Welcome to the European Parliament--Hans-Gert Pöttering President of the European Parliament

 

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Hans-Gert Pöttering
President of the European Parliament

Berlin, Ceremony in the Schlüterhof, 25 March 2007

Address by the President of the European Parliament on the 50th anniversary of the signature of the Treaties of Rome

Today we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the European Community, the greatest project in European history to promote peace and democracy. Fifty years of stability, prosperity and progress in the free part of our continent, which until 1989 was divided. European unification has created prospects for the citizens of the European Union which our parents and grandparents could not imagine in this form.

Whereas in 1957 the Treaties of Rome were signed at a meeting of governments and diplomats, today I am grateful to be able to represent the citizens of the European Union here in Berlin - the capital of a Germany which was reunited on 3 October 1990 - as President of the directly elected European Parliament, together with the chairmen of the Parliament's Political Groups.

This is a symbol of the democratic road that the peoples of Europe have travelled since 1957. But one thing has not changed: people must take centre-stage in European unification. As long ago as 1950, Jean Monnet, one of the founding fathers of the Community, declared: 'Our aim is not to unite states but to unify people'. I should therefore like to address you, the citizens of Europe, and particularly young people.

Wherever in the European Union you may live, you will feel, as we all do, that Europe begins in your home region, where you are at home. Our home country confers European citizenship on all of us. Home, fatherland and Europe: these are inseparable concepts. We are Europeans, Europeans of equal value, wherever in the European Union we may live.

We are linked through our shared values - human dignity, human rights, democracy, the rule of law and the social market economy. In the world of the 21st century, we can only defend these values through our joint efforts. That makes European unification a necessity. If all of us - the peoples of Europe - display solidarity in our actions and see ourselves as a family, Europe's future will be assured.

The European Parliament now represents people from 27 countries - nearly 500 million citizens of the European Union. It is directly elected. It takes decisions on most legislation as the representative of the people and as a body with equal powers of decision with the Council of Ministers, which represents states, and it has the last word on the budget. Without the confidence of the 785 Members of the European Parliament, it is not possible for a new Commission to be appointed. If a Commission no longer enjoys the confidence of the European Parliament, the European Parliament can dismiss the Commission. The interests of the citizens are now strongly represented through political groups in the European Parliament and European political parties.

I should also like to stress the strong commitment which the European Parliament displayed to German unity and the accession of the ten new countries - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus - in time for the European elections of 2004. These common elections in a united Europe symbolised as never before the victory of European democracy over servitude. For we should remember that the countries which joined in 2004, together with Bulgaria and Romania, which acceded in 2007, may be new Member States but they are not new democracies. Let us never forget that in 1791 The Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania became the first country in continental Europe to adopt a liberal constitution.

As I have been a Member of the European Parliament since the first direct elections in 1979, I can tell you that the European Parliament has fought for the rights which it has gradually acquired; it is now both influential and self-confident. But we also know that we must continue our efforts to make the European Union more democratic, more open and closer to the citizens. That is why the European Parliament is in favour of the Constitutional Treaty, which was jointly framed by Members of the European Parliament, national parliamentarians and representatives of governments and the European Commission. We wish the substance of the Constitutional Treaty, including the ｅxpression of our common values, to become legally binding before the European elections of June 2009.

We wish to see more democracy at all political levels. The Constitutional Treaty is the first European instrument ever that enshrines the right of local self-government. It gives national parliaments greater influence over European policy. In nearly all fields, the European Parliament acquires equal legislative rights with the Council. As a rule, the Constitutional Treaty provides for the Council to take decisions by a qualified majority, taking account of fair democratic principles.

The European Parliament and national parliaments are partners. Our work is complementary. Together we have the task of creating a democratic Europe.

Fifty years ago, the Chancellor of Germany, Konrad Adenauer, said: 'There was a time when a few people dreamed of European unity. It has since become the hope of many, and today it is a necessity for all.' This statement remains true today. We need European solutions in order to be equal to the major challenges of the 21st century: globalisation, climate change, energy supply, dialogue between cultures or action to counter terrorism.

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Today we look back in gratitude to that day in Rome fifty years ago, when courageous men and women decided to reconcile formerly hostile countries in peace and freedom and to permanently resolve conflicts through dialogue and compromise, instead of war and violence. This is often a laborious business, calling for patience and above all, mutual trust. Let us draw inspiration from the courage displayed by Europe's founding fathers, so that we too can find the courage to embark upon new beginnings: to work for a shared future in Europe - an old continent, but one which is constantly renewing itself - in the 21st century.

Text of the Berlin Declaration in all the official languages of the European Union