Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-06-22-Speech-3-082-000"
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"en.20110622.14.3-082-000"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, let me use my mother tongue this last time that I participate in the plenary session. First of all, I would like to thank you all for recognising our work, as we could hear many MEPs from various groups conclude that the Hungarian Presidency did a good job. I personally believe that it is indeed worth leading a Parliament-friendly Presidency in the European Union.
The other homework given by the European Council was to increase the lending capacity of the European Investment Bank, and in this regard we were able to come to an agreement with this Parliament, which is another success we achieved, and I believe this was an important step towards the reconciliation of the situation in the countries of North Africa.
As a quick side note, I must respond to the words of Mr Tabajdi. I must reject his remarks concerning the members of the Hungarian Government, which I think are based on domestic political motivations. First, I would like to ask you to inquire from your colleagues in the Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs about the work of Minister for National Economy György Matolcsy, because the atmosphere in the hearing yesterday was slightly different from what you have talked about here today. I would also recommend that you read the responses of the Member States to the Commission’s proposals concerning the European semester. Everyone is free to react and criticise the content, because everything works out through debates and interchanges of opinions in the European Union, and it is true that many Member States have criticised the content already. Second, I would like to point out to you one of the positive traits of the Hungarian Presidency, the key to our success in reaching agreements with European institutions on so many issues, namely respect for the Treaties and for the competence of the institutions. We submit the ‘six-pack’ to the Council in the knowledge that the Hungarian Presidency has done everything it could to come to an agreement, as praised by President Barroso and by your colleagues in this House in committee meetings. Therefore, we now submit the package to the European Council, whose President’s name is Herman Van Rompuy, and who will decide on a course of action.
Last but not least, I would like to talk about the accession of Croatia. As I said at the beginning, I am careful with the use of the word ‘historical’. However, in the case of Croatia I think we have indeed come to a historical moment, because we are sending a very important message to the Western Balkans, namely that they have a future in the European Union. I truly hope that the heads of EU Member States and governments will take the political decision tomorrow and the day after tomorrow about the accession of Croatia, and that the negotiations can be concluded in the final hours of the Hungarian Presidency, on 30 June at the latest. The European Commission worked around the clock to be able to issue a positive report on 10 June. I can assure you that both the Croatians and the Hungarian Presidency have been working day and night to make this happen. We have had Council working group meetings every day to enable us to complete the work.
Finally, I would like to thank not only this House – which I have done already – but also our partners in the trio, Spain and Belgium, for their excellent cooperation and for the fact that we were able to complete the 18-month trio programme, and may I wish Poland all the best and a Parliament-friendly Presidency.
President Barroso alluded to the ‘six-pack,’ and Vice-President Šefčovič mentioned the negotiations with Croatia and the different dossiers. The existence of the co-decision procedure in the European Union gives the Council and the Presidency the opportunity to build personal relations with a large number of Members, and to raise mutual awareness within the institutions of each other’s problems, which I believe is a great opportunity for us all.
Thank you for organising this debate today. I believe that we agree on the fundamental principles and basic values, of which much has been said today, and even European integration philosophies have been discussed, and I have to say that most of the Members’ speeches reflected this agreement between us. We also agree that the European Council has to tackle extremely difficult issues today. I would be more careful when using the word ‘historical’, because I think we depreciate the concept if we use it too often.
I strongly agree that fear and mistrust are bad counsellors, and EU leaders should not be led by these emotions during the meetings tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. It is my credo, and that of the Hungarian Presidency as well, that we have to base all our steps on trust – and I would even say mutual trust –, on taking responsibility and on solidarity, just like you have urged us. Whether it be about economic policy, Schengen reforms, asylum or enlargement, this is what we must build on. The solution – as proposed by the great majority – is more Europe, a stronger Europe; the Hungarian Presidency has been working for the last six months with this in mind. It is indeed our firm belief that deeper integration is the solution to our common problems.
Finally, I would like to report on the issues which were given to the Hungarian Presidency as homework by the previous European Councils, and more specifically: what results and achievements will be presented at the summit starting tomorrow, because, after all, we had to make a deal about specific dossiers with you and we had to reach agreement on other issues as well.
Let me start with economic issues. We have already talked about the European semester, and I would like to thank Vice-President Šefčovič, because it is really worth informing the public about what the semester means. It is about providing the transparency needed to know how Member States manage themselves, so that we may send them warning signals in time. I welcome the fact that the European Parliament followed this practice with close attention; in this European semester we encourage the Member States to maintain stricter budgetary management, and, at the same time, we lay down the basis for the practice of seeking growth in hard work and creativity.
As far as the ‘six-pack’ is concerned, there will be an in-depth debate on it soon in this House. Let me give you two reasons why I would prefer the adoption of the current agreement. Firstly, because this package is good. It is better than the initial Council proposal, and because Parliament was given concessions by the Council on every single issue on its agenda. We have even achieved concessions on reverse qualified majority voting. So, I have to disagree with Mr Lambsdorff’s opinion that the whole package has only one tooth, namely reverse QMV. The advantage of this package is indeed that it builds several checks and balances into the system, through which crises like the one of 2008 can be avoided in the future.
As far as free movement of persons is concerned, let me tell you that at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 9 June the Hungarian Presidency unanimously adopted a conclusion stating that free movement has to be preserved, that we need to revise the measures already available to us, and only after we have exhausted them and only if new problems actually arise, requiring the adjustment of our current
can we take extraordinary measures in extraordinary situations, and that the modalities should only be elaborated once there is a concrete legislative proposal at hand, which, as far as I know, will happen this autumn.
I have just received news that parallel to this plenary session the Council agreed on the only open question regarding Frontex, so the negotiations on the strengthening of Frontex have been concluded with success. I thank Parliament for their cooperation."@en1
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