Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-07-04-Speech-3-090-000"
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"en.20120704.4.3-090-000"2
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"Mr President, I am glad to see Vice-President Šefčovič in the Chamber.
On behalf of the EPP, my party, and on behalf of the European Parliament, I think we should support this kind of activity and enhance cooperation between these two institutions. We are not jealous if relations with other institutions like the Council are also better. Yesterday Rebecca Harms criticised the Commission, and seemed to be jealous about that, but we are happy if relations between the Council and the Commission are good as well.
The message of the EPP in discussing the 2013 work programme is loud and clear: what we want to leave for the next generation of Europeans is not debt, but job opportunities and the chance to go forward. As has been said, Europe has been living on debts for too long. It is the easiest way to spend the money and resources of future generations. I think that we should stop doing this in Europe. In order to provide prosperity for future generations Europe should again be based not on debt but on work and the possibility of work.
In that framework, job opportunities and the chance for the next generation to enter the labour market are among the most important measures in the Commission’s work programme. But I would like to stress clearly, on behalf of the EPP, that this should be the number one priority. We have to fight against youth unemployment. Imagine people who are starting out in life with no prospect or possibility of working. This cannot go on.
In order to provide opportunities and work for young people, we have to use all the instruments the European Union has at hand, namely support for small and medium-sized enterprises, and micro-enterprises. We have to put in place – and we expect this from the Commission’s legislative programme – clear targets and timetables in the areas of youth mobility, language skills and youth entrepreneurship.
We have to use the full potential of the European Union. We know that this is mostly the job of the Member States, but the European Union with its legislation has to help. We often congratulate ourselves on the freedom of movement of goods, services, persons and capital, but very often we overlook the very many obstacles which still prevent the chance to have this kind of freedom, especially in the area of services.
The EPP also calls for the completion of the digital single market. We have to create and enhance trust between consumers and businesses. In that area there are also many new possibilities. Another of our major jobs is to reduce red tape. We should set a good example to Member States but also do it at European level. We have to remove the administrative burden from citizens and businesses, as has been seen in the work programme, and our proposal is for a figure of 25% by 2015.
Year after year we discuss the Commission’s work programme. Sometimes we feel – and I come back to this every year – that it is a vain enterprise and exercise because, according to studies, normally fewer than 50% of the goals which have been set in the Commission work programme appear in the next year’s Commission proposals.
I would propose that the Committee on Constitutional Affairs draw up an own-initiative report on how we can enhance this figure. I am not against flexibility. Especially at a time of crisis we should react quickly, but a plan is only worth anything if it is fulfilled. If it is not fulfilled, or less than half fulfilled, it is not an optimal result. In that sense I think that we have to work together in order to improve this figure.
I trust in the Commission being a force for stability in the institutional structures of the European Union. We expect that from the Commission. Very often the European institutions are accused of not acting until after the event. The Commission has the potential and the capacity, the administrative resources and all the instruments to lead this process and, even in times of crisis, not just to point to the future but also to be a clear point of reference and stability."@en1
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