Manfred Weber, on behalf of the PPE Group. – Mr President, Europe is much more robust than it was four years ago. You overcame tough times. I think everybody can underline this, but without you, Jean—Claude, without your leadership, it would have been impossible to manage the last few years. With your cool head, your determination and your sincere heart for Europe, you defended the unity of this continent. I want to thank you for this and I also want to thank you for the details of your love affair, which you shared with us in your final remarks. Thank you, Jean-Claude Juncker.
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But there is still a lot to do and that is the main message of today’s State of the Union speech. We are still in a working session. We have to deliver and, from today’s announcements from Jean-Claude Juncker and the Commission, we can sum up that all the proposals that the Commission promised at the beginning of their mandate are now on Parliament’s and the Commission’s table. I would also add that these were not only the Commission’s proposals in the beginning, but were the promises of the PPE candidate, Jean—Claude Juncker, in his election campaign, to give a clear link between what you promised in the campaign last year and what you delivered under your leadership in the Commission.
Also, on the implementing front, we have to be aware that we delivered a lot: you already mentioned some of the figures which are on the table on the economy, a stable growth rate, all the eurozone countries below 3%, we have created millions of new jobs – our companies did so, Mario Draghi has now given a clear signal that he will stop the low interest rate policy by the end of this year. So, having this in mind, it is a big success story.
We have Brexit. I can remember, Jean—Claude, when we in your office after we got the messages from London about the outcome of the referendum and we were disappointed. We were looking for answers and we were a little scared about whether others could or would follow. Today, Europe is united and ready for a deal, but London cannot give us a clear answer, so the EU is united and London is in trouble. Finally, on migration, we reduced the numbers of arrivals, especially through the Mediterranean route, by more than 80% by 2015.
When you sum up all these things, some would probably say that listing success stories is a boring exercise and probably journalists are not very interested. I would say that this is not the case, but I would say that it is a precondition for the most important thing a politician can have, and that is trust from the people. We did it together: all the political families worked on this.
I want to pick up only one aspect because there is still a discussion going on about how we rescued the euro and yes, my party, the PPE party, is proud of what we did. It is about the policy of Enda Kenny, of Passos Coelho, of Mariano Rajoy, of Samaras, and of Anastasiades in Cyprus. They took the necessary steps and we rescued Europe and the euro with the policy that we invented and we established.
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We created growth and a good future perspective for the people and I do not remember – let me say this in party political terms –Hollande, Renzi, Dijsselbloem or even Moscovici presenting any kind of alternative proposal about how we should answer the challenge which was on the table. Even Mr Bullmann, in the German Government, with your contribution and your party, I didn’t see any alternative proposal presenting other strategies to overcome the crisis. Stable budgets and an ambitious reform programme are necessary for a good economic future. That is what the PPE believes in.
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But now let’s look to the future. A people’s Europe is, first of all, a Europe of security. That’s why we welcome the proposal to provide 10 000 Frontex officers to really contribute to a strong border control. Security also still means the fight against organised crime and criminals. Their data exchange is key for Europe and I also want to underline that the Schengen area brings more and not less security. That’s why we ask the Council to take further steps to include Bulgaria and Croatia inside the Schengen area. They have waited for such a long time. It’s now time to act. I ask the Romanian Government to stop the risks regarding the fight against corruption in Romania because they are harming the decision—making process towards Bulgaria and Croatia in the same way. All three countries must have the right to join the Schengen area immediately. I want to underline this again.
A second point for a people’s Europe is a Europe of democracy. That’s why I thank you for the initiatives to make our European elections safe. Neither Russia, nor China, nor any external power will decide. No trolls, fake news or Cambridge Analytica will decide. The people will decide. Europeans will decide the future of this continent.
A third point: a people’s Europe is a Europe of fairness. I wonder what a truck driver is thinking when he listens to the radio and they talk about self-driving trucks. I think he is asking himself, ‘what will happen to me?’ In such a world – we are facing a revolution in the labour market – we have to create a new fair deal for Europe. That means – and I think in this House we all share these general ideas – fair taxation, contributions by the digital business sector to the future of this fair approach, and a new social model. Today’s Europe cannot be united – and cannot be called united – as living conditions in the European Union are still not equal. That’s why I think we have to do more on common living conditions and living standards in the European Union.
Finally, a people’s Europe is a Europe which is strong at global level. You showed in the Oval Office that we are strong – economically, a giant – and we also have to become a giant politically. That’s why a change from the unanimous vote mechanism to the majority vote system is fully supported by the EPP. Let’s stand up, let’s make this century a European one again. The crisis times are over. Now it’s time for a more united Europe, for a more democratic Europe and for a more ambitious Europe.