Georgios Karatzaferis (IND/DEM). – (EL) Mr President, we must admit that we really have messed up on the question of the welfare state. The truth is that, a few years ago, we laid down a great deal without having the intuition to see that people's life expectancy is increasing. At that time, forty years ago, an infarct meant death; now an infarct is dealt with in a routine operation.

Similarly, we did not think a few years ago, ten years ago when we signed the world trade agreement, that our products are encumbered by the cost of welfare, while the products produced by the Indians and Chinese, who account for half the planet's workforce, have no such cost. As a result, Chinese products are flooding Europe, our companies are closing and tomorrow we shall be unable to offer this welfare state.

The truth is that either we shall go bankrupt or we shall not be as secure as citizens. These are the facts. We must therefore see how we can realistically deal with the situation. We are pulling the wool over people's eyes. We shall be unable to keep our word.

Now we say let us get funds from employers, while employers have already been brought to their knees by Chinese and Indian products. We therefore need to look facts in the face. Technology should show us the way. Forty years ago, when I was a child, we went to work in the fields in the summer and there were 50 people for two decares. Now it is one machine with one operator.

Jobs are being lost to technology. How, therefore, can we secure this standard of living today? We need to find ways that are not obvious from this way of thinking. We need to realise that we made a mistake when, ten years ago with the world trade agreements, we failed to take this parameter into account, namely their cheap products which are today drowning the market and keeping our products off the shop shelves.

This is a serious mistake which we will have to pay for. We need to tell European citizens the truth: that we will be unable to make the Chinese into Europeans and that, unfortunately, we shall have to make the Europeans into Chinese.