Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-07-03-Speech-2-009-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20120703.4.2-009-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, President of the Commission, distinguished leaders of the political groups, Members of the European Parliament and Members of the Commission, it is a privilege and a great honour to address this Parliament again. When I last stood here, back in January, I ended my speech by saying that the economic crisis had put the European Union to the test. That was when we took over the Presidency at a time of unprecedented crisis in the history of the Union.
It is a result of our persistent efforts to promote growth and new jobs in Europe but, of course, our work does not end here. We must be vigilant in transforming this Compact from a piece of paper into practical reality. We must find a way to ensure that together – Member States, the Commission and the European Parliament – we roll out the measures contained in the Compact.
We have a situation in which, for the first time in the history of the European Union, we cannot assume that the coming generations will enjoy more prosperity and better opportunities than we have enjoyed. That, of course, leaves us with a huge responsibility for the conditions of our citizens and businesses, which has been a top priority for our Presidency.
Let me highlight a few of the main results reached during our Presidency.
Under the headline of ‘a more dynamic Europe’, the Danish Presidency has pushed for robust EU measures in areas such as research and education, infrastructure and the single market, and we have done this to boost growth and to kick-start a job-rich recovery. I am particularly pleased that we have succeeded in achieving a historic compromise in the European Council on the patent reform, after more than 30 years of negotiations. This could mean drastic cost savings for businesses across Europe: savings that can be used to promote new jobs. We may not see eye to eye on all elements of this compromise, but I truly hope that we can work as colegislators to see the patent reform become a reality to benefit our companies.
I am also very pleased that we have adopted the Roaming Regulation. This regulation will lower prices significantly for cellphone users in Member States and will reduce costs to and the burden on companies. In short, it can contribute to growth.
Another important result is the regulation on the European system of standardisation. The agreement reached here will modernise the single market. Furthermore, we have reached agreement on the proposal on venture capital and social entrepreneurship funds. This will boost access to funding for European businesses and social entrepreneurs. Of course, this is also an important step in trying to create growth in the EU. We know that the single market has been one of the greatest achievements of the EU and, in order to realise its full potential, we must continue to reform and modernise it.
The second main objective of our Presidency was to ensure a more responsible Europe. The need for fiscal consolidation and greater budget discipline is crucial if we want to safeguard against the financial crisis of tomorrow. We have also taken important steps in this field during the Danish Presidency. The Council agreement on the ‘two-pack’ will enable stronger European monitoring of budgetary plans being drafted by members of the eurozone. Stronger common rules will reinforce the vigilance of Member States in avoiding large imbalances and unsustainable debt levels. We have come far, and I urge a rapid agreement between the Council and Parliament during the Cypriot Presidency.
A similar important step is the directive on capital requirements, on which the Council agreed its position last month. This directive will help minimise the cost and the risk of a financial crisis hitting us again as it did in 2008. Furthermore, we have worked for a stronger commitment by Member States to implement structural reforms. The completion of the first full round of the European Semester is a decisive step towards a more responsible Europe. All these results will help to increase confidence in Europe’s financial system, and I am in no doubt that these surveillance measures will lead to greater political accountability and stronger budget discipline.
Finally, we have been working hard to streamline the next EU budget so that it helps to create growth in the Union, and we took an important step last week in the European Council. Here too, I would very much like to thank Parliament for its constructive cooperation throughout.
It is our firm conviction that we need to direct more funds towards growth-enhancing areas such as research, education, energy efficiency and green technology. That has to be the way forward for the EU.
The gravity of the situation, the depth of the challenge, the severity of the predicament facing our Union could not, and should not, be underestimated, and I said this right at the beginning of our Presidency – not to lower the expectations for the Danish Presidency, but rather to make clear exactly what is at stake as the EU tries to work its way out of this crisis.
‘Measures that will inspire growth and stronger job creation’ has been the mantra for the Danish Presidency throughout these six months, and I am pleased to note that the European Council placed strong emphasis on this last week. As you also know, the transition to a green economy has been among the most important political priorities for the Danish Presidency, and I warmly welcome the common agreement reached on the Energy Efficiency Directive. This was a landmark result which required a good deal of flexibility, patience and hard work on both sides, and I would like to thank everyone here who was involved in reaching this significant milestone. Without you, we could not have done it.
This directive is of key importance in our efforts to achieve our two inter-related goals, of transforming Europe into a competitive, low-carbon economy and increasing our energy security, all at once. In addition, the directive will create up to hundreds of thousands of new jobs in Europe and it will, of course, ensure that the EU gets much closer to our target of 20% energy savings by 2020. I consider this an excellent result.
