Summary: May 5, 2004: Speech by Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission on 'The first Commission of the new Europe' at the European Parliament (Strasbourg)
IT
President Cox,
Taoiseach,
Honourable Members,
Today is the last time I can speak to you because in just over a month, Europeans will be voting for the new Parliament.
These have been five years of close, constructive collaboration between the Commission and Parliament. At times we have had our disagreements and our proposals have aroused hot debate in this House. But the debate has always been frank, open and constructive.
So I want to thank you for your collaboration, for your stimulating reactions and for your criticism.
Honourable Members,
Today a new chapter is beginning in the history of European integration.
We have been waiting for a long time, but today enlargement is finally a fact. For me, 1 May 2004 will be the greatest day in these years I have spent as President of the Commission.
With enlargement, the future is there for all the institutions. For the Commission, a transitional phase is starting today and it will last until 1 November this year.
In the past weeks you met the new Commissioners individually during the exchanges of views you had with them. Today I am here to present the whole Commission to you, the first Commission of the new Europe.
In this in-between period, we are organising the transition between this Commission and the Commission of 25 Member States that will take office in November.
That is why we have taken the unusual step of teaming up our new colleagues with ten Commissioners already in office, and not allocating further portfolios, which would have adversely affected the work of the College.
But the new Commissioners will take a full part in Commission decision-making and their votes will have the same weight as those of the others.
They have more responsibility because they will be even more visible as the face of the European Union in the eyes of their fellow countrymen and women.
This is a crucial role in a period when our new fellow citizens are growing familiar with the Union and its workings.
The Commission I lead is approaching the end of its term of office, but there is a lot to do on our agenda.
In these six months we must achieve the strategic objectives laid down in the Work Programme we worked out with you and which we gave you an undertaking to implement.
In this transitional phase, we have decided to take no new initiatives and to concentrate on carrying out the major commitments before us.
I want to outline the main issues that will be on the agenda until the end of October.
First, there is the decision we all waiting for on the European Constitution. I need hardly stress again how vitally important this is.
I am confident it will be adopted; this will send a strong message on the Union's future and will serve to lay down arrangements for the Union to work effectively.
There are good prospects for the coming European Council in June to succeed in getting things moving again and concluding the Intergovernmental Conference.
My Commission will collaborate in every way possible with the Presidency to achieve an agreement on the Constitution.
The second major objective on the Commission's Work Programme for 2004 is to ensure the success of enlargement.
Now that the ten new Member States are in, we must give due consideration to the aspirations of the other candidates.
The negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania are going well. We have already recommended opening negotiations with Croatia, and the Council will take a decision on Turkey at the end of the year on the basis of the recommendation my Commission will adopt in the autumn.
Lastly, we must push ahead with work on preparing the new Financial Perspective for the period after 2006.
As you know, we have decided to raise our sights above the ledgers and give the operation a political basis.
This involves organising the political project of the enlarged Union in line with the resources needed to carry it through.
The political project we propose stands on three main planks: sustainable development, European citizenship and the Union's role in the world.
Sustainable development
For some time now, concerns have been expressed about the health of the European economy. Our analysis of the situation is familiar to all, and to date all have supported it.
The main thrust of our action is and remains the Lisbon/Gothenburg strategy, which sets out the path to development and growth in Europe until the end of the decade.
Our project seeks to give fresh impetus to the European development model by focusing on competitiveness, jobs and solidarity between regions and between generations.
Once again I must express my disappointment at the tardiness in taking decisions to date: the Commission and Parliament must keep pressing the Member States to make progress along the path they have set out.
Citizenship
The second plank of our proposal is giving real substance to the concept of European citizenship.
Until now the Union has sought above all to create an economic area where freedoms of movement and common rules applied.
In future, the Union must also become an area of security, justice and civil liberties.
Europe in the world
To conclude, we are proposing that the Union should promote across the world its model for managing relations between countries.
In so doing, we will be giving a practical response to the deteriorating international situation, which we observe with mounting concern.
For the countries around us, we are proposing a Neighbourhood Policy, which seeks to extend to the whole of Europe the model of peace, democracy and prosperity that are the hallmarks of the Union.
Put very generally, the whole edifice rests on the political project.
In the next few months, we must prepare the implementing measures and the financial plan, so the new Commission can carry out its duties in the timetable laid down.
Honourable Members,
These five years have seen great developments, and I want to highlight some facts I feel are particularly significant.
The first is the euro. After years of remarkable but intangible achievements, our common currency has finally given Europe a marvellous instrument for political and economic unity in its joint action.
The real strength and symbolic force of all this are even greater than could have been foreseen.
The second fact is the arrival on the world economic scene of the giants of Asia, starting with China.
All this is producing a whole new global balance in terms of production and trade that cannot be ignored.
It is a fact we just have to face, and we can only cope with it if we remain united in defending our interests and our values.
The third major fact of these years is the Convention. Regardless of our first Constitution, there is no doubt the Convention has clearly been a new factor in European politics.
The debate on the future of Europe involved all the main players, it took place under the public gaze and it produced a coherent text that the Intergovernmental Conference was able to work on effectively.
I believe these great steps forward in the Union's democratic life have prepared the ground for the fourth event I want to stress: the emergence of a truly European public.
I am referring to the events surrounding the conflict in Iraq, starting in late 2002. For the first time in our history perhaps, we saw a wave of opinion sweep across almost all countries of the European Union, drawing large majorities.
Once all the other avenues were exhausted, the people of Europe wanted all military intervention in defence of our security to be based on international legitimacy of the sort the European Union embodies and champions.
So these years have seen changes that are quite extraordinary: the pace of history has accelerated.
In the past, Euroscepticism was a luxury the Union could afford. Today, with these changes, Euroscepticism can only bring defeat.
Honourable Members,
The years I have spent serving the cause of Europe have profoundly changed me too.
I now know deep within me that in the months and years to come, I shall continue to fight for a strong Europe in which I believe passionately.
The time for lukewarm pledges, half-hearted commitments and hedged bets is over.
Europe needs determination, vision and courage, and I will put all the enthusiasm and strength I can muster into the fight.
Thank you.
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