Guntars Krasts (UEN). – (LV) Mr President, I would like to congratulate the Portuguese Presidency on its achievements. The Presidency has successfully managed to crown its full agenda with a new treaty. This was a period during which agreement needed to be reached on the Reform Treaty, not only in order to increase institutional capacity, but first and foremost to ensure that the Member States retained faith in their ability to agree. The Portuguese Presidency has set a standard that can serve as a good reference point for future presidencies, and we need to continue on this note. The Treaty of Lisbon must develop its appeal, particularly since it will not be put to a referendum in the countries that rejected the earlier version. We need to show European citizens and the rest of the world that Europe has really become dynamic and has achieved technical agreement, and that the European Union is not only an economic project, but also involves collaboration aimed at achieving social objectives. The European Union will be able to demonstrate the benefits of the Treaty of Lisbon if it can agree on rapid, far-reaching economic reforms. EU policies provide many solutions that are respected globally, such as decisions by the European Competition Network or actions to reduce climate change. There are, however, quite a few areas where the European Union has for a long time been indecisive. For instance, it was unable to agree on a common policy on security of energy supply and the liberalisation of the electricity and gas markets, which in a variety of ways will determine the European Union’s competitiveness on a global scale in a variety of ways. The European Union’s ability to introduce internal reforms will determine its ability to act externally. Dynamism within the European Union will increasingly determine its international status, its attractiveness in the eyes of potential Member States and also its absorption capacity. The adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon should mark a dividing line to dispel arguments about the European Union’s ability to absorb countries that convincingly meet the accession criteria, and I hope that Ukraine will soon be given an opportunity to demonstrate its wish to join the European Union. Thank you.