Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-12-14-Speech-3-053-000"
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"en.20111214.5.3-053-000"2
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"Mr President, Prime Minister, honourable Members, the Presidency of the Council is, of course, not just an event: it is a process. By definition, a rotating Presidency has to be integrated into that process, so it is true – as some of you said – that many of the achievements of the Polish Presidency were also the result of work done before, and we should recognise that.
If we do not have a strong European democracy – if some people believe that, because of so-called national sovereignty, we should not accept European democracy – what will happen is that the true sovereignty, the material sovereignty, will be left to the markets, to international priorities that nobody controls, without any kind of democratic scrutiny. That is why we have to create stronger European sovereignty to protect the democratic rights of our peoples.
At the same time, it is also important to see what this Presidency of the Council will leave to the next Presidencies. There are important contributions in this direction that I would like to highlight, particularly in connection with the multiannual financial framework.
As you will remember, the Commission presented the multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020 at the end of June, just before the beginning of the Polish Presidency of the Council. The different proposals for a legal basis have now been approved and sent to the legislator.
I would like to underline the contribution given to the debate by the Polish Presidency in advancing the files in the Council through the initiative of the conference on the multiannual financial framework between this Parliament, the national parliaments, the Member States and the Commission, and in keeping this House fully involved through the meetings between President Buzek, Prime Minister Tusk and myself, as well as the follow-up briefings on all meetings of the General Affairs Council. I hope that the next Presidencies will keep the same level of involvement of all the institutions. I want once again to reiterate that the Commission, Commissioner Lewandowski and I will give this file the highest priority.
Another point – which was also highlighted by a Member of this Parliament, Mr Mario Mauro – is the Polish Presidency’s contribution to achieving an acceptable compromise on the programme of aid for the most vulnerable people. While I am not completely happy with this compromise, I think it was important to maintain this support for the most vulnerable people. I continue to think that it is unacceptable – and very hard to understand why – that some governments, given the situation of social emergency that we have today in Europe, are not ready to commit to more solidarity in times of crisis. We need to keep this commitment to the poorest of our continent.
One point that was highlighted – above and beyond the various files – is what the Polish Presidency brought in terms of commitment to Europe. One very important and memorable contribution was its commitment to the European institutions. What we have said today, Prime Minister Tusk, regarding the European institutions and regarding this Parliament, is very important. I wish that all the Heads of Government could recognise the importance of this Parliament, as you do, because in fact, we need to reinforce European democracy, particularly now, when we are taking important decisions that touch upon the very important issue of the sovereignty of the Member States.
For instance, the decisions that are now being taken in terms of fiscal responsibility touch on very sensitive issues of sovereignty. We have to complete those decisions on more integration with more democracy, both at national and at European level. Some people believe that democracy only exists at national level. They have not yet understood that in Europe, we also have a democracy, and that this Parliament is essential for this democracy. If someone believes that in the 21st century, democracy is only national, they have understood nothing about globalisation and about the 21st century.
That is why, to have these decisions in terms of more advanced integration, we need to reinforce democracy and to complete national democracy with European democracy. We must not set national parliaments against the European Parliament but, on the contrary, reinforce the idea of cooperation between the different levels of democracy. That is why, Prime Minister, what you said today regarding the role of the Community institutions, and the role of this Parliament, is very important.
I hope, in the discussions we will be having in the next months, that this message is understood: the need to complete the fiscal compact with this Parliament and with the national parliaments, so that we can indeed have a strong European democracy."@en1
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