Madam President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, President of the Commission, I think it is clear that, in January, when the Portuguese Presidency issued its first paper, the original impulse was perfectly laudable. The widespread dissemination of communication technologies was going to cause, indeed, is causing considerable change in the living and working conditions of the citizens of Europe. The conclusions of the Portuguese Presidency contain many positive commitments and objectives. Having said that, these are in danger of being watered down, and the motion for a resolution tabled by the PPE Group and the presents an absolute caricature of this, giving Parliament the opportunity to split along the good old left-versus-right divide, which does not match the observation of the practical policies implemented within the fifteen Member States, and which certainly does not meet the challenges of the future. Having said that, Mr Prodi, the real challenge would be if, in coming months, you did not endorse this motion for a resolution, in the event that Parliament votes in favour of it tomorrow. We therefore call upon you, along with the Council, to consider in further detail a number of points which we feel are noticeably absent from the Lisbon conclusions. The first point is the strategic goal. Has the strategic goal of sustainable development which was supposed to be an integral part of a twenty-first century economy, which would meet the requirements of the planet and its citizens, been forgotten? There is not one line on the reports which the Commission nonetheless submitted at the European Council in Helsinki. Not one line on the practical implementation of Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union. The connection must be made between the dissemination of modern communication techniques and the implementation of sustainable development. The second point relates to employment. European citizens must not be kept in ignorance of the fact that the dissemination of these communication technologies is going to destroy jobs as well as create them, and that at the very core of our societies, at macroeconomic as well as at microeconomic level, it presents a challenge to the redistribution of working time and the redistribution of incomes. Avoiding these questions is to invite serious social crises despite the spirit of optimism currently characterising the economy. The same applies to the matter of taxation, which you mentioned. In one of its documents on the integration of financial markets, the Commission itself said that such integration was possible only with a minimum of tax regulation. This is also true of the Monti package. These matters are going nowhere, and integrating the financial markets without fiscal regulation at European level is still tantamount to establishing a two-speed Europe. Finally, in social matters, I do not think it wise, Mr Monti, for the Commission to give up any legislative proposals in matters of employment law. The new economy also involves enabling workers, in the event of company restructuring or necessary discussions about the incorporation of technological innovations in companies, to proceed in decent conditions. This must also be included in the Nice social agenda and we urge you to ensure that this is the case, because my Group wishes to see a strong and ambitious Commission, and will support you if you take the comments I have just made into account. (Applause)

Political group: Verts-ALE