Madam President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I should like to thank the Swedish Prime Minister, Mr Göran Persson, for once again joining us in Parliament and to say to him that in my Group’s opinion, he has passed the test of his country’s first presidency, with the seriousness and skill for which the Swedish government is well known. I wish to point out that we greatly appreciate his government’s desire to update our relations on issues as important as codecision and Council’s presence in Parliament. I think that we can consider the agreement on public access to documents – which could be improved, but which is an historical first – and the agreement on the information and consultation of workers, which had been on hold for many years, to be significant milestones. I also hope, of course, that this experience will have helped imbue the Swedish people with a greater sense of affection for the European cause. One special feature of this presidency has been its work on sustainable development, which it has not only established as a strategy for the future, but which it has also promoted through its clear and robust argