Brussels, 29/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - Taking the floor after a speech by José Luis Zapatero on Wednesday 28 November, the European Parliament welcomed the European commitment of the head of the Spanish government, who pleaded in favour of an ambitious Europe (9553). As a global player, Europe must commit in favour of fair globalisation, without moving away from its values of solidarity and social justice, Mr Zapatero stressed. Most of the MEPs shared his vision.
Speaking on behalf of the EPP-ED group, the Spanish MEP Jaime Oreja Mayor thanked the Spanish prime minister “for these words on the future of Europe”, even though he would have preferred “this speech to have been given before the Lisbon summit”. Pleading in favour of “more cohesion and fewer words”, he voiced his opinion that “we must leave aside the commonplaces and implement the directives, the Kyoto Protocol and lay emphasis on the moral values of Europe and the role of the European political parties”. The president of the PES, the German member Martin Schulz, said that he was “honoured” that Spain, “which has suffered under a dictatorship, is thanking Europe and the EP”. The way the country has developed is a “model”, he continued, adding that “Spain today is knocking on the door of the G8, thanks to its economic muscle”. “If the new accession countries enjoy the same effect as Spain, Europe has a great future”. He went on to pay tribute to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for his “modern and progressive politics, a good thing for Spain and a good thing for Europe”. In the view of his counterpart from the ALDE group, the British MEP Graham Watson, “the European Union may be reborn from its ashes” once the member states have ratified the new treaty. Mr Zapatero's efforts towards this are worthy of praise and a new period of reflection will not be required; nor will it be necessary to set in place a committee of the wise.
According to the Irish member Brian Crowley, who was speaking on behalf of the UEN, “it is only by a combination and a coordination of the various methods and ideologies that we have seen progress” in the fields of equality, justice, economic development, security and health. The co-president of the Greens-EFA, the Italian MEP Monica Frassoni, pointed out that Spain is the country with the record number of kilometres of motorway in Europe and “in which concrete encourages speculation, well beyond the Kyoto objectives”. She also hopes that the government of Mr Zapatero will keep its electoral promises concerning climate change and that “Spain will change its mindset”. Although he can subscribe to the “beautifully humanistic discourse” of the Spanish prime minister, as an “ideal for the Europe of the future”, the president of the GUE-NGL, Francis Wurtz of France, said that in order to approach the reality of the everyday lives of the Europeans, many changes are needed at the level of the directions taken by the EU and its structures. He said that “for the most part, social Europe has not yet been built”; yet the social question is, without a doubt, “the major cause of problems of trust between citizens and institutions of Europe”, he said, deploring the theory of “salary moderation in the name of price competitiveness” as championed by the European Central Bank.
Spain will not hold a further referendum for two reasons: “the Spanish people took position in favour of the Constitutional Treaty, which contains many aspects of this new treaty, and there is a consensus for its ratification to be by Parliamentary means”, replied Mr Zapatero, who nonetheless took position in favour of common ratification process at EU level. “Climate change, which poses a challenge but also presents an opportunity in terms of knowledge and employment, development aid and social rights, a sign of European identity”, are priorities for the future, he reiterated.
On immigration matters, criticism came from Jacques Toubon. If solidarity is required, the massive regularisation of the situation of illegal immigrants in Spain “has created a draught for countries trying to regulate their migratory flows”, said the French UMP MEP, who explains that the future French presidency of the Council of the EU will propose the European immigration pact. A common policy for immigration is necessary, it is perhaps even the only solution which will allow us to avoid “the temptation to criticise the policy of the other member states”, was Mr Zapatero's dry retort. (A.B.)