that you said about the Europe of the citizens. You delivered a tangible contribution, along with Mr Šefčovič and Members of this House, in bringing about the European citizens’ initiative. This will be a major step forwards if it is also used appropriately by pro-European forces to bring Europe closer to the citizens.
Naturally, we wish Belgium all the best for the future, too. It is not without importance how the actors on the political stage behave. I hope that all the political forces in Belgium attempt to find a real consensus. It is difficult to tell people in a crisis-hit region that they should just reach a consensus, that they should just work together on important issues, when this is not possible in Belgium – one of the heartlands of the European Union.
In this connection, I wish you all the best. In many ways, you represented an exemplary Presidency. I hope that other, subsequent Presidencies follow your example."@en1
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