Verbatim report of proceedings

Tuesday, 15 November 2005 - Strasbourg

7. Legislative and work programme for 2006

  President. The next item is the Commission Statement on the Legislative and Work Programme for 2006.

  José Manuel Barroso, President of the Commission. (FR) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, 2005 has not been an easy year for Europe. Europe has had to face terrorism, social uncertainty and natural disasters. As for the institutions, we have had to face all these difficulties without the help of a Constitution and, until now, without having a multiannual budgetary framework. The Union has been led to wonder about the integration process itself, but we are convinced and our Commission is convinced that there has never been such a need for the European Union as there is today.

We are proud of the determined and clear response that the Commission has been able to give to this situation. Working closely with Parliament, we have all been equal to the challenges. Here are some examples of what we have accomplished together: the renewal of the Lisbon Strategy; a revision of the Stability and Growth Pact that will strengthen the credibility of Europe’s economic governance; more solidarity, thanks to the adoption of a renewed social agenda; full recognition of the key role played by social dialogue and the actors involved in this dialogue; the fight for a cleaner environment, by means of the adoption of thematic strategies and the pursuit of our international action in the sphere of climate change; greater security thanks to the implementation of our ambitious Hague Programme in parallel with a large number of other initiatives, in particular our proposal on data retention; the promotion of European values worldwide – in this regard, let us cite the commitment made to double EU aid for developing countries and the adoption of a strategy for Africa; strengthening our partnerships with our strategic allies such as the United States and pursuing an open dialogue with new and important partners such as China; and, finally, opening accession negotiations with Turkey and Croatia.

The Commission has assumed its responsibilities. Our guiding principle was, and remains, the general European interest. The set of initiatives that we developed in 2005 is the first tangible expression of the strategic objectives that we set ourselves over five years. The programme that we are presenting today remains faithful to the objectives that we adopted at the start of our mandate: prosperity, solidarity in an enlarged Europe, security and a strengthened role for Europe in the world.

These objectives remain pertinent. They are shared by the three institutions which derive their main impetus for action from them. I can see there a sign of the partnership for European renewal that I wanted to place at the centre of our action. The framework agreement is a tangible expression of this partnership between our two institutions. It is a qualitative leap in the development of the policy initiatives. It has enabled a close and targeted dialogue to take place between the parliamentary committees and the Commissioners on the best way to translate the annual policy strategy into practical initiatives. I am keen to tell you that this dialogue has made a positive contribution to the programme that I am presenting to you today. I hope that you will recognise your ideas, including those that you expand upon in today’s debate, in the action that we plan to carry out in 2006.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, releasing Europe’s full potential is the approach maintained by the Commission in drafting its legislative and work programme for 2006.

What are the key actions for 2006? First of all, action to bring about prosperity. 2006 will be a crucial year for the implementation of the renewed Lisbon Strategy. The Commission will fully undertake its role in instigating, managing and supporting the Member States’ efforts. The Member States’ national reform programmes, which we are already analysing, will play a fundamental role in this process. We need to link these programmes to our political priorities, to improve the Union’s economic governance and to strengthen national and European efforts in relation to reform and investment – an investment at national level, but also at European level with a view to tomorrow’s economy, to innovation, to knowledge and to new infrastructures. These two types of investment – at national and at European level – must go hand in hand. We have to support these efforts by means of other initiatives, such as the proposals aimed at supplementing the single market, the promotion of geographical and professional mobility and, for example, the creation of a European Technology Institute.

I emphasise in particular the proposals on the single market made by Parliament itself in its resolution on the work programme. I should like to highlight, in this context, the importance of the measures aimed at providing a framework that supports the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the main source of jobs in Europe.

The second aspect relates to solidarity. Solidarity remains a fundamental part of European integration, and I should like to speak in this Chamber about solidarity between employers and employees. I should also like to speak about solidarity between generations, through sound management of natural resources, including marine resources, and the implementation of a new strategy for sustainable development – by the way, we shall present this new strategy in December.

Solidarity between generations is also brought about by creating jobs for young people and by seeking fair solutions for pension funding. Let us not forget, either, solidarity between men and women, solidarity between the most prosperous Member States and the less prosperous ones and solidarity between the European Union and the rest of the world, in particular with regard to developing countries. 2006 will be a crucial year for attacking on all these fronts.

On the subject of security, priority will be given to improving coordination in the fight against terrorism and organised crime. We saw how much influence Community legislation had in these areas. By way of example, I can assure you that one of those accused of having carried out the London attacks was extradited from Italy to the United Kingdom within less than 50 days. Such a procedure would undoubtedly have taken several years in the absence of Community instruments. This is therefore an area in which the people, including people from the countries least enthusiastic about European integration, are clearly asking more, and not less, of Europe and the European Union.

Furthermore, we will be doing a great deal of work in the area of illegal immigration, as we have said. The problems encountered by some of our Member States are not exclusive to these countries: in reality, such problems affect the whole of Europe. We have to stand firm in fighting against this scourge, in collaboration with the Member States. Of course, the immigration issue is not just a security issue. It has a security dimension, admittedly, because illegal immigration has to be fought against. Yet, it is our responsibility to act at the same time with regard to development aid in the countries of origin. We have to combine our approach to immigration with our approach to development and, at the same time, we have to do everything possible to ensure the harmonious integration of communities of foreign origin in our countries.

We also intend to carry out our action in the area of health protection and consumer protection, an area that also comes under the broader sphere of security. One crucial element will also consist in the development of a rapid reaction capacity on the part of those responsible for civil protection.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the 96 priority initiatives that we are presenting to you are together the proof of our commitment to these objectives: prosperity, solidarity, security and the promotion of Europe in the world. Yet, the credibility of these objectives will also depend on their quality. That is why the Commission will be rigorously enforcing the enhanced methods contained in its ‘Better lawmaking’ programme. These methods are not an end in themselves, but a means of turning the intentions, which we share, into a reality; a reality that our people will really be able to experience in their everyday lives.

Our ambition for 2006 extends to Europe’s becoming a more influential global partner. On this subject, furthermore, 2006 must also provide tangible results: tangible results as regards the enlargement process and the stabilisation and association process; tangible results for our neighbourhood policy, which represents a very important policy for stability in Europe and in its closer geographical context; tangible results as regards the fight against poverty, with our promise to double the amount of aid transformed into a tangible reality; and, finally, results as regards promoting European values in the world, in particular through support for the political transition and reconstruction in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine.

One issue will dominate the international economic agenda in 2006: the completion of the Doha Development Round.

Pascal Lamy said that adjusting expectations for the ministerial in Hong Kong next month does not mean lowering our ambition for the Doha Development Round. I agree. The round is important to opening markets and freeing up trade. In the European Union strong exports boost our growth. We want the round to succeed. That is why we made our recent strong and conditional – and I should like to underline ‘conditional’ – offer on agriculture. Europe has done more than anyone to keep this round on track. Our commitment remains but now others have to move.

The focus of the round must be broader than just agriculture, important as it is. There must be balance. Therefore I call on our WTO partners to engage in a full negotiation, including on goods and services. Europe does not need more lectures from countries that close their markets to the poorest and, in some cases, keep tariffs on agricultural products higher than our own. I do not accept that some people put the blame on Europe because of this round.

In the European Commission we believe that these negotiations cannot simply be conducted for the benefit of a few large farm exporters in very rich or fast-developing countries. There is a huge difference between the very poorest developing countries and those that are growing rapidly. It is time to stop lecturing and start negotiating.

The costs of failure are high, not just for all trading nations, but also for the fair, rules-based international trading system we have worked so hard to create, as well as for global business confidence. The international economy now needs some good news, especially because of the high costs of energy. So we have an interest in this round succeeding. That is not only in our interest, it is especially in the interest of the poorest countries. That is why the Commission will put forward ideas before Hong Kong on how to make sure this really is a development round.

Tomorrow we will discuss the follow-up to Hampton Court. The new consensus that began to emerge there links up with our debate today. We saw, at the informal summit, a confirmation of the Commission’s analysis on how to safeguard our values in a globalised world. If we want to preserve our values we must modernise our policies.

We saw an agreement on areas where people want Europe to lead: science and innovation, higher education, energy, border management and immigration. We also need a more coherent Europe as a global actor. So many of our internal Community policies now have an external element: environment, migration, transport, energy and others. That is why the Commission will present ideas next year on improving the coherence of the European Union’s external actions. We are now preparing a concept paper on that matter.

The European institutions must play a central role in this process, rebuilding a consensus and reconnecting with citizens. That is why I have announced today that the Commission will come forward with a new truly European energy policy in 2006. It is good that at all levels in the European Union people now understand that it makes no sense to go it alone when dealing with energy challenges. Even those who were most reluctant now see that this is a European issue and that we face the same challenges, such as rising prices, falling reserves, increasing dependency on a few parts of the world, and also the need to protect our environment. We need a coherent energy policy for the 21st century, one that looks at all these issues and options in a calm, determined way.

