Speech from Mr Hans-Gert Poettering,
Chairman of the EPP-ED Group,
in the European Parliament
on Wednesday, 16 January 2002

Spanish Presidency: Priority for the fight against terrorism

(Translation from the original German)

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Speaking in the European Parliament on the programme of the Spanish Presidency of Council, Hans-Gert Poettering said that he fully supported Mr. Aznar making a priority of the fight against terrorism.

Poettering also called for:
greater transparency in the working practices in the Council of Ministers
recognition for the fathers of the Euro
support for small businesses
cooperation in the work of the Convention on future EU Reform, and welcomed the appointment of Jacques Santer MEP as a Member of the Convention
the appointment of observers to the EP as soon as accession Treaties are signed with the applicant countries
reinforced Mediterranean dialogue and assistance to the countries concerned

Extract from his contribution follows:

"President-in-Office of the Council, Mr. Aznar, you have come to the Parliament at a juncture, at which we are trying to organise our working programme for this second half of the term of office of this Parliament. This will be the pre-condition for achieving the major aims that we have set ourselves and on those you have spoken of this morning. My Group, the EPP-ED Group, would like to welcome you very warmly to the European Parliament. You are here for the first time. We welcome the fact that you will be coming along to us three times to give us updates as to the progress made. I hope that you will set an example for all the Presidencies after yours. We would urge you to look at the issue of greater transparency, because a report is being written on this very topic within the Council itself, and we are convinced that in the course of your Presidency, we will be able to make an important step towards transparency in the Council of Ministers.

"President-in-Office of the Council, you spoke about terrorism. We rally around you in these efforts. There are no such thing as good or bad terrorism, there is only terrorism. We have to state quite clearly that wherever people are deliberately killed, if we are talking about ETA in Spain or what happened on the 11 September or in the Middle East or wherever in the world, this is something that we have to condemn. We have to make sure that democracy is the firm and solid foundation for relations between peoples and nations. I welcome the fact, President-in-Office, that you yourself mentioned Russia. We need good relations with Russia. But we know that at the present juncture, major breaches of human rights are taking place in Chechnya. We as Christian Democrats and European Democrats say that the life of a peaceful Muslim in Chechnya or elsewhere holds exactly the same value as a Christian in the western world or a non-Christian in the western world. This is why we have to defend everyone's dignity.

"President-in-Office of Council, you spoke about the Euro, and we support everything you have said. This is a major project, as indeed the President of the Commission already has mentioned, it is a gigantic project. The Euro had many fathers. But remember that it was personalities such as François Mitterand, Jacques Delors, Helmut Kohl, who supported this project and drove it forward with the support of others. I would also specifically like to single out Valéry Giscard D'Estaing, the President of the Convention, and I would like to congratulate that decision, because once again he was one of the individuals who paved the way for the European currency system. Now, we have to look at budgets as well. We have to support small businesses and entrepreneurs, and you have said, that we need to have coordination within economic policy and within stability policy. You are not talking about harmonisation, but you are talking about coordination.

"President-in-Office of Council, you also touched on the topic of the Convention, and I welcome what you said. Our Group and other major Groups can maybe agree to this, but I think the spirit within our Group at the moment is particularly well suited to working together on the major projects and major undertakings of Europe. We have heard, with some delight, that former President of the Commission, Mr. Jacques Santer, has been called upon by Jean-Claude Junker to represent Luxembourg in the Convention. We would ask that you would bring this to bear quite clearly in your request as President-in-Office, that all governments send personalities, whose voice have weight in the national capital, so that the decisions that are taking in the Convention, will actually have an impact, a binding impact, on the countries of the European Union.

"Let me express one final view on the Mediterranean dialogue and enlargement. Once again, we rally around you, when you talk about the conclusion of the first Accession Treaties and the timing thereof. We said within our Group, that we want to get observers from these countries, in which the Treaties are going to be signed, to come along to the European Parliament as soon as it is possible. You know, that we are going to have European Elections in 2004, and at that juncture we will have fully fledged members taking part in the work of the European Parliament.

"As far as the Mediterranean dialogue is concerned. We have to ensure that people in the Mediterranean area, in Morocco, and Algeria, and in the Arab States would have some prospects for a good future in those countries. We have to give them a helping hand. We welcome the Spanish Presidency's initiative on that front, and we wish you all possible success along the road.

"We will always be happy to welcome you, Mr. Aznar, to the European Parliament, and when we are looking ahead to a joint success, working together as Council, Commission and Parliament. Every possible success to you personally and to your Presidency as well. Thank you."