Mr President, Mr President of the Commission, the three political priorities of your programme can only be assessed in light of the challenges faced by the European Union. It should, however, and I shall say this from the start, be noted that the ultra-liberal criteria that continue to affect European integration prevent us from rising to meet these challenges. The Commission thus proposes, and I quote, to ‘re-engage citizens in the European project’. I will believe that when I see it! The abyss is in fact deepening between European integration as it is and the peoples’ expectations, as expressed in particular at the European Social Forum in Florence, where hundreds of thousands of people were united in a powerful anti-war, pro-peace demonstration. The Union, however, continues to implement a security and defence policy based on the military option and alliance with NATO, instead of working towards conflict prevention. Numerous discussions, debates and demonstrations in Florence called for public services to be safeguarded, so that water, health and education might become common assets. A petition against liberalising services under the WTO, within the framework of the GATS has already been signed by 127 European and national MPs. The Commission, on the other hand, in accordance with the Barcelona and Lisbon European Councils, is pursuing and speeding up the liberalisation and deregulation process leading to privatisation in the energy, transport, postal and other sectors. It is maintaining the restrictions on public spending under the Stability and Growth Pact, even though it has been recognised at the highest level that the Pact is not as intangible as it seems. After Florence, French rail workers will take to the streets again on 26 November. In Florence, young people declared themselves in favour of a fraternal, inclusive Europe that is open to the world. The Commission programme makes fortress Europe even more impenetrable. This effective border control, however, is entirely illusory and distances us further from the inclusive Europe you spoke of yesterday morning, Mr Prodi. Common asylum and immigration policies must not be dependent on combating terrorism, an approach that would consider anything foreign to be potentially dangerous and criminalise all migrants or would view them as nothing more than economic resource. On the other hand, the road to equal rights could lead to a safe, inclusive European Union. By equal rights, I mean economic, social and political rights equally: granting foreign residents the right to vote as of the next European elections in 2004, as Commissioner Vitorino advocated before one of the Convention’s working groups, would send a strong signal in this regard for a generous, fraternal Europe that is open to the world. There is certainly an urgent need to define the future of Europe, but I do not believe we should define it in the same way as the Commission’s design and project. Must we confine ourselves to the Convention’s limited ideas concerning the institutions and rhetoric on the social dimension, must we place our trust fully in the Convention, as you said, Mr Prodi? It is not enough simply to announce that citizens are to be involved. We need to respond to their needs and hopes and fully recognise their rights, with regard to work, health, housing, education and culture, and in order to do so, we must certainly go back to the drawing board and rethink the most basic principles of the Maastricht Treaty, as it imposes a dogma of competition and a free market. We must challenge the Stability and Growth Pact and take account of the new criteria of growth, employment and training and review the responsibilities of the European Central Bank. The ruling on liberalisation and deregulation must be promulgated, public services must be recognised in the Treaty, and not only as a derogation to competition. Lastly, Mr Prodi, you spoke of the great hopes that exist in the South. I share this ambition for the European Union to play a new role in the world, to prevent conflicts, to encourage peace and genuine security. The Union should play a part in international negotiations, in particular within the WTO, and espouse concerns over genuine development in the poorest countries. In this regard, confining ourselves to the limited Monterrey commitments or the HIPC initiative is feeble, when what we should be doing instead is cancelling all the debts of the Southern countries. Lastly, although the Commission has stated its ambition to play a part in resolving the Middle East conflict, I would like to see more political initiatives being taken instead of just words, particularly in the spirit of Mr Patten’s regular position statements.

Political group: GUE-NGL