We often forget what a remarkable accomplishment European integration is. It is all too easy to forget that one of the achievements of 2005 was to make an enlarged European Union work and much of the credit for that must go to the new Member States. I think we can, and will, do even better in 2006. Very often we forget that now our Europe is not the ‘Europe miniature’. Now Europe consists of 25 Member States that are free, independent and living in peace and democracy. The challenge is to make this enlarged Europe work. This year we made a very important contribution to meeting that challenge.

At the end of this week I am going to Prague and Budapest to see and support this new enlarged European Union. I am confident, because there is a growing understanding that the endless debates about widening or deepening and about the market or social protection are at an end and that even in the middle of the difficulties we know, there is a growing awareness that we need a more European dimension if we want to solve the problems facing us.

A new consensus is emerging that a powerful, dynamic Europe cannot have 25 mini-markets in services or 25 mini-markets in energy, but that a single market also needs a powerful, dynamic political and social Europe. The market alone is not enough. The market alone cannot address concerns such as air safety, global warming or the integration of immigrants.

Yes, this is about pragmatic Europe, but pragmatism with principles, adding value in areas where we can make a difference, shaping policies that provide an answer to globalisation and meet the challenges and opportunities of our ageing population, a Europe that is part of the solution and not of the problem.

I see a parallel with the activity relating to the period of reflection in which you, as Members of the European Parliament, are heavily involved. We must show as institutions that we are listening carefully to our citizens and that we are addressing their concerns. That is why we will implement our Plan D for dialogue and democracy and count on open cooperation with Parliament.

I have left perhaps the most important message about the 2006 work programme until last. Let us be frank. The plans for 2006 will count for little without agreement next month on the financial perspectives. That agreement is the test of whether Europe is on the move. How can we deliver for our citizens on prosperity, solidarity and security without the means to achieve them? Agreement on the financial perspectives is a key to unlocking Europe’s potential in 2006. An enlarged, more diverse European Union needs more investment. We have a duty of solidarity to the new Member States that look to the European Union for support in their rapid and remarkable progress in modernisation and reform.

We need a fair sharing of this burden. No Member State can do enlargement on the cheap. I trust in the common sense of the British Presidency to deliver a fair and balanced agreement next month. I hope that it will do so by strengthening, not reducing, the ambition the Commission and Parliament share for an enlarged Europe. I hope and believe that the proposals which I presented to you last month can help to unblock the negotiations.

My call to you today for 2006 is that we consolidate and build on this new consensus, that we restore that shared sense of purpose that will get Europe back on its feet; a united Europe acting collectively on matters that most concern our citizens. In my view this is the best possible response to the ‘no’ votes to the Constitution earlier this year. It is also what lies at the heart of the Commission’s programme for the second year of our partnership. I hope it finds your active support. I can think of no better signal to our citizens that Europe is working for them.

(Applause)

  Françoise Grossetête, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group. – (FR) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, Mr Barroso, the programme that you are presenting to us is aimed at the key priorities of security, competitiveness, social justice and the internal market, and we emphasise your desire to translate the Lisbon objectives into actions. It is still necessary, though, to provide ourselves with all the resources to achieve these objectives. My fear, however, is that there is a lack of ambition to meet the expectations of a Europe in crisis.

Your plan D methodology promoting democracy, dialogue and debate is also interesting, provided, however, that it does not become the plan of demagogy or of disappointment. For something is missing in this plan D, namely determination: your determination to find practical solutions. What concerns me, Mr Barroso, is knowing what jobs we will have in Europe in five years’ time. Not only jobs in the service sector, but also jobs in industry. What jobs will we still have in Europe in five years’ time?

Growth, employment and security are the three pillars on which Europe has to construct its policy. Yet if we are to do that without a Constitution, we need a policy initiative, bringing together the Council, the Commission and Parliament, so that the measures required for the European institutions to operate can be made effective. Under no circumstances is it a question of flouting the outcomes of the referenda. Quite the contrary. You know that the future enlargements are of concern to a large number of Europeans. Although it is undeniable that Europe has to support our closest neighbours’ efforts to promote democracy, you must nonetheless not give the impression of moving too quickly and of wanting constantly to enlarge the Union when we have resolved neither the problem of our institutions nor that of Europe’s finances.

Mr Barroso, we reiterate our ambition to be able to rely on a strong European Commission. We will support you, but it is up to you to listen to us more. The Council is not the only institution with which you liaise. It would, I might add, be pertinent to enhance the cooperation between the EU Presidency and our Assembly.

During the most recent summit, at Hampton Court, the Council called on you to give fresh impetus to issues relating to migration and internal security. We are delighted by this initiative because, until now, the Council has to some extent put a brake on the judicial cooperation requested by our Parliament. These issues relating to internal security and the fight against terrorism must not only be addressed at intergovernmental level. That is why we are awaiting strong initiatives in this regard and are thus calling for the actions relating to Internet protection to be completely revised. These actions will enable us to establish cyber security, without for all that restricting the freedom of the Internet.

‘Better regulation’ does not mean ‘do nothing’, but ‘do better’: target the EU’s intervention better. Before making proposals, we need to give a great deal of thought to Europe’s plus points. Doing so is important, among other things, for supporting research. We therefore welcome the creation of the European Technology Institute. This plus point also consists in making sure that the European texts are properly enforced. Each Commissioner should issue on a quarterly basis a clear and precise account of the state of play. We also need to review the comitology procedure, just as we also want to be more involved in the essential process of simplifying legislation. The Commission not only wants to tackle the problems faced by Europeans today, but also the issues at stake tomorrow.

Two aspects seem to be particularly important. The first relates to demography and the ageing population. In this regard, a more family-oriented environment needs to be created. Although it is one of the Member States’ powers to create this environment, the European Union can try to gather together the best initiatives within the 25 Member States and propose effective solutions with regard to health policy.

The other aspect relates to the sustainable management of natural resources and, in particular, the impetus given to energy policy. The proposal for an action plan in respect of energy efficiency and the proposal concerning the draft Green Paper, aimed at guaranteeing safe, competitive and sustainable energy sources, are along the right lines. We will see to it that these objectives are reflected on the ground, particularly in terms of the development of biofuels and of inland waterway transport.

Finally, Europe will become all the stronger for putting pressure on international negotiations. We know that we cannot hope for much from the Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting, but we call on you not to question the reform of the CAP, decided in 2003, and to continue to support multifunctional agriculture. Our future prospects will, however, come to nothing if we do not have any financial perspective before the end of the year. How could we possibly function with annual budgets? Mr Barroso, you yourself said that 2006 would be a crucial year for turning words into concrete actions. You know that a good number of projects are awaiting this budget. Parliament has done its duty, by means of the Böge report. It is up to you to put pressure on the UK Presidency to break the deadlock in Europe.

  Hannes Swoboda, on behalf of the PSE Group. – (DE) Mr President, Mr President of the Commission, Commissioners, there is certainly much in the programme and in what President Barroso said today that we can endorse, particularly – and I am picking up on a point made by Mr Barón Crespo when I say this – Commissioner Mandelson’s attempts at keeping the Hong Kong round of talks fair and balanced. Despite his scepticism, I hope that will be achieved.

Your programme, Mr President, in which you express the desire to unlock Europe’s full potential, is a very ambitious one, but I have to say, on the basis of our group’s consideration of it, that there are a few essentials missing from it.

Let me start with the riots in the French cities. Those are certainly French events, but deeper causes underlie them. Perhaps you now understand why our group has always highlighted the importance of social cohesion, for where people are unemployed, where they are not integrated, where they are isolated and discriminated against, upheavals of that kind are not far away. This programme also, in this regard, lacks any clear statement about the importance of public services, which are especially important, particularly in cities, as a means of accommodating and helping people who have fewer chances in life.

Something else you referred to, Mr President of the Commission, was the energy issue. Although I have a high regard for the Energy Commissioner and work well with him, I have to say that we have often pointed out how important it is, in view of current developments, that the Commission as a whole should give a clear commitment to a policy on alternative energy. It is also vital that you should introduce to Europe what is an almost universal practice in America, of obliging the big corporations to plough back more of their disproportionate profits into research and development. We are curious as to what the Green Paper – which should have been available some time ago – will contain, and it will certainly be the subject of vigorous and serious debate.

Thirdly, there is Europe’s research potential, and this we must awaken. We are currently debating the Seventh Framework Programme for Research, but does the Commission have any overall scheme for implementing it? To give one example, your programme makes only vague and cautious reference to the European Institute of Technology, yet this is where there is a need for more boldness and determination on your part, and for you to put forward an overall concept for European universities. We must stop subsidising the Americans by exporting young researchers to them. We educate them and then let them go to America, because they have too few opportunities in Europe. There is also the need for a scheme whereby access to research resources may be improved for small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular. That, too, is an absolute necessity.

I agree with what you had to say about ‘better lawmaking’; it is in the interests of many large businesses, of small and medium-sized enterprises, and of the individual citizen, that we should accomplish this. While we support the Vice-President in what she plans to do, better regulation is also a task for us in this House. We must do far more than we have before to explain, defend and justify every single law-making initiative to the public, and we need to be sensitive in the way we do it. We need to act with a greater sense of purpose. This is not so much about the Commission examining individual measures in terms of their legality, but about whether the Member States are able to achieve the objectives associated with European legislation.

You were right to make reference to social issues, but it is far from clear enough from the programme that economic and social development must go hand in hand. What I would like to see is for you, on behalf of the Commission, to produce a report next year on progress with enlargement – which is a topic to which I should like to return, although I would perhaps attach another meaning to it. There is a great deal of scepticism on the part of the public; many people in the old Member States get the impression that enlargement is being used to lower social standards and cut taxes. Thinking back to the debate that we had with you, Mr President of the Commission, and with Commissioner McCreevy, I do not think we were able to get across just how important this social issue is to us. Now that I read in the Financial Times – the Commission’s principal mouthpiece – that Commissioner McCreevy is absolutely opposed to tax harmonisation, I find myself wondering whether it really is our aim to keep cutting direct taxes and make ourselves incapable of funding our social and other infrastructure services. Do we want a single, shared Europe with far lower social standards? We – and by that I mean the old and new Member States together – must aim to accomplish a social Europe. I would like to see the Commission produce a report on that next year.

According to a recent report in the Financial Times, many of the statesmen of major countries – Schröder, Chirac, Blair – can be expected to stand down in the next few years. Poland now has a completely new government. At a time when new governments and new Heads of Government are coming to power, the Commission must take on a leadership role in this Europe of ours, with which these new people are perhaps less familiar, if the European ideal is not to fade still further. If you assume such a leadership role, we will support you, but, if you do so, please make a social Europe one of your objectives!

  Silvana Koch-Mehrin, on behalf of the ALDE Group. – (DE) Mr President, Mr President of the Commission, Commissioners, the work programme for 2006 is not just any old programme. It must be a programme that makes the EU visible once more to every citizen, and, moreover, visible in a positive light.

The EU’s problems with credibility and acceptance may no longer be the stuff of newspaper headlines, but they have, of course, still not gone away, and they can be back on the front pages at any moment. It is because they are far from having been overcome that the challenge for the EU is all the greater: its policies must show the public that it really is worth it. That will be achieved through comprehensible policies that produce results, and the best possible results at that. What that does not mean is producing as much legislation as possible with the maximum impact on the maximum number of people. On the contrary, the big issue for the politics of united Europe must always be about how we can get Europe to the top.

That is where the title of the work programme, ‘unlocking Europe’s full potential’, gets it exactly right. I might add that that was the keynote of the Liberals’ election campaign in 2004, and I am glad to see you making use of it. It is for that reason, too, that I am glad that the work programme was put together in cooperation with Parliament’s committees. Putting together a common programme for all the EU institutions is a step in the right direction. The fact is that everything else is fragmentary, and the public no longer regard it as justifiable.

The four core areas – to which reference has already been made – are very definitely the right ones. It follows that the claim that this policy is close to the public’s concerns is still very far from being backed up. Neither in structure nor in content, alas, does the work programme meet this requirement of being close to the public; at any rate, it cannot be called better regulation if the two parts presented have nothing whatever to do with one another, so that the programme does not hang together.

I would like to highlight a few areas that are of particular importance to us Liberals and Democrats. It is a very good thing that the highest priority is given to the Lisbon agenda; a consistent policy aimed at education, research and growth will create more jobs and thereby make the EU competitive. That does of course involve the realisation of the single market for services, including financial services. It is also important that we should be ambitious in driving forward the reform of agricultural policy by, among other things, reallocating more funds to agricultural research and technology.

Where internal security is concerned, we believe that two aspects have to be accorded equal importance, one being the need for security and the other respect for freedom. The fact is that we will be no more secure, nor will terrorism be vanquished, if the freedoms of the EU, against which terrorism is fighting, are themselves curtailed.

Europe is an example, unique in the world, of how lasting peace can be established between countries that were formerly enemies. It is also unique in its peaceful export of the market economy, democracy and human rights. Great though this is, if we are to remain successful, it must point us all in one single direction, and, as the question is what that will be, we, as Europe’s legislators, are under an obligation to come up with comprehensible, reliable and prompt answers. That must be part of our workaday lives; it must become our daily labour. Over the coming weeks, with this work programme for 2006, we must set an example of how to do that.

Over and above that, though, there must be a single dream to unite us as Europeans. It was Victor Hugo who once said that nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. Europe was such an idea, and it still is one. The work programme can be a stone in the mosaic of this idea, but it must fit into the picture of a Europe that wants to move forwards, and, most of all, to become stronger.

  Pierre Jonckheer, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – (FR) Mr President, Mr Barroso, Commissioners, on listening to you, Mr Barroso, and on reading the Commission’s text, the first feeling that comes to my mind is one of wishing you well in your work and of wishing us all well in our work because, for each of the projects, Parliament will, of course, have its say and because Parliament will have power of codecision. When I listen to you say ‘prosperity, solidarity, security’, that has a nice ring to it. There are other kinds of triptych: liberty, equality, fraternity. Another term to be found, in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, is dignity, together with the term justice. One concept is missing, however, and that is sustainability. I, for my part, said to myself: the word ‘sustainable’ in English actually has a nice ring to it. The French equivalent, soutenabilité, has much less of a nice ring to it. While the strange term durabilité sounds even worse. Perhaps another triptych could be: live, move and love. Just a suggestion!

On a more serious note, where is the urgency? On listening to you – and you are an eloquent speaker – one says to oneself: ‘He is right’. Something is missing, however, and my group permanently feels somewhat uneasy. This uneasiness would, if I might picture it once again as something visible, truly disappear if the sustainable development strategy that you are announcing for December did not prove to be the poor child of Daddy Barroso because, you know, that notorious image of your three children remains engraved in our memories. I should like to try to make myself understood: you constantly refer to the US economy, but are you aware that the ecological footprint of the US economy is six times greater than what the planet can bear, while for the European economies, this footprint varies between three and four times what the planet can bear? That is what a study carried out by the World Wide Fund indicates, and it would be interesting if, as part of this sustainable development strategy, the Commission were to tell us whether it recognises this finding and if it draws any conclusions from it in terms of European public policies.

As regards the issue of businesses and competitiveness, ecologists are absolutely convinced that businesses are not the main, but the crucial, actors in terms of sustainable development. That is why, in knowing that businesses are torn between the duty to be accountable to their shareholders each quarter and the need to draw up strategies on sustainable development and long-term investment, my group, together with the European Parliament, constantly emphasise the need to set objectives backed up by figures. We therefore want 20% to 25% renewable energy by 2020 and we want cars that consume 2.5 litres of petrol per 100 km by 2020, because 70% of oil consumption is linked to transport in the European Union.

As far as the economic and social issue is concerned, Mr Barroso, it would be wise to convince the people that the single European market cannot be constructed on the basis of social dumping. Let it be known from this moment on – by doing so, you will not exceed your prerogatives – that the compromise put forward by Mrs Gebhardt on the country of origin principle can be acceptable to the Commission. Let the new Member States and, above all, the governments know too that the restriction clauses imposed on labour law for all EU citizens are useless and unacceptable and that, on 1 May 2006, they can be removed.

There you have a number of suggestions that I wanted to share with you. I do not have time to continue but, if you like, I could speak to you about them in another context.

  Roberto Musacchio, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group. – (IT) Mr President, Mr Barroso, ladies and gentlemen, at the start of the parliamentary term I said in this House that this Parliament resulted from elections in which all the government parties were defeated – starting with your country, Mr Barroso, Portugal.

That was the sign of an economic and social crisis that was also related to European policies, that is to say free-trade policies. We needed decisive action but did not get it – not even after the referendum results in France and the Netherlands rejecting the Constitutional Treaty. In fact there was a temptation to ignore the people, instead of changing the policy.

We then had the presidency of Mr Blair, who presents himself as the answer to Europe’s problems when it is clear that he is an integral part of these problems. Indeed, his presidency is coming to an end and we have not even reached agreement on the budget. This is a failure for which you, Mr Barroso, must carry equal responsibility with Mr Blair, in that you and your Commission have gone along with all the stages of the crisis as it unfolded and indeed have ended up by making things worse.

What can we say about your most recent proposals, when you spoke to us about a simplification that in fact would mean not doing the good things, such as the REACH directive, but instead doing the bad things, such as the Bolkestein directive? The point is that the free-trade route is taking Europe down a blind alley. The problem is exemplified not by Europe or by enlargement or by Turkey, but by free trade; and today you have once again suggested that we go down this blind alley.

Instead we need something quite different. We need to draw up a plan to revive qualified development and a form of social cohesion that would be capable of reinstating the European social model as an alternative to the North American model, not as a poor copy of it.

To do this we need a sounder budget that is not pared down to the bone, and a package of regulations that would promote upward harmonisation and not the social ‘dumping’ of the Bolkestein directive.

We need cooperation within Europe and with other countries to relaunch qualified development, not senseless competition or the ruinous dictatorship of the World Trade Organisation. We must give priority to innovation and the environment, not to the absurd and disastrous revival of nuclear energy. We need communication networks that promote respect for the environment and do not connive at its destruction.

We need to give citizenship to immigrants and ensure that there is no repetition of the episodes we have seen in Lampedusa and Melilla. We must guarantee democracy and not the so-called security packages that adversely affect democratic rights and have furthermore been rejected by the UK Parliament. We must choose peace, not war. We should give preference to a democratic Parliament, not just one more bureaucratic authority.

Finally we need governments of the Left which look to change and not to large, unacceptable coalitions. We propose an alternative European Left, more and more closely linked to a European society that wants change.

  Nigel Farage, on behalf of the IND/DEM Group. – Mr President, I congratulate Mr Barroso for producing this remarkable document. Mr Barroso, your determination to create a unitary state of Europe has not been diminished by anything as inconvenient as the referendum results in France and Holland. I even wondered whether Mr Blair’s drive to have less regulation and to scrap unnecessary laws might slow you up a little bit; but no, undaunted you have produced the most ambitious work programme ever seen in the history of the European Union. What a pity that the British Presidency could not be bothered to turn up this morning to listen to you!

On top of the extension of powers over justice and home affairs, the establishment of EU visas, everything down to regulations on children’s toys, I notice that on the budget you say that there must be adequate audit and control systems. That is pretty rich in the very week that the Court of Auditors is refusing to sign off your accounts for the eleventh year in a row.

You lost the Constitution and you are now treating the voters of France and Holland with contempt. Many French people will have felt that by voting ‘no’ they would have stopped the flow of European bureaucracy. However, just as their faith in the Maginot Line failed them in 1940, once again the enemies of free, independent states are coming in around the side and engulfing all.

You proved from this work programme that you have learned nothing and that you simply do not get it.

(Applause from the IND/DEM Group)

  Brian Crowley, on behalf of the UEN Group. – Mr President, I wish to thank President Barroso and the entire Commission for being here this morning. It is a pity that Parliament could not reciprocate with an equivalent level of attendance.

One of the key factors in assessing the work programme is to verify that the ideas and proposals put forward in it respond to the current needs of the citizens of the European Union.

I should like to refer briefly to one or two points President Barroso made in his presentation. He rightly spoke about the importance of the Doha Round and the impact that will have, not just within Europe but around the globe, on increasing trade and also on delivering on aspects of social justice, though not a comprehensive package of social justice. However, despite President Barroso’s reassurances, I am somewhat concerned at the attempts being made by people within the Commission and within this Parliament, in preparation for the Hong Kong round of talks, to demand more of European farmers. Farmers are being asked to make further reductions and sacrifices, despite being told that the 1999 reform constituted a final settlement on the CAP. They were then told, in 2003 and 2004, that further adjustments had to be made to take account of the approaching World Trade Organization talks. Suddenly we discover that even more demands are being made on the European agricultural sector. These are demands that cannot be met if we want to maintain a viable, sustainable agricultural sector within the European Union for the future. This is not just about protecting farmers’ interests; it is also a very clear and important issue regarding food security, security of food supply and of the standard and quality of food, and security as regards ensuring that biodiversity and the available alternatives are maintained in the rural areas of Europe.

Moving on to the various proposals within the work programme, I welcome the initiatives now being taken on a communication on children’s rights. It is high time that the European Union took the rights of children seriously, as they constitute over 40% of our population but have no standing or status in European policies or ideas, except in the words we use to express our will to protect them. Owing to technological progress, those ideas on children’s rights must now also be linked into cyber security, as we have seen the Internet – despite its wonderful intent, brilliant innovation and the opportunities it presents to us all – being used by people who wish to corrupt innocent minds and pervert the use of the Internet through trafficking in paedophilia and child pornography.

With regard to sustainability, the rising price of oil and fuel in recent months has sent shockwaves through each and every economy, as well as shocking private consumers. Let us not forget that the price of oil has an impact not just on the economy as a whole, but also on you and me and all individual consumers, not only in the fuel we put into our cars, but also in the price of goods in our shops, our journeys to and from work and so on. The time is ripe to move towards a common European market in energy in which we can utilise the collective strength of the 25 Member States to lever a better price, and to bring together the minds, intelligence and innovation available in those 25 countries to look into alternative fuel supplies, and in particular to look into new ways and new mechanisms for conserving energy. That is why the proposal for a biofuels directive is also to be welcomed. However, greater focus should be placed on solar, wind and water energy, as this can also contribute a great deal towards a final energy plan.

Lastly, no matter what anybody says, the financial perspective is the only game in town. If we do not have the money, we cannot undertake the actions and policies we want. However, in determining what the financial perspective should be, the onus must be on the Member States to come up with a package, because once again they are the paymasters of future European Union action. The decision as to whether to contribute monies to the funds we need to implement these important measures rests with them. The fact that the governments have so far failed to reach agreement on this is unacceptable to everyone. In fact, it is ironic that the governments of the new Member States are the ones giving the lead on how to resolve the financial perspectives issue.

However, we must not use this failure to secure an agreement as an excuse to block, hinder or stymie the efforts that can currently be made. I welcome the opportunity to work with you, President Barroso, and with your Commission to deliver on this programme.

  Jean-Claude Martinez (NI). – (FR) Mr President, Mr Barroso, the Ceuta affair has come and gone, the Melilla affair has come and gone and now it is the suburbs that are on fire. The worldwide media is asking questions and, as for us, what are we doing? Drafting a legislative programme. To deal with what? Global warming, for example, which seems logical; when cars and schools are on fire, there is indeed a problem in terms of global warming and, therefore, in terms of respecting the Kyoto protocol. Alongside Mrs Fischer-Boel, we could, moreover, do slightly more to destroy our agriculture, such as it is; Mr Mandelson would obtain an agreement in Hong Kong and, for our part, we would have slightly higher levels of unemployment. Let us adopt a few more directives, and the mountain of legislation will end up rendering us quite powerless. I would even go so far as to propose a title for Mr Barroso’s legislative programme: ‘Operation smoke and mirrors’, for the programme is a smoke screen, concealing nice ideas, but ones that only mask tragedies.

One final word, Mr Barroso: one Christmas day in the fifth century A.D., the Rhine froze over following a climate change. Thousands of chariots of fire crossed the Rhine, and Rome was plundered. Do you know what the Roman Senate was doing during that winter of 483? It was drafting a legislative programme.

(Mr Cohn-Bendit shouted out to Mr Martinez the words: ‘Oh my goodness! What a clever man he is; he knows his history!’).

IN THE CHAIR: MR ONESTA
Vice-President

President. – Mr Cohn-Bendit, please refrain from commenting.

  Ingeborg Gräßle (PPE-DE). – (DE) Mr President, Mr President of the Commission, Commissioners, ladies and gentlemen, with 96 priority projects, 32 of which are legislative in character, this Europe of ours cannot be accused of not making plans, so respect to it, especially when one bears in mind the fact that the list does not even include the legislative programming that actually should be a priority for 2006, in the shape of some 50 legal bases for the multiannual programmes for the 2007-2013 period.

Basically, then, the package we are discussing today gives little outward indication of its true contents, and what has become of subsidiarity or of the test for it? The Council, which today is conspicuous by its absence, has, once again, embarrassingly failed to take part in this planning work, let alone set priorities for it. The two presidencies for next year, Austria and Finland, have even, in a letter dated 19 October, gone so far as to announce their own work programme for 2006, so that is something for us to look forward to, as also to seeing how all these things can be brought together.

It was the Council that could, by means of and in the course of this consultation procedure, have given a fine indication of its commitment to subsidiarity by involving the national parliaments in the manner provided for by the Constitution. It could have left its mark on this procedure, by approaching Parliament and the Commission, instead of leaving us all in the dark about what is meant to happen next and what proposals the Council itself is going to make.

Parliament has set up a reserve for posts in the Commission, which will be paid out only if the work programme is agreed to. It would be a good thing if this work programme really were to include all the projects that we know even now to be on the agenda for 2006, and if it paid greater heed to the idea of subsidiarity as regards procedures and substance.

