Mr President, Mr President of the Commission, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, firstly, on behalf of the Group of the European People’s Party , I wish to express our sense of grief for the murdered Italian soldiers and carabinieri and also the Iraqi citizens who fell victim to this hideous crime. We also wish to voice our outrage at the criminals in Istanbul and convey our respects and sympathy to the families and survivors there. There are situations in political life when one would gladly avoid making certain statements or adopting a particular type of speech. Unfortunately, however, I have no choice but to make my views plain, and I do so calmly and objectively, as I do not wish to create even more waves in Italy’s public debate after the events of last week. Mr Prodi, you deemed it appropriate to launch a political manifesto in Italy last week. This manifesto, Mr Prodi, is not our problem, although it could be argued that if you present a comprehensive policy programme, this should not be in response to a country’s domestic political situation; the place for this would have been the European Parliament. That also needs to be said, ... (Heckling, sustained applause) ... but that is not my main point. Mr Cohn-Bendit, you will undoubtedly have an opportunity to express your views. As a democrat, kindly let me express mine. My main point of criticism, Mr Prodi, is that you have engaged in party politics. You have called on a specific political movement, namely the Italian left, to join forces, thus creating ... (Applause) ... the impression that there are on the one side people who are pro-reform and pro-Europe, while on the other side there are those who are not pro-Europe. Let me say, on behalf of my group, that every single member of our group shares the passion for Europe, and we should not drive a wedge between Europeans, neither in Italy nor in Europe. (Applause) Nor can it be claimed that this was a declaration made in a private capacity, for it comes from the President of the Commission. Anyone who is the Commission President always acts on behalf of all Europeans. I share the view of our fellow MEP Mr Barón Crespo: if the Commission President heads the list for the European elections, he must resign from office. In fact, Mr President, my comments in Corriere della Sera prompted you, ... (Applause ... finally to make it clear that you will remain in office until the end of your term on 1 November 2004. We welcome this clarification, but even members of your Commission were still saying last week that there were rumours you might be standing as a list candidate in the European elections. Thankfully, you have now clarified your position. Nonetheless, this state of affairs – this rumour mill – has also harmed the Commission and I mention it here because it needs to be mentioned. (Applause) Anyone who holds high office in the European Union should always bear in mind that every time they speak, they do so for the European Union as a whole. Indeed, if Corriere della Sera had called me to ask me about the statements made by the President of the European Council on Chechnya, I would still have said that I did not agree with the sort of declaration you have issued. We are trying to be objective. We want to serve Europe, and that is why we must not divide Europe. (Applause) Mr Prodi, let me remind you that on 15 September 1999, you were appointed with the support and trust of our group, even though you do not belong to our political family. We gave your Commission our trust, even though the majority of your Commissioners – contrary to the outcome of the elections – do not belong to our political family. I welcome the fact that the constitutional draft states that in future, the outcome of the European elections will be taken into account when a candidate is proposed for the office of Commission President. (Applause) Commissioner Solbes, I hope to hear a word or two on the stability of the European currency. I believe this is an issue which you will also be addressing today, Mr Prodi. I would like to give encouragement to your Commission and thank Commissioner Solbes in particular – whom we regard as the guarantor of European currency stability – for maintaining this course, not only towards the small countries but also the large countries in the European Union. (Applause) Mr Antonione, I particularly appreciate the fact that the representative of the Council is here today. This should be taken as read, but this was not the case in the past. I welcome the fact that you are here today, and I would like to give you our encouragement and call on you, at the Intergovernmental Conference, not to endorse the ideas floating around in some finance ministers’ minds, namely to reduce the rights of this House on budgetary issues, which we will resist resolutely. I would ask you to make it plain that you side with the European Parliament on this issue and that we want equality between this House and the Council of Ministers on the European Union budget. (Applause) Let me conclude with comments which I make with a great deal of personal regard, as the Commission President is aware, although personal affinity and political issues must be kept separate; criticism cannot be brushed under the carpet out of a sense of personal regard. It is essential to speak the truth. Mr Prodi, you are the President of all the Europeans. You hold the highest office in the European Union. Give us, the Group of the European People’s Party , the opportunity to give you our trust until the end of your term in office on 1 November 2004. If you prove that you can earn it, you will have our support. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE