Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, President Prodi, we expect from you not only fresh political determination in the Commission which you will be leading, but also a strong commitment to initiating a great period of reform and change in Europe. This is why we, on the , view your programme with confidence. We are not here to preserve, we are here to reform: we are here to reform European institutions and European politics and economics, because we want the Institutions to become ever closer to the people, even to those of the electorate who did not believe in our mission in the recent elections; we want a political climate which is capable of resolving issues and providing government, and an economy which is geared to building foundations for cohabitation which are fair, compatible, and mutually agreed on. From this point of view, the project for institutional innovation of which you have spoken may, I believe, be the subject of dialogue, as Mr Bourlanges just said, between the different forces within this Parliament. The goal we must set ourselves is a process which will take us to greater and more marked political, economic and social cohesion. This is the direction in which we must move. I am sure that you and your team – and I would like to draw attention to the balance achieved in your team – are starting off in the most favourable conditions for the successful completion of this operation. You have been appointed President of the European Commission because of the ability you displayed in governing Italy wisely and competently, because of your professional experience, which is internationally acknowledged, and because you represent a trustworthy, powerful response to the crisis which afflicted the previous Commission. May I recall with pride the years President Prodi and I worked together in our national government, the difficult challenges we faced and those in which we succeeded, including that most difficult challenge for Italy – the euro. Today, you are at Europe's helm: you face another challenge, another wager which will be taken up by the Commission as it looks to the interests of all Member States. Today, Europe needs hope and confidence in herself and her qualities. We have only just emerged from a painful conflict which forced the international community to intervene to defend the right to exist of a people excluded from their own territory; the Kosovo crisis. We entered this conflict thanks purely to Milosevic; we came out of it thanks to European cohesion, solidarity between allies and a new political climate between Europe, the USA and Russia. We are asking ourselves, what could Europe become today with a stronger and more determined political profile? We must do all that we can, and become all that we can as Europeans, taking Kosovo as a starting point, with the obligations which fall to us to set reconstruction in motion, to bring to life a policy of peace and stability for the whole of the Balkans and to bring about a Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which is democratic and multi-ethnic. For us, therefore, to be Europeans means in this case to support all those forces which are fighting in Serbia at this time for a pluralist and democratic system. We expect a great deal from you. We expect a great deal from this new European Commission, from the Council and from this new Parliament which is anxious to hear the position of the Commissioners. In particular, much is expected by Europe's young people, who are waiting for concrete results regarding the fight against unemployment. Therefore, above all, we must focus our attention on the excessive burden of unemployment which is weighing heavily on our territories and on the whole of Europe. Young people, in particular, are expecting, as are we ourselves, a major new policy from the Commission for training, research, culture and the environment, and then also for economic growth and freedom – freedom from bureaucracy and petty regulations. This freeing-up of society, together with the capacity to guarantee rights, which the authorities must be able to express, can indeed create that society of equal opportunities which is the motive for our political commitment. We are at a delicate stage: practically all Member States are going to have to face national reform of the welfare state. The social state is coming into being in Europe, driven by the organised movement of workers, to help those who are weakest and most vulnerable. The task before us today is to build a new welfare state; one which will provide opportunities, which will help those who are weakest once again, but which, at the same time, will be capable of mobilising both human and material resources to promote growth, development and long-term training. In other words, this task will be able to regenerate hope and trust in Europe and in its own resources: a Europe of opportunities, as Jacques Delors would say, a Europe of growth and development, a Europe of peace and stability, not a closed fortress but an area of openness which is able to benefit growth and development in other parts of the world as well. This is the Europe we want, and we are fully confident that with you and your Commission, President Prodi, we will be able to achieve it. (Applause)

Political group: PSE