WE MUST GET BALANCE ON STOCKHOLM PROGRAMME RIGHT KIRKHOPE TELLS PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT
Posted, December 16, 2009 @ 00:00
Strasbourg 16 December 2009. Conservative Leader in Brussels Timothy Kirkhope MEP told the President of the European Parliament that parts of the Stockholm Programme impinge on areas that lie at the heart of national sovereignty.
In a debate in the European Parliament today Mr Kirkhope said,
"I would like to congratulate the Swedish government for its Presidency of the Council. It took office with a heavy agenda and has been able to achieve a great deal - much of which we welcome.
'I have spoken in this chamber repeatedly of the need to reinvigorate the Lisbon Strategy. The European Union has for too long pursued political and institutional reform with a degree of energy and determination which it has been simply unable to muster for economic reform.
"And yet our global trading position, relative economic weight, and international competitiveness are in jeopardy.
"I therefore welcome the Commission's EU 2020 initiative, now endorsed by the European Council and congratulate Mr Barroso on it. The future prosperity and well-being of our citizens depend on a dynamic economy able to generate jobs and wealth by unleashing the creative energies of entrepreneurs and by stimulating the growth of successful businesses.
"Part of this economic regeneration will be the greening of our economies.
"We all hope an agreement in Copenhagen this week will draw up a realistic framework to tackle climate change whilst facilitating economic growth and development.
"On the adoption of the Stockholm programme, we support the principle that the member states of the Union must cooperate more to combat problems related to immigration, cross border crime, and terrorism.
"But these are also areas which lie at the heart of national sovereignty: defending the law, ensuring security, and protecting the public are amongst the most important duties of a democratic state. We must therefore balance the need for joint action with respect for the rights of our member states.
"Parts of the Stockholm Programme simply fails to get this balance right. Some of the proposals will simply centralise power, create unnecessary expense, and add further bureaucracy for very little added value.
"Our priorities must lie in the direction of fitness to compete, de-regulation, innovation and job creation. The people of Europe deserve nothing less."