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 Index 
 Texte intégral 
Verbatim report of proceedings
Tuesday, 17 April 2018 - Strasbourg Revised edition

Debate with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, on the Future of Europe (debate)
MPphoto
 

  Syed Kamall, on behalf of the ECR Group. – Mr President, I would like to welcome President Macron. The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group welcomes a leader with a bold vision and a desire to shake things up, for too many national politicians praise the idea of ever-closer union when in Brussels or in Strasbourg, but when they return home their support for the European project of further political integration becomes a barely audible whisper.

Monsieur le Président, what you say in Paris is what you have said here in Strasbourg, and that is to be respected, but when it comes to your desire to reform the European Union, the ECR Group agrees with the objective but I am afraid the devil is in the detail.

Whilst we share your commitment to strong transatlantic relations, cutting red tape to help businesses create jobs, and the need for closer security cooperation, your vision of a European Union with a bigger budget, harmonised corporate taxes, unified social policy, a common asylum system and a European Minister for Finance may be the right vision for France, but the ECR Group feels it is not the right vision for all Member States.

While there will be many in this Chamber who see you as a saviour of the European project of political integration, many outside this Chamber do not want to see an EU dominated by just one or two large Member States. They want national leaders to find common solutions which are agreeable to all Member States, but what you propose, Monsieur le Président, is revolutionary. But rather than sleepwalking – to use your phrase – towards your goal, it should be presented to voters across the EU, with an honest disclaimer, in large letters, bold and underlined, that Member States will become less and less sovereign as the EU becomes more and more sovereign, as you wish to see.

All politicians need to be careful. You talk about temporary taxes but I am reminded of Ronald Reagan’s line that there is nothing more permanent than a temporary government programme. The growing dissatisfaction amongst voters has not been because the EU has too little power, but because it has too much. Despite this power, it has failed to secure the greater stability and prosperity that was promised. Countries signed up for cooperation in key areas of mutual interest with their EU neighbours, not to see more and more decisions made in one city on the other side of the continent.

Mr Macron, we understand why you are seeking to regain the initiative. My Group agrees that the European Union has drifted for far too long, but by returning to the 1950s agenda of political integration you may be in danger of ignoring those who want the EU to face the challenges of the 2050s, not the 1950s. That is why the ECR Group believes that the EU should facilitate nations to cooperate where necessary, but return powers to Member States and local communities in areas such as immigration and social policy. But when countries do agree that an EU solution is the best solution, all countries should stick to the rules and not pick and choose, as we saw with the Stability and Growth Pact or with the Dublin Regulation on asylum.

The ECR Group believes that common sense and proportionate regulation, rather than more political integration, will allow businesses, farmers, fishermen and entrepreneurs to compete in global markets, but we also ask for more honesty. We ask that richer eurozone governments be honest with their voters that their taxes will be transferred to the budgets of poorer eurozone countries, possibly forever, for that is the way that currency and sustainable currency unions work.

Like your movement, Mr Macron, the ECR was established to offer an alternative to the longstanding and stale political establishment in the EU. We have appreciated your honesty about your ambitions here today. While I may be one of a number of MEPs who will not return to this Chamber after the 2019 elections, the ECR Group will continue to fight for a vision of a reformed European Union. We will continue to oppose calls for ever more political integration, but where there is common ground the ECR Group hopes to work with you to shape a reformed European Union which respects all Member States and their citizens.

Let me just end on a more personal note. As our two nations, the UK and France, work together with the US in Syria, supported by our European and international partners, can I thank you for your cooperation and hope that our countries will continue to act as partners where it is in our interests to face global challenges together.

 
Dernière mise à jour: 30 juillet 2018Avis juridique - Politique de confidentialité