I would like to underline my appreciation of the dedication, high level of ambition, and willingness to compromise demonstrated by the European Parliament on this road to the green transition. Your continued engagement in making our economy greener will be ever more needed in the years to come.
Underpinning our aspiration for a dynamic, responsible and greener Europe is the need to ensure a safe Europe. Denmark’s Presidency has achieved a wide range of tangible results in this field. We have granted candidate status to Serbia and are opening accession negotiations with Montenegro, which will influence the regional dynamics and contribute to stabilising the Western Balkans. We have also reached agreement on essential elements of the asylum package, which will help ensure efficiency, legal rights and more uniform asylum procedures in the Member States.
Together with Parliament and the Commission, we have managed to conclude a lot of important business. And today I am pleased to say that we were able to reach important agreements only thanks to constructive cooperation with you – the Parliament, with the Commission and, of course, with the Member States in the Council. As I see it, the achievements of the Danish Presidency are also the achievements of the European Parliament.
We all play our part in realising the huge potential of the Community method. Having different responsibilities, playing different roles and, on some occasions, defending diverging interests, the Council and Parliament will not always share the same view. The heated debate on the legal basis of the Schengen evaluation mechanism was, indeed, a case in point, but I drew great encouragement from the fact that our negotiations over the past six months have been characterised by flexibility, a willingness to find common ground and, most importantly perhaps, a strong commitment to deliver on the needs and demands of the citizens. The relentless focus on results, stone by stone, brick by brick, represents the spirit of our cooperation within the EU. At the end of the day, as we strive to put Europe on a path for future growth and prosperity, we have to be guided by our vision for the society that we want to create. For me, this is what sets the Union apart and what makes our social model so unique.
That is what I believe in. That is what has made our economies so successful over the years and that is what we must fight to obtain and sustain and develop in the future. Moving Europe beyond this crisis is not about abandoning our social model. It is, in fact, the opposite. It is about bringing our countries through the crisis with our fundamental values intact – values such as solidarity, safety nets and equal opportunities for all. The difficult decisions we are taking today and tomorrow should not be a departure from solidarity. On the contrary, we are doing these things to protect our way of life, our European social model and our values, and we will continue to do so. The only way forward is through stronger cooperation among all of us. The answer to our current challenges facing the Union is more Europe, not less, and that has been the guiding principle for the Danish Presidency throughout.
During the past month, the EU has been forced to take critical decisions which will lay the foundation for the Europe of tomorrow, of next year and of decades to come. This is no easy task in a Union as vast, diverse and complex as ours, but leaders throughout Europe must never lose sight of the core of the problem facing the EU today: that our very economic foundation, our future prosperity, the hopes and dreams and aspirations of our children are at risk.
The storm has not passed yet and we are still facing a number of different and intertwined challenges. So I am reminded at this time of the inspirational words of the first Chancellor of West Germany, Konrad Adenauer, who once said: ‘The unity of Europe was the dream of a few. It became the hope of many. Today, it has become a necessity for all of us’.
Those words have perhaps never been as true as they are today. The EU is a necessity to all of us. As representatives of the European institutions, we have and we feel an obligation to find the solutions which will bring our Union forward, and we know that we owe that to our citizens.
When I stood here in January, I proudly stated that I am a European at heart, and the past six months have only reassured me in my belief in the European project. I believe in our institutions, our cooperation and our common responsibility. If we seek to ensure solidarity, growth and prosperity, we must seek it together through common solutions to common problems.
And that is what our Presidency has been all about: ensuring solidarity, growth and prosperity together. We took upon ourselves the task of proving that the EU still works and is still capable of delivering necessary results for our citizens, and we did this inspired by someone that we all know. In 1950 he said: ‘Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity’. Of course, it was Robert Schuman who said this, and the subsequent history of European integration has proved him absolutely right.
There is an unequivocal truth in Schuman’s words. Our Union is built from its very foundation with bricks made of solidarity. Some stones have been small, some have been enormous but, brick by brick, we have strengthened our cooperation and solidarity with one another. This is to me the essence of our Union: and this is what we have tried to do – to work inch by inch in creating results.
Jobs and growth, financial responsibility, a greener economy and a safe Europe: these have been the priorities of the Danish Presidency. But priorities without tangible results are just empty words, and I believe that Europe has, in fact, delivered over the past months. The Compact for Growth and Jobs adopted last week in the European Council is the perfect completion of our Presidency. The Compact does not solve all Europe’s problems but it is a light in the dark for the many European citizens feeling the harsh effects of the economic crisis. For those outside the labour market, for those without opportunities, for those facing poor prospects, including not least our young generations, we are presenting a way forward."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples