MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

16.2.2005

to wind up the debate on the statement by the Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Andrew Duff and Alexander Lambsdorff
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on the Commission’s legislative programme for 2005 and its five-year strategic programme

B6‑0115

European Parliament resolution on the Commission’s legislative programme for 2005 and its five-year strategic programme

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the formal presentation of the Commission's strategic guidelines/legislative and work programme for 2005,

-  having regard to the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe,

-  having regard to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the annual legislative programme is an indispensable tool for the smooth functioning of the European institutions, and whereas the introduction of the multiannual strategy programme will bring a sharper focus to setting the political objectives of the Union,

Aa.  whereas closer coordination between the institutions of the Union and a greater capacity of the European Council to provide more credible political leadership to the affairs of the Union are prerequisites for the EU fulfilling its tasks successfully,

B.  whereas the European Parliament, as the only directly elected body at European level, has a key role to play in the budgetary and legislative work of the Union and in making accountable not only the Commission but also the European Council and Council of Ministers (when acting in its executive capacity),

C.  whereas ratification of the Constitution by the Member States is the most important political challenge facing the EU, without which the achievement of its strategic programme will be impossible,

D.  whereas the goals of economic growth, job creation and social justice will not be achieved if the Union does not strengthen integration and improve the quality of its legislative, regulatory and administrative performance;

E.  whereas further enlargement depends not only on the ability and willingness of accession states to meet in full all the criteria for membership, but also on the capacity of the Union to maintain the momentum of integration;

F.  whereas the EU has a highly significant role to play in terms of safeguarding liberty and security at home and in asserting a European identity in world affairs;

G.  whereas the Union needs financial resources commensurate with the scale of its social, economic and political ambitions;

Growth and jobs

1.  Welcomes the Commission's proposals in the economic field and in particular the emphasis on stimulating the internal market in the area of services and on pursuing its objective of reducing burdensome regulation as key elements behind economic growth and job creation;

1a.  Insists that all new legislative initiatives must be accompanied by rigorous impact assessments in respect of finance, regulation and the environment;

2.  Supports in particular the adoption of directives in the field of financial services and the provision of services in the internal market, on the condition that they serve to liberalise the market and enhance growth while respecting the European social model;

3.  Invites the Commission to review its proposal for the software patents directive and to bring forward its legislative proposals for an integrated system of general patents;

4.  Applauds the commitment to improving the business environment as regards entrepreneurship and corporate governance; calls for initiatives to work towards a convergence of civil and commercial law;

5.  Welcomes the high priority given to strengthening the Union's R&D effort, not least through the establishment of a European research council, but warns against the imposition of excessive bureaucratic burdens on research institutes and SMEs;

6.  Affirms its belief in stronger EU coordination of macroeconomic policy; supports a renewal of the consensus on the Stability and Growth Pact interpreted as embracing the whole economic cycle, provided that it does not damage the credibility of the euro and that it leads to more attention being paid to the public debt position of Member States and to stricter monitoring of national economic performance and forecasting;

7.  Prioritises the European and international effort to combat climate change; insists that Member States honour their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol and implement an effective system of carbon-emission trading; stresses the importance it attaches to the revision of the Kyoto Protocol;

8.  Emphasises the need for a properly coordinated campaign by the European Council, Parliament and the Commission to ensure ratification of the Constitution and its entry into force on 1 November 2006;

Justice and Home Affairs

9.  Supports efforts to combat crime and terrorism and to increase public security, but insists that greater emphasis be placed on making EU citizenship a reality by enhancing civil liberties, including the protection of minorities, and in particular by legislating at EU level for data protection;

10.  Welcomes the decision to apply the ordinary legislative procedure to common asylum and immigration policies, but regrets that abnormal procedures will still be applied in the field of legal migration; insists that measures against illegal immigration must remain proportionate to the scale of the problem;

11.  Calls moreover on national governments to forewarn other Member States before engaging in significant unilateral initiatives on the migration issue;

12.  Agrees that the integration of immigrants is crucial and calls for comprehensive measures to ensure their inclusion in the labour market as well as social, economic and political rights; stresses the need to facilitate inclusion so that immigrants learn the language of their respective countries of residence;

13.  Notes the initiative to transform the EUMC into a European Agency of Fundamental Rights, but is concerned at potential duplication with other human rights organisations;

14.  Stresses that media pluralism is a fundamental freedom and a cornerstone of modern democracy; calls therefore on the Commission to come forward with legislative proposals to safeguard and promote media pluralism;

International affairs

15.  Expects a steady and determined development of the Union's common foreign, security and defence policies with a view to projecting European values on the world stage and to defending the EU's common interest in international affairs; puts great emphasis on the need to reach rapid agreement on setting up the joint external action service in a way that protects the prerogatives of the Commission and Parliament, engages national diplomacies and provides the Union's Foreign Minister with the resources, intelligence and instruments he will need to function well;

16.  Supports continuation of the enlargement process as and when the candidate countries meet in full all the conditions for accession; hopes that the Commission will consolidate and move forward its pre-accession strategy for the Western Balkans and that sufficient financial resources will be allocated to this policy area; insists on the rapid passage of both the financial and trade regulations for North Cyprus;

17.  Reiterates the need for the EU to develop rapidly its common neighbourhood policies in order to help its neighbours achieve liberal democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights as well as higher levels of social, economic and environmental development;

18.  Welcomes the commitment to multilateralism in general and to the United Nations in particular, but cautions against allowing the slow pace of international cooperation to dictate the speed of our own initiatives to combat global warming, poverty and disease;

19.  Commits itself to enhancing EU development policies, including democracy promotion, and the size of its aid budget; stresses the importance of progressively removing import barriers on goods from developing countries and eliminating EU export subsidies on agricultural products;

20.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and Council and to the governments of the Member States.