  Jan Andersson (PSE). – (SV) Mr President, the Commission said that the Lisbon Strategy was reflected in this work programme. It is indeed partly reflected in it, but not fully. You perhaps remember that we had a debate about the balance in the Lisbon Strategy. We in Parliament expressed the view that social policy, social justice and social cohesion should not be seen as add-ons after growth and employment. I believed we had agreed that we should see social policy as an integrated part of the Lisbon Process. This is not reflected in this work programme. The social dimension is very small.

We have talked about the fact that better legislation does not by definition mean less legislation. I note that, in the social area, there is no legislation at all. There are three communications and a Green Paper, and these are things I welcome; but there is no legislation at all. It is not the case that Parliament has not come up with proposals. Allow me to discuss a couple of these. The first concerns the new forms of employment: what are known as the atypical forms of employment, of which there is now an avalanche and which involve less security, reduced influence and probably more stress in workplaces. We have demanded a directive that addresses these new forms of employment.

Secondly, you, Mr Barroso, and I have been at a conference on restructuring. I understood that we were agreed that, if we were to be able to carry out the restructuring, we had to do it in a way that involved employees in the process. We have instruments at European level. We have the European Works Councils, and we in Parliament have demanded an overhaul of the European Works Councils. We have seen nothing of all this.

Finally, I just want to address the issue of a programme for integrating people with disabilities. This would be a non-discrimination programme, applicable not just in the labour market sphere, but everywhere. That too is conspicuous by its absence.

  Diana Wallis (ALDE). – Mr President, I would like to thank the President of the Commission for delivering the Commission’s programme very much in a political context.

I want to take up one small point: when I arrived in this House six years ago, unlocking the potential of Europe’s internal market was seen in the context of taking full advantage of e-commerce and the arrival of the euro. To that end, there were many initiatives in the field of civil justice, ensuring that where we give the possibility to move, to do business, to work, to innovate, to trade and to buy, we deliver the balancing legal framework that would give security and access to justice.

The war on terrorism has intervened and the whole criminal justice area has become paramount, but should it be to the exclusion of civil justice, which merits just one paragraph and no new initiatives or even consultations in this programme? You only have to look at our postbags to see that we are not delivering in the area of civil justice. You need only look at the agenda of the Committee on Petitions. The lives of more of our citizens are blighted by the lack of access to civil justice or cross-border redress mechanisms than, fortunately, are directly touched by terrorism. Please concentrate on civil justice.

  Esko Seppänen (GUE/NGL). – (FI) I have familiarised myself with the document from the Commission. My conclusion is unambiguous: a lot of talk and not much action. Globalisation, which is in reality an updated version of capitalism, is taken as a given, as if it were a law of nature. EU legislation promotes the notion that European work should become cheap labour, the export of jobs abroad and flying the flag of convenience in the Member States’ job markets.

I searched the work programme with interest for a legal basis for the President of the Commission’s announcement that France is to be given an additional subsidy of EUR 50 million on account of the vehicles that have been burnt in the streets in recent weeks. I do not believe that the current legislation is a legal basis for this form of financial assistance and nothing like it is being proposed in the Commission’s work programme either. Is the intention to bribe France to adopt the EU’s financial plans using illegal subsidies?

The Commission proposes to manipulate public opinion in such a way that it takes a more favourable view of it. This is propaganda and indoctrination, although the Commission speaks of a communications deficit. In the way it disseminates information, the Commission represents dictatorship by the majority, or democracy is measured by the attitude the majority adopt when lending an ear to the minorities. In any case, the majority in the referenda in France and the Netherlands voted against the Commission’s communication and propaganda dictatorship.

Rejecting the Constitution was democracy and did not drive the EU into a crisis. The failure to adopt the financial framework for 2007-2013, however, is holding up the work of the EU. As this is possibly a state of emergency, the Commission should start drafting one-year Structural Fund programmes and other programmes in other words plan B.

  Jens-Peter Bonde (IND/DEM). – (DA) Mr President, the national and regional parliaments should now go through the whole of the annual programme and, under the heading ‘Less and better’, monitor it on the basis of the principles of proximity and proportionality. We want to tackle fewer subjects and, in return, do better-quality work. The EU should only adopt binding legislation in cross-border areas in which the national parliaments themselves cannot legislate effectively. In that way, voters would have nothing to lose but everything to gain, and we should have the right of codecision instead of being powerless. If, however, the EU arrogates power to itself in areas in which the national parliaments themselves can legislate, we lose in terms of both influence and democracy.

Monitoring on the basis of the principle of proximity should begin in Parliament’s specialist committees, so that the social committees deal with proposals in the social sphere and the transport committees with transport proposals etc. – a procedure adopted in Denmark’s European Affairs Committee last Friday. Subsequently, the European Affairs Committees should issue opinions and meet at the Conference of Community and European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) in order to adopt the annual programme and to do so, preferably, in such a way that we can see who has voted for what. The annual programme should then be respected by, and debated in, the European Parliament and the Council. Only then shall the Commission be invited to prepare legislation, which would then have support from the bottom up. This would contrast with the present situation in which the Commission itself assumes the power and uses its monopoly on initiatives, its 3 000 secret working parties and its access to the Court of Justice to centralise ever more power in Brussels.

There is nothing so bad that it is not good for something. Centralisation has fortunately led the voters to withhold their assent, as we saw in the Netherlands and France. The annual programme nonetheless contains a lot from the rejected Constitution. The ‘no’ votes should be respected. Everything from the Constitution should be excluded. Thank you, Mr President – if there is, in fact, anything to say thank you for.

  Alessandro Battilocchio (NI). – (IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I am speaking on behalf of the new Italian Socialist Party. Europe is faced with demanding, clear and urgent challenges. There is no doubt that the 20th century has seen the old continent achieve levels of freedom, progress and prosperity that had never been previously reached. Nevertheless, this remarkable growth has also created new problems that give rise to inequalities, dangers and tensions.

The recent events affecting the French suburbs are a clear signal that security problems no longer relate solely to dangers originating outside our frontiers. Once again, in fact, current events force us to look at what is happening on our own doorstep and invite us to seek solutions to everyday problems that are so frequent and familiar that all too often they escape our notice.

Our present age is one of remarkable development coupled with infuriating stagnation; of possibilities that open up a better future but also of threatening germs; of an increase in wellbeing that nevertheless has led to the emergence of new diseases. It therefore seems clear that we still have a long way to go.

We agree with the salient points of the proposal that we are considering. The Commission’s work programme, presented accurately and with conviction by Mr Barroso, is rightly centred on certain key objectives: prosperity, solidarity and security as well as the role of the Union as a global partner. These are issues that require unremitting commitment, an effective strategy and by extension adequate resources for measures that will have a genuine impact on the European socio-economic situation.

  Malcolm Harbour (PPE-DE). – Mr President, as my group’s coordinator in the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, I would like to welcome the attention given by the Commission to completing the internal market in a number of important areas and to thank the Commissioner and his team for that. We will follow it up very closely.

Having said that, I am very critical of this document overall. It is a strange document. Colleagues were talking about priorities. I just want to quote from it: ‘The top priority today is to restore sustainable dynamic growth and jobs in Europe’. That is on page 27 of the document. In what sense do we have any priorities when we have a disconnected list of 96 items assembled together in arbitrary order, not making it clear which is legislative and which is non-legislative? In any case I say this to you, Mr Barroso, that in any sense of work planning I want to know what is already in progress. I do not just want to know about 96 things that you are starting, I want to know how you are getting on with the existing work we have asked you to do and what priorities you are allocating to that.

There is another thing I want to know, because I have no sense of this whatsoever. It is great to see all the members of your Commission here, but we want to see you working much better together, in more integrated policy-making, in order to tackle that crucial issue that you yourself put at the top of your agenda, which is that of competitiveness, jobs and growth in Europe. That is not going to be delivered by 96 separate proposals, but by your Commission working together to tackle that. Why can we not see that in your programme? I say that also to Mrs Wallström who is sitting here and who is supposed to be helping us communicate these things – supposed to be helping us. How can I go to my constituents and businesses in my constituency to say that the Commission is going to work on competitiveness and jobs with this set of 96 disconnected proposals?

I would say, however, that it is worth looking at what is going on in Commissioner Verheugen’s work on cars in the context of an integrated competitiveness initiative. I want to commend him for this initiative and for many others. Let us see more of that type of work and not this shopping list of disconnected proposals.

  Ieke van den Burg (PSE). – (NL) Mr President, various previous speakers have already drawn the comparison with the United States. I am involved in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, which also has many transatlantic contacts. What I have noticed is that there is a kind of reversal in the assessment of developments, particularly on the financial market.

I do not know whether you saw the headline of this morning’s Financial Times, which once again read that the United States envies us for what this House achieved in the last part-session. In October, we tackled an 800-page tome of regulations on the banks’ capital requirements, which is placing us well ahead of the United States. People are not sufficiently aware of this. I do not know whether you are familiar with the book by Jeremy Rifkin about The European Dream, but that book too indicates that our perception in this respect is sometimes incorrect.

What strikes me is that the Commission lacks the awareness that we could do much more with the Lisbon Strategy and with macro-economic policy. In Europe, we talk each other into the doldrums when a number of things go wrong, but we forget that they also present us with opportunities. We could, for example, capitalise on the malaise surrounding the Stability and Growth Pact in order to achieve better macro-economic policy now and we could use our advantage in the area of financial markets regulations to effectively deploy the investments that this could produce and get the Commission to steer this macro-economic policy.

I am afraid that the attitude that the market will manage on its own is also attributable to your liberal view. I think that the Americans could help you dispel this notion. The market cannot manage on its own. We will need to show the way, and in this we expect leadership from the Commission.

  Anneli Jäätteenmäki (ALDE). – (FI) European integration will not succeed unless it is founded on joint responsibility. It is not enough merely to establish a single market and single currency, even if they do further integration. The Commission’s priorities of prosperity, solidarity and security are important and right.

There are 18.8 million unemployed in Europe – almost 20 million. What does the EU mean to them and what does it offer? Not solidarity, prosperity or security at any rate. Mere words are not enough: we need concrete action.

Mr President, the EU has to focus on the essential. The Commission’s decision to do away with unnecessary regulation and bureaucracy and simplify EU law should be supported. In addition, I hope that the principle of subsidiarity will at last be implemented. That would also bring our citizens closer to the EU and would provide the EU with a mandate to carry out its work.

  Georgios Toussas (GUE/NGL). – (EL) Mr President, the Commission work programme reflects its honourable efforts to serve, in the best possible way, the imperialist interests of the European Union and the choices of big business.

Despite the objections voiced in the Council, an agreement is being promoted with sweeping changes for the financial perspectives for 2007 to 2013 at the expense of farmers and workers in general.

The Commission is trying to adjust its legislative programme for 2006 to new circumstances not with changes of political direction, but on the basis of its commitments for its 5-year term of office and the choices of the monopolies. The main axis of its policy is communications policy. Corruption, bribery and class cooperation are becoming the means to encage the grass-roots masses and accept the most reactionary, anti-grass roots measures.

More liberalisation of the markets, with electricity and natural gas in their sights. Integration of the internal market in services, post offices and so forth, privatisation of public utilities, new shipping policy measures and the promotion of new tax measures to the detriment of the workers.

A uniform strategy to promote the anti-grass roots Lisbon objectives on the basis of the national action programmes and the promotion of anti-labour plans for young people women and the workers in general.

This Commission programme is completely opposed to the ambitions and aims of the workers, which is why their struggles over coming months will escalate for the right to work, for a better standard of living, to defend grass-roots freedoms, for peace and for equality.

  Frank Vanhecke (NI). – (NL) Mr President, even though I am somewhat taken aback by the Commission’s indulgence in this kind of denial, and the fact that it is – to all intents and purposes – completely ignoring the blatant warning emanating from the French and Dutch ‘no’ at the European referendums, 2006 will, above all, be the year of the definitive start of the accession negotiations between the Commission and Turkey, which is further proof not only of the Commission’s complete insensitivity to the democratic will of the majority of the Europeans, but also of its willingness to disregard own legal rules, the otherwise so sacred acquis communautaire.

I am in any event curious to find out what tricks, lies and falsehoods will be peddled by the Commission, despite the prediction by the former Commissioner for Agriculture, Franz Fischler, that Turkey would, ultimately, be capable of being integrated into European agricultural policy after all, and that the costs would not be intolerable. It will not stop us from reiterating that Turkey’s accession to the European Union is both untenable and undemocratic.

  John Bowis (PPE-DE). – Mr President, one of President Barroso’s themes this morning was the need for us to inspire the people of Europe, too many of whom have become disillusioned with the whole concept of our European Union. To do that, we need to give voice to the reasons for Europe in terms of how Europe is relevant to people’s lives and their worries, their hopes and their ambitions. We must help Europe rediscover its drive towards economic growth and competitiveness, ruthlessly cutting out waste and bureaucracy and concentrating on the prerequisites for that agenda.

Those prerequisites are, admittedly, deregulation and lower taxes, but they are also healthier people living in a healthier environment. Above all, we must afford efforts to sustain those less able to cope with challenges and opportunities of life, those who live with disabilities or life-threatening diseases and poverty. Therefore, we look to the Commission to step up its responsibilities for health, health promotion, public health, health emergencies, mental health, disability, patient mobility and information for patients.

We also need to press on with our agenda for the environment, with climate change, emissions trading, air quality, waste reduction, reuse and recycling, noise and the urban environment, the protection of wildlife and habitats, and a reduction in animal testing.

What we have to say with regard to Europe is equally relevant to our policies for the developing world, but none of this is possible without adequate monitoring and enforcement or proper budgetary control. Those aspects so often let down our good intentions in Europe and contribute to the public doubts about Europe’s ability to be good news for them.

  Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (PSE). – Mr President, I would ask you to raise the question of the poor attendance today at the next meeting of the Conference of Presidents. I think we owe respect to the Commission: all the Commissioners who could be here are here. The poor attendance in this House is simply unacceptable and shows a lack of respect for the Commission. I will certainly bring that up in my own group tonight.

Mr Barroso, the problem is not what is in your programme. In the little time available to me, I should like to outline the problem in a number of major points.

In your oral presentation today, you said:

(FR) ‘We need to link these programmes to our political priorities, to improve the Union’s economic governance and to strengthen national and European efforts in relation to reform and investment’ and you continued: ‘an investment at national level, but also at European level with a view to tomorrow’s economy, to innovation, to knowledge and to new infrastructures. These two types of investment must go hand in hand’.

Good. Agreed. President of the Commission, let us make a deal today in which you tell this Parliament that, in the next weeks and months, you and your Commission will formulate a strategy to ensure that, when we meet at the European Employment Council in spring, we have this message as a common approach from the European Council. You, together with the Economic Affairs Commissioner and the Commission as a whole, will inspire the governments to make a deal, promising in the next two, three or four years to invest simultaneously and to be coordinated. I am not taking powers away from you. I merely want us to coordinate our investments so that we can use our economic interdependence proactively.

In essence, my dream is the same as the Commission’s: this wonderful Europe could achieve further growth. Yes, we should reform, but we need more investment, growth and jobs, and that demands coordination, so let us make a strategy together. I await your response.

  President. – As you requested, Mr Rasmussen, I will pass on your comments on the poor attendance here to the competent bodies of Parliament. Of course, the session Presidency appreciates the fact that the Commission is here in force for this important debate, even though the Council benches are rather empty.

  Sophia in 't Veld (ALDE). – (NL) Mr President, a year ago, President Barroso promised us during the Buttiglione case that he would make European fundamental rights a key priority. That is just as well, for that is also what the public expects. Unfortunately, there is no trace of this promise in the work programme. There may be a communication in 2006 about gender equality, which we welcome, but what about the other categories of discrimination? What has become of horizontal anti-discrimination legislation? All citizens must be able to have their rights upheld before the court; if not, the EU anti-discrimination policy is not worth the paper it was written on. Why, in fact, has the promised feasibility study into new Article 13 legislation not been included and what is the latest on the proposals requested by Parliament with regard to the free movement of married same-sex couples?

Will President Barroso’s Commission really promote fundamental rights? Will we get a real Union of values or will we not move beyond empty promises?

  Maria Berger (PSE). – (DE) Mr President, Mr President of the Commission, Members of the Commission, I am here representing the Committee on Legal Affairs, and I have to say that, even in terms of our Committee’s very modest expectations, the Commission’s legislative and work programme is undemanding and highly disappointing.

In all the areas in which we have made our interest known, and which you, verbally at any rate, have declared to be priorities – among them civil law, copyright, human rights, children’s rights, consumers’ rights – none of the proposals are legislative in character. In some areas on the importance of which we always agree – patent law being one of them – we can see no initiatives that are likely to get Europe any further forward – even though we have always agreed that patent law is crucial to innovation. Nor can I see any initiative being taken on services of general economic interest.

At the same time, though, we cannot fail to note that you are withdrawing proposals for legislation that matter a great deal to us, although we have to admit that there are problems with them, for example the statute on companies established on a mutual basis, and European law on voluntary associations. We have, for years now, been endeavouring to endow the commercial sector with European statutes of its own, yet we are evidently denying the cooperative sector, the social economy and civil society the reliefs that European law could provide.

We have ourselves proposed areas in which we can withdraw legislation and in which we do not regard European regulation as necessary, yet the Commission has not responded to our proposals. One example that springs to my mind is mediation, where we were given a draft directive to examine even though we had said, when the Green Paper came out, that this was an area to which subsidiarity applied and there was no need for legislation on it at European level. My overall view is that you have listened too little to what this House has been telling you in the preparatory phase.

  Elizabeth Lynne (ALDE). – Mr President, I welcome many aspects of the Commission programme but I am disappointed that there is not more reference to disabled people or elderly people. I would have like to have seen a specific disability directive that outlawed discrimination in access to goods and services and similarly one on age.

With regard to health and safety at work, I would also like to see an amendment to the 2000 biological agents directive, to protect health workers from contracting HIV and Hepatitis C from needle-stick injuries. There are over one million such injuries across the EU every year.

However, I welcome the Commission President’s commitment to cutting down on unnecessary legislation, which of course is a burden on business. In that spirit, could he look again at the 2004 electromagnetic fields directive and the serious impact it could have on the use of state-of-the-art MRI scanners and see his way to bringing forward an amendment to this directive to make sure that MRI scanners will be protected in the future?

  Amalia Sartori (PPE-DE). – (IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I too would like to congratulate Mr Barroso on the report he has given us this morning. However, like many of my colleagues I too ask him to bring together its priorities, so as to define clearly the package of proposals and the objectives that we wish to achieve during the next five years.

We all remember that the previous Commission under Mr Prodi managed in the event to achieve only 50% of what was initially envisaged in its programme. I do not think that initiatives of that type are useful, especially for a Europe that needs to believe in itself. The first thing that I should like to suggest is that you should collate and prioritise the objectives that we wish to achieve as soon as possible.

Next we must certainly dedicate ourselves to other important issues. A great many points are addressed in the report that you presented this morning. Speaking as the internal coordinator of the Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats and of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, I should like to emphasise one point in particular on which you are no doubt committed to doing something important: namely the creation of a ‘road map’ on gender equality.

As well as this point, I should also like us to consider the theme of work. As you know, there is a conflict in Europe today between those who have more rights and those who have fewer, those who have jobs and those who do not, those who have access to good schools and teachers and those who have no such access, as is the case in the suburbs of Paris. This is a problem that affects one country today, but could affect others tomorrow.

In this connection the role of women in the Community and above all the role of women in the workplace is of fundamental importance. It is therefore necessary, in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy, to address the issue of the under-representation of women in the workplace and the fact that they are often forced into badly paid jobs that require no qualifications.

  Richard Corbett (PSE). – Mr President, I also wish to welcome the presence of the whole Commission and deplore the absence of many colleagues, which is in part because we all have TV monitors in our offices and it is so easy to watch the debates whilst working in your office. However, it would be far better if Members were here. Nevertheless, what is being said is not being lost, of course: it is being heard outside.

I welcome the reference in the Commission’s work programme to Plan D for democracy, dialogue and debate. That is not the focus of our discussion now. We must remember that this work programme is very important but that it is taking place in a wider context, which is a profound debate about where our European Union is going, what its future is.

We are in a period of reflection – and in a period of reflection about the Constitution – which has begun not on the text but on the context. This work programme is part of that wider context. The future of our social economic model with the special summit at Hampton Court is part of that context. The need to find in December that crucial deal that we were close to in Luxembourg on the medium-term budget is part of that context. If we can get the context right, including the work programme, then we will be able to come back and look at the text of the Constitution in one or two years’ time and see how we can best move forward on that.

Let me quickly take up one other point: better regulation. We are all behind you on that, Mr Barroso. However, in the context where those anti-Europeans in my country and others portray the European Union as one massive bureaucracy-producing machine spewing out regulations, it is incumbent upon all of us to point out that, when we get it right, European legislation is an exercise in cutting red tape, relieving burdens on business, providing one set of rules for the common market, one patent, one registration for a trademark, one form to fill in, one fee to pay instead of 25. Good European regulation cuts bureaucracy and red tape. That point must also be made in this debate.

  Joseph Daul (PPE-DE). – (FR) Mr President, Mr Barroso, Commissioners, today’s debate proves that a real culture of dialogue has been established between the Commission and Parliament. With regard to the programme, which, far from being a bureaucratic or statistical exercise, is a vital political element – and I, as the Chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairmen, am delighted by that – I would like to thank Mrs Wallström for her many appearances before our Conference, and I also thank the Commissioners who conducted bilateral discussions with the relevant parliamentary committees throughout the procedure. Of course, some improvements are still needed, including in Parliament, as regards our attendance in this Chamber.

Subject to the analysis of the work programme that the political groups proposed and will conduct, with a view to adopting a proposal for a resolution, during the part-session in December, I think I can say that this programme contains the principal priorities set out by the parliamentary committees in its main chapters, namely priority, solidarity, security and external responsibility.

On the other hand, two points of fundamental disagreement have come to light concerning the area of freedom, security and justice with regard to human rights. Certain proposals have not been retained by the Commission. However, the important thing is that Parliament, as co-legislator, must be kept fully informed of the reasons why the Commission, in exercising its right of initiative, has not followed up on Parliament’s wishes.

I would also like to mention the objective of the Lisbon Agenda: with regard to employment and competition, cohesion and research, we need a budget and a financial perspective.

Finally, the programme represents only one aspect of a broader agenda under the rubric ‘better regulation’ and, in this regard, we attach considerable importance to the transposition and simplification of European legislation. A decent solution is required in terms of comitology and I would like to stress the need, next year, to include simplification measures and withdrawal proposals in the legislative and work programme, in order to give this exercise greater visibility and transparency. I am delighted with the commitment that Mrs Wallström made in this regard during our last meeting on 13 October and I am convinced that all of the parliamentary committees will be active in ensuring that this programme is implemented.

  Genowefa Grabowska (PSE).  – (PL) Mr President, the Commission programme represents an attempt to assess the situation of Europe and the European Union, and to identify the threats we are facing. I suggest that we should therefore take a look at what is new and original about the Commission’s proposals. They relate to the achievement of prosperity through knowledge, of solidarity through work, and of security through the restriction of civil liberties and law enforcement. I would ask whether this is an appropriate plan of action for an institution that acts as the guardian of the Treaties, and whether these are in fact your priorities, or rather a series of promises and pipe dreams that you hope will be self-fulfilling.

I should now like to get down to business, and to begin by examining the Commission’s proposals concerning the Constitutional Treaty. In the programme description, the Commission regrets that the Constitution will not be ratified in the foreseeable future. It goes on to say that it intends to play an active part in national debates, and to support these debates. Mr Barroso, this approach leaves much to be desired. It is not enough to express one’s regret and to wait for national debates to provide a solution. The Commission needs to provide an impetus.

The second issue I should like to focus on is better lawmaking. We all want better legislation that is more effective and also easier for citizens to understand, but I have my doubts as to whether this is in fact what the Commission is likely to achieve. For example, it is patently obvious that withdrawing 68 legislative proposals will not make the remaining legislation initiated by the Commission better or more comprehensible. It will not bring it closer to the citizens either. This is not what is meant by simpler legislation.

My final point is that in my opinion the Commission’s stated intention to set up a ‘new structure’ responsible for implementing better legislation has an ominous ring to it, since it would mean replacing the current system, where proposals are judged on their content, by a formal procedure. My impression is that the Commission is acting in accordance with Parkinson’s Law, and following the principle whereby a new institution is set up every time the course of action becomes unclear. Mr Barroso, we expect fewer lofty words, fewer promises, and a greater number of courageous and effective actions. It is not just the Members of this House who expect such things, but also the citizens of the European Union.

  Csaba Őry (PPE-DE). – (HU) Mr President, the European Commission’s work programme for 2006 is going in the right direction as regards social responsibilities, labour law and jobs. This can certainly be said of the initiatives relating to working hours, delocalisation and people who are disadvantaged for a variety of reasons, and the initiatives in the area of health and safety at work.

At the same time, however, we must see that citizens, the players in economic life, object to the excessively bureaucratic procedures. We must therefore make sure that we give small and medium-sized enterprises the most effective help possible, namely by simplifying the legislative environment for SMEs in the European Union and making it more transparent.

I was very pleased to hear Commission President Barroso’s clear commitment to creating a unified market for services. I believe this is necessary in equal measure for competitiveness and success, and for creating new jobs. At the same time, I would also like to add that the Commission will have a special role to play when, in the course of the year, it assesses experiences relating to the free movement of labour. We are confident that it will not simply produce an objective analysis, but it will act as a genuine engine and catalyst in ensuring that transitional restrictions are lifted as soon as possible. This step is an important one in terms of completing the single market and will lead to the creation of many new jobs.

We are therefore confident that the Commission will make progress simultaneously in the areas of competitiveness and of creating an internal market that will guarantee growth, and also in terms of developing a legislative environment in the social sphere based on European values. These are the most important challenges. We need balanced policy in these areas to ensure that we do not miss the 2012 express connecting service for Lisbon.

  Markus Pieper (PPE-DE). – (DE) Mr President, the work programme for 2006 gives the European institutions a great opportunity. It gives us the chance to show the people that we have understood them; that we have understood that the negative outcomes to the referendums in France and the Netherlands had something to do with Europe’s habit of over-regulating and denying people their right to take decisions as adults; that we have understood that all that Europe is meant to do is to set the framework conditions and that it must not get obsessed with detail and interfere in the nation states’ powers and responsibilities.

I welcome the Commission’s promise of better regulation in 2006. I welcome the references in the introduction to the work programme to better regulation, subsidiarity, cost-efficiency and impact assessments. I do see the beginnings of good things in the work programme, notably in the fields of growth and security policy, but the overall impression that I get from it is, unfortunately, more of ‘business as usual’ than of ‘better regulation’.

There are three things I would like to mention. The first is the Financial Perspective. I find it regrettable that the Commission is taking no active part in resolving this conflict. I regret the absence of proposals as to how we might, even with less money, pursue an effective structural policy, perhaps with joint funding by the private sector or by means of interest rate subsidies.

Secondly, there are the new directives on the protection of the environment and on the saving of energy. There are over a dozen items of European legislation on energy efficiency alone. We ought really to delete three old directives for every new one planned, but nothing is being done along these lines.

Why, thirdly, is Europe laying claim to more and more powers in social matters? Do we really need a European Green Paper on the rights of married and unmarried couples, such as the one that is planned? That will make us look ridiculous in the eyes of everyone from Lithuania to Greece. Despite the many positive approaches that it contains, I have to say, with regret, that work programme does not give the overall impression that we have understood the signals that the people of Europe have been sending.

I call for a more in-depth debate on the legitimacy of European legislation, and for a real start to be made on making over-regulation a thing of the past.

  Alexander Radwan (PPE-DE). – (DE) Mr President, Mr President of the Commission, we are here to discuss the work programme on which we want to embark in 2006. The first thing I want to say – and I say it not only to the Commission, but also to my fellow-Members of the European Parliament, is that less and better regulation, which we put on our own agenda and demand of ourselves, is also something that we should take seriously in our demands on the Commission as regards what it is due to present on the subject of the internal market and efficiency. We must not regularly frustrate our own demands by calling for the European legislator as soon as we decide something is needed, so a bit more self-discipline is called for.

As far as better regulation is concerned, although the Commission’s first actions are very positive and constitute a first step in the right direction, we would ask it to be more consistent in its future actions and to set a benchmark for comparison of transposition in the countries that are notorious for ‘gold plating’, so that it may be made perfectly clear which are transposing European legislation effectively and well and which are imposing additional burdens.

I have another request to make of the Commission: our response to the Basel II report was to set up the ‘Friends of the Presidency’ to work on comitology and bring about agreements on Parliament’s rights between the Commission, the Council and Parliament itself. This work is now beginning. The forthcoming legislation will, as regards the comitology especially of financial services have essential clauses permitting it to lapse. It is at this point that I will ask the Commission – for Commissioner McCreevy has done some preparatory work on this – to help us reach an agreement to make the comitology between Parliament and the Council more manageable. The Council is in the sort of position in which it does not always show itself to be particularly cooperative.

  José Manuel Barroso, President of the Commission. (FR) Mr President, I will start by making a few general comments, and I will then try to answer the specific questions that I have been asked.

First of all, I am delighted, as Mr Daul said in his capacity as Chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairman, at the cooperation that has been established between the Commission, on the one hand, and Parliament and its various committees, on the other, during the preparation of this work programme. This is important, because we have endeavoured to respond to many of your expectations. We must recognise, as one Member of this Parliament said, that this has resulted in 96 specific measures. You thought that this was too many, but, listening to you all this morning, it seems that some of you would have liked even more. On this subject, we must be honest. We must reach a balance, and this balance means that, whilst setting ourselves clear priorities – and we have clear priorities for the renewed Lisbon Strategy – we must respond to the very varied nature of the expectations expressed here in our discussions with you.

I have called on the Commission as a whole and all of the commissioners to be serious, realistic and objective in preparing this programme. I want a much higher implementation rate than in the past, and I am proud to be able to tell you that, this year, we are already going to achieve a much higher implementation rate than in the past with regard to the Commission’s work. We have concentrated on certain objectives that we really want to achieve. Of course, our general programme extends over five years. We are now going to present the programme for 2006. Not everything will be achieved in 2006, but what I would ask is that you analyse our work in terms of realistic, concrete objectives.

I would also like to thank you for the generally favourable reception that our initiative on ‘better regulation’ has received. This is a concern, as has just been said, that is not restricted to the Commission, but must be shared by all the institutions, including Parliament.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, I will turn to your specific questions. With regard to the sustainable development strategy, Mr Jonckheer, I must tell you that it is not my poor child, quite the opposite. When, at Gleneagles, I, on behalf of the European Commission, submitted to our US partners and to others the importance of climate change as a major priority, it was certainly not a poor child to which I was referring. When we announce a new strategy for sustainable development, which we are going to present in December, that also shows our commitment to this problem. When we adopt, as we have just done, a set of thematic strategies for the environment, that once again shows our commitment to environmental protection. That, therefore, is what we are going to do. We will do so whilst of course attempting, as I have already said, to make our various objectives compatible with each other and to ensure that they reinforce each other.

Mr Swoboda, you raised, amongst other things, two questions: one on tax harmonisation and one on the European Institute of Technology. On tax harmonisation, we must of course respect the consensus reached between our Member States: namely that we must work to draw up a common tax base. That is why we are endeavouring to reach an agreement on a common base for taxation in Europe. We are convinced that this will enable us to make significant reductions in the costs of business and investment in our countries, whilst still giving each Member State the freedom to set levels of company taxation. That is the European Commission’s position.

With regard to research, we believe that centres of excellence in research must be strengthened throughout the EU. We believe that European universities should be at the top of the global rankings in terms of research, education and innovation. We must work to make our universities more attractive so that the best minds in the world turn to Europe, instead of going to the United States, as is the case today. We can have centres of academic excellence in Europe. That is why we must establish a stronger mechanism for cooperation between European universities, so that we can make the most of the potential of knowledge in Europe. That is why the efforts invested in creating a European Institute of Technology constitute an important aspect of our strategy for growth and jobs.

With regard to the questions you raised on enlargement, Mrs Grossetête, we respect the commitments made unanimously by the Member States, by the European Council. That said, I want Parliament to know that the Commission will be rigorous and systematic in its evaluation of the progress made by all the candidate countries.

With regard to the policy on demographics and the family, we are the ones who put this subject on the agenda of the Hampton Court summit and we now have a clear mandate from the European Council to contribute to these considerations, or, even better, to the specific measures that we are planning to announce. Thus, we will be taking action in this field, too.

Coming to the concerns expressed by many of you, especially Mr Crowley, regarding agriculture and the multilateral negotiations, I can assure you that Europe will not allow itself to be forced into a defensive position in this context. We do not think that we need to take any more lessons on the opening up of markets from those whose markets are much more closed than ours, which is one of the most open markets in the world, if not the most open. We will be there to defend the interests of Europe.

Children’s rights were also a problematic matter brought to our attention by Mr Crowley. We are fully committed to this agenda. Vice-President Frattini is now preparing proposals – to be discussed in the Commission very soon – for a communication that we hope to present in March 2006. Admittedly, the legal basis for legislation in this matter is not very clear, but we believe that we should not refrain from looking forward to better coordination between the European Union and Member States on children’s rights. You can count on our commitment to children’s rights and on all issues relating to civic rights, including the non-discrimination concerns that you have expressed.

I should like to comment on Mr Rasmussen’s remarks. We agree that we need both elements: economic reform and investment. Indeed, we are starting to do that, and Hampton Court was a first important step in that direction. Member States, at the highest level, agreed there that we should now choose some specific areas for investment and a coordinated approach at European Union level, trying to combine the European Union level with the Member State level, for instance on energy and research.

We now have some areas in which we can give a strong signal of commitment and a coordinated approach towards economic governance in Europe. We agree on that. The difficulty, Mr Rasmussen and colleagues, is largely that we are now working in the last year of the financial perspectives for this period. Now it is impossible to rearrange all the priorities for this year. As regards our analysis of the national reform programmes of the Member States, what we are doing now and – I promise this to you – what we will be doing is within the framework of the new Lisbon Strategy; we are trying to forge ahead not only based on an approach that reinforces our efforts in terms of economic and structural reform, but also based on a more common and integrated approach for investment so that we can boost growth and employment in Europe. I want to underline it because it is a good example of an approach at European Union level bringing added value to the efforts of the Member States. This idea of partnership between the Member States, the Commission and Parliament is the very basis on which we want to continue working with you for a renewed, stronger, more committed European Union project.

(Applause)

  President. – Parliament would like to thank the President of the Commission and all of the Commissioners, who, as I said, are here in force.

The debate is closed.

The vote will take place on 14 December 2005.

(The sitting was suspended at 12.10 p.m. pending voting time, and resumed at 12.15 p.m.)

IN THE CHAIR: MR COCILOVO
Vice-President