Address by THE President OF IRELAND, MARY McAleese to the European Parliament Strasbourg WEDNESDAY,
Address by THE President OF IRELAND, MARY McAleese to the European Parliament Strasbourg WEDNESDAY, 19 November, 2003
Mr. President, Distinguished Members
I am delighted to accept your invitation to address this Parliament and to have the privilege of doing so at what is a remarkable juncture in the evolution of the European Union.
This house is home not just to many political perspectives but to many cultures, identities, traditions and heritages. You speak different languages and you understand the profound connection between language and culture - so I know you will be a particularly receptive audience if I take this opportunity to speak briefly in the Irish language.
Is mór an onóir dom an deis seo a fháil labhairt le Parlaimint na hEorpa. Is ó shaoránaigh na hEorpa a eascraíonn údarás na hinstitiúide seo agus dá bhrí sin tá áit ar leith aici i gcroí an Aontais. Is léir dom go maith go bhfuil baill an fhorais ag obair go dícheallach chun an Eoraip seo againne a neartú. Glacaim uchtach as seasamh daingean na Parlaiminte agus í ag cur tuairimí mhuintir na hEorpa chun cinn.
It is a particular honour for me to have this opportunity to speak to the European Parliament. This Institution's authority comes from the citizens of Europe and it has therefore a special place in the heart of the Union. I am keenly aware that the members of this body are working diligently and with commitment to build a strong Europe. I take great courage from the firm and resolute stand of the Parliament on behalf of the people of Europe.
Ireland will assume the Presidency of the Union next January so it seems right that today I should briefly address some of the major agenda items that will feature during Ireland’s Presidency. The Taoiseach, the Irish Prime Minister will of course deal with them in considerably more detail when you meet in January and you can be sure he and the Irish Government are looking forward to that.
Mr. President
This Parliament gives power to the hugely diverse voices of the men, women and young people of Europe. Along with the Council and the Commission, it forms a crucial part of the institutional checks and balances through which the European project has succeeded so well on behalf of us all. Naturally, I take a special pride in the fact that we have two Irish Presidents in this chamber today; but perhaps more important than our shared nationality is the continuing re-assurance to small nations which your election, Mr President brings - the re-assurance that our European Union truly respects, in its practices, the principles of equality and merit. I should also say that your term in office has been widely admired, and nowhere more than in our native home.
The strength of this Parliament’s voice has grown as the Union has grown. Now transformed from a consultative into a legislative body, a transformation supported and endorsed by the Irish people, this chamber demonstrates the central place of democratic politics in the Union and in its debates bears witness to the expanding areas of cooperation within the Union - so much greater today than those early preoccupations with trade and the economy alone. The valuable role played by the Parliament’s representatives to the Convention on the Future of Europe is a further recent manifestation of the extent to which you are shapers of the future of the Union. As the directly elected representatives of the Union’s citizens you are particularly well qualified to inform the debate on bringing Europe closer to the citizens, an issue which has taken centre stage and which will form a special focus for the Irish Presidency.
The Union’s founders knew the devastating wasteland from which this exciting adventure in democratic partnership developed. They knew the price that had been paid for its birth. It is an infant still, a robust infant but an infant nonetheless in the scheme of human history and it needs champions to keep reminding us how lucky we are that it was conceived at all. Infanticide by disinterest or neglect is simply not an option and all of us who believe in this Union are challenged to generate in its citizens a passion and a zest for its continued development and growth – that is what the Irish Presidency hopes to do.
Mr. President
I represent a country which has arguably changed more in the three decades of membership than at any time in our history: our economy has grown stronger; our population decline has been reversed; our self-confidence has increased; our relations with our nearest neighbours in Britain, have never been better; and our standing in Europe and beyond is one of which we can be proud. Although geographically situated on the very periphery, Ireland has had a distinctive and unique European outreach over many centuries and has played an important part in the cultural, religious, educational and social development of many parts of our continent. Virtually every time I visit a member state I am reminded that an Irish saint got there first many centuries ago! When we joined the Union there was something of the homecoming about it but there was also a courageous facing up to the future and an acknowledgment that past insularity and protectionism were dead weights holding us back. Through membership we first began to realise our true potential.
The European Union is probably the world’s best example of learning from past mistakes. This continent paid an outrageous price to learn that collegiality is infinitely more humanly decent than colonialism, cooperation better by far than conflict, that peace is essential to prosperity, that difference does not have to mean disdain. To the Union table we bring our individual sovereignty, our differences, our national identities and our histories. Through respectful dialogue and a shared belief in partnership we dare to forge a working team of neighbours, each of whom loves his or her native land and yet each of whom shares a devotion to our common European continental homeland.
Mr. President, this Union is living proof that humanity can comfortably carry a range of identities, that they can complement and enhance each other and that we can deliver a better future for our people inside the Union than outside it.
When Ireland’s Presidency of the Union begins in a few weeks time we will bring to it the enthusiasm of committed Europeans and the gratitude of a country which has manifestly benefited greatly from that commitment. We know that this will undoubtedly be our most challenging Presidency to date but we know we will have your support as we attempt to be an effective and impartial arbiter, in search of practical and even-handed outcomes in the interests of the European Union as a whole. The needs are simple - the Union must be effective internally, influential externally and must equip itself for the future. The solutions are not quite so simple and will of course be greatly testing of all our ingenuity. Yet we have no lack of ambition, no fear of added responsibilities.
The most important moment in Ireland’s Presidency will, of course, be the formal accession of ten new Member States on 1 May 2004. It is an awesome, positive answer to the challenge laid down in this very forum just under a decade ago by Václav Havel, whom I had the great pleasure of welcoming to Dublin last week. He rightly declared then that “history has thrown down a gauntlet - we can, if we wish, pick up. If we do not do so, a great opportunity to create a continent of free and peaceful cooperation may be lost”. The gauntlet has been well and truly lifted.
The citizens and leaders of the European Union, including this Parliament, have shown themselves equal to the mammoth task of preparing both the Union and the applicant countries for enlargement. The citizens of the accession countries have endured the painful reforms required for membership and thanks to their determination they stand on the doorstep of the Union far more quickly than anyone could have anticipated. Where not long ago totalitarian régimes reigned, respect for the rule of law, democratic institutions, human rights and fundamental freedoms have put down deep roots again. If the war graves of Europe could speak they would tell us we are living a miracle - a radical transformation of human history is being wrought by a relentless process of sheer hard work and utter fidelity to the vision of the transcendent power of cooperation which is at the heart of the Union.
And of course, the enlargement process does not conclude on 1 May 2004. During the Irish Presidency, the accession negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania will be pursued, based on the same principles that have guided all the enlargement negotiations to date, with a view to a target date of 2007 for their accession. In addition, the Irish Presidency will monitor closely developments with Turkey, in advance of the key decision on opening negotiations to be taken in December 2004.
Mr. President
The new Member States are ambitious for their futures and we want to see them prosper as they put the opportunities of membership to good use. They rely on the continuation of that strong support from existing member states, which has brought them safely thus far. Now it is our common challenge to ensure the success of a Union of 25 member states. The Italian Presidency is demonstrating its determination to do all in its power to reach agreement in the IGC by next month, and Ireland is strongly supportive of this aim. The new treaty will inject a fresh excitement into the Union, transforming its unfortunate bureaucratic image, re-energizing its relationship with Europe’s citizens, making them feel like insiders rather than spectators.
The draft text produced by the Convention is a huge step forward in this regard. Naturally, however, a number of questions remain to be fully debated and finally resolved, including the issue of a reference to God in the preamble to the new Treaty. The Irish Government has indicated that it would welcome such an inclusion if consensus can be reached on suitable language.
At the end of the day the Union does not live by words alone but by actions which make those lofty words real in our lives. How we manage economic and social development in the new Europe, how we harness the real potential offered by enlargement, how we breathe lived life into the words - these are, therefore, vital questions that Ireland will seek to address during our Presidency. A key task during Ireland’s tenure will be to advance the Lisbon agenda of social, economic and environmental renewal. At the Lisbon Summit in 2000, the Union set itself the ambitious objective of becoming the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by the end of this decade. That
strategy was agreed at a time of rapid economic growth across Europe and a lot has been achieved so far. But these are much less buoyant times, made all the more challenging by enlargement and if we are to achieve our targets we need to increase the pace of reform. The Irish Presidency will seek to increase the relevance of the Lisbon agenda by focussing on areas that affect our everyday lives - because there can be no doubt that economic competitiveness, growth and investment, job creation, social protection, social inclusion, and sustainable development are all critical issues for the quality of life of Europe’s citizens and for the relevance of the Union to their lives.
Mr. President
The European citizen is also deeply concerned about world affairs: for ours is an increasingly interdependent world and the Union has both a duty and an opportunity to exercise its influence in the wider world, in pursuit of our shared values as well as of our shared interests. The Union’s external relations agenda is vast. It reflects the influence and the respect that the Union garners in all parts of the world. I experienced this personally during my recent State Visit to China, whose leaders greatly value the development of closer links with the Union. And of course with enlargement will come even greater authority.
Ireland’s Presidency will be taking place at a time of deep global insecurity. War, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, famine, disease and organised crime are all vying for places on the international agenda alongside issues of trade, of tariffs, of global economics and global relationships. External relations will, therefore, be another key aspect of the Irish Presidency. There is a variety of means by which the Irish Presidency will continue to address these and other issues, including the power of our own particular history which makes us a specially effective bridge to the United States, home to so many Irish emigrants. Ireland is also a special bridge to the developing countries, adopted homelands for the thousands of Irish nurses, doctors, teachers, missionaries and aid workers who have made common cause for generations with the poorest of the poor.
Underpinning international peace and security is a vital network of multilateral organisations and of global, bilateral and regional relationships. A stronger EU makes that network stronger and it makes louder the voice that champions the cause of peaceful co-existence and the fundamental human rights of every human being. Close and direct cooperation on bilateral and regional issues will be a feature of our Presidency, whether in Africa, Asia, the Americas or, closer to home, in the neighbouring countries to the Union’s East and South East.
Mr. President
Nowhere is the call for the responsible exercise of power stronger than in the conduct of our relations with the developing world. The Union is the global leader in the provision of development assistance and this generosity of spirit is a badge we can wear with honour. The EU Commission and the Member States collectively contribute over 50 per cent of global Overseas Development Assistance, or over €25 billion per year. The EU is the largest donor to multilateral debt relief. It is the largest donor to AIDS programmes. It is, by far, the biggest donor to Africa. I have seen with my own eyes the practical benefits of this aid in countries such as Uganda and Kenya and the real hope it gives to people whose lives would otherwise be blighted by despair.
However, we cannot escape the fact that the overall level of development assistance from the rich countries has dropped to an unacceptably low level. Even if we were to ignore the altruistic aspect of development assistance – which, of course, we should not - the single global civilisation in which we all now live highlights the myopia of such an approach. The human misery caused by endemic poverty should shame us all but the instability engendered by it threatens us all. Poverty reduction rather than poverty management, is fundamental to Europe’s future security strategy and we are in an ideal position to champion an end to the poverty, disease, corruption, the oppression, the wasteful conflicts and post-colonial malaise which are denying so many human beings a decent life.
Perhaps this is the new gauntlet that should be thrown down to the twenty five Member States of the enlarged Union.
Mr President,
A Europe that has healed its own divisions can advocate its values with genuine credibility on the global stage. Yet the recent conflicts in Yugoslavia and my birthplace Northern Ireland and the relentless misery of the Middle East should keep us humble and alert to the dangers that still lurk on or close to our own doorsteps. It is chilling to realise that people can live right next door to one another and yet live in dangerous ignorance and fear of each other. We Europeans must ensure that inside each of our nations and between our twenty five nations, our children are taught respect for others so that they can grow up completely at home, comfortable, in a world of difference and diversity- an example to the rest of the world.
The historic Good Friday Agreement was in many ways inspired by the European ideal. Its institutional architecture was strongly influenced by the experience of conflict resolution in Western Europe. One member of this distinguished chamber has been a tireless and persuasive advocate of the European model and he was, without a shadow of doubt, a key architect of the Good Friday Agreement. I refer of course to the great Derryman, Irishman and European, your colleague and Nobel Laureate, John Hume whose vision, courage and achievements I salute with gratitude today.
The EU Peace and Reconciliation Programmes, generously supported by the European Parliament, have benefited many previously alienated and excluded communities and given them a sense of hope and optimism about the future. Together with the United States, the EU has also been a generous contributor to the International Fund for Ireland, which has worked at the coal-face of economic regeneration and reconciliation in Northern Ireland for many years. Now all that work is paying off and it is clear that the will for peace is the strongest impulse in the vast majority of hearts.
Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly will take place on November 26 and it is my fervent hope that the choices made will help my birthplace become what I know it is capable of becoming - a showcase of partnership, tolerance, equality and peace.
A Uachtaráin, is mór an méid atá déanta ag Parlaimint na hEorpa chun pobal na hEorpa a threorú ar bhóthar a leasa, agus áirím mar chuid den treorú sin méadú an Aontais. Is mór an onóir don tír s’againn féin gur le linn Uachtaránacht na hÉireann a thiocfaidh an méadú seo chun críche. Is aisteach agus is iontach é gurb é an Stát is faide siar a chuirfidh fáilte roimh na stáit is faide soir – cruthú eile, má’s gá a leithéid, gur i dteannta a chéile is ea a dhéanfaidh muid ár dtodhchaí a fhí.
Mr. President, the European Parliament has played a central role in helping Europe to make the right choices, including through your consistent, indeed insistent, support for enlargement. It is a distinct honour that this extraordinary development will be brought to fruition during Ireland’s Presidency. It is a piece of some symbolic symmetry that Ireland, the most westerly member of the Union, will preside over this great embrace of the east. It is also, I believe, further fitting proof of how the interests of each of us are so closely intertwined and so important to nurture in common cause.
There is a saying in the Irish language “Ni neart go cur le chéile” - our strength is in partnership. It could be the motto of the European Union. Its truth has been revealed many times over since the Union was founded and nowhere is its truth more evident than in my own country. Now a new generation, probably the most privileged ever to inhabit this continent will have a chance to see what great strength is created when fifteen becomes twenty five, when the restless energy of a half a billion people, working with each other and for each other, is harnessed to the task of writing Europe’s best and happiest chapter yet. Irish luck places us in the right place at the right time. We intend to honour it well.
Go raibh maith agaibh. Thank you.