Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-03-23-Speech-3-070-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20110323.17.3-070-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Council is preparing to meet for the second week running amid a climate of international uncertainty and tensions. There is the uncertainty in Japan, where the level of human loss is still difficult to determine, and uncertainty in the Mediterranean, as further populations rise up against their regimes, in Bahrain and as you mentioned President-in-Office of the Council, in Yemen.
I cannot stress this enough: European solidarity will only be accepted by our citizens if they feel it is fair and deserved. This will only be the case if the working conditions are met and if our businesses can invest and recruit under comparable fiscal conditions.
Lastly, our group calls upon the Council to make swift progress on the economic governance package and to take proper account of the European Parliament’s position as co-legislator on four out of the six proposals under discussion.
Europe must get back on the path of growth and employment, and the measures that are taking shape are a step in this direction. Provided they are planned within a Community framework, they will give Europe a healthy basis for a fresh start and a promising future.
Inevitably, all these situations are having repercussions for us here in Europe. Our fellow citizens have witnessed Japan’s drama unfolding live. On top of the empathy we feel for the thousands of families shattered by grief, as we speak there are fears associated with the problems at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and the dread of the dangers that we too could face in a similar or comparable situation.
These events should certainly be taken on board by all countries that have nuclear power plants and it is good that this Parliament is organising a debate on nuclear safety, though we should not lose sight of the fact that in Europe we need to be increasing and not reducing our energy independence. This is a subject we will be returning to during our next part-session.
This weekend, the 27 Heads of State or Government will also be discussing the UN decision to intervene in Libya to save the insurgents from imminent attack by the regime. I would like to highlight the fact that European States have taken the initiative in these operations and were the first to intervene within the framework of the UN mandate, which itself was the initiative of several European States. No doubt they heard what us MEPs said during our last part-session here in Brussels.
My group would like to see the Council take this opportunity to further develop the EU’s Mediterranean strategy, whilst maintaining the goal to help and support but never to impose. This is our duty as neighbours.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, following last week’s euro area summit, at which the groundwork was done, the Council’s flagship measures this week will relate to strengthening the euro and making progress on economic governance.
The Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) is in favour of increasing the funds available to support the euro and of making the ad hoc instrument we adopted last year to help Greece and Ireland more permanent. This political will reflects the responsible attitude that Member States have taken in managing this unprecedented crisis in our single currency’s history.
However, we wish to stress very strongly that these exceptional circumstances that the loss of control of national public finances has brought about must not be seen by the Council as an opportunity to adopt a different method for managing European affairs. The Community method must remain the rule and the intergovernmental method the exception. A very strong majority within Parliament supports this principle and the Barroso Commission also supports us in this approach, quite simply because it is vital for the future of the European Union. I am sure that President Van Rompuy will succeed in persuading the Heads of State or Government of this.
The Pact for the euro should also be adopted on Friday. We welcome it insofar as it introduces provisions for which we have been calling for months now, namely convergence between Member States’ budgetary, social and fiscal policies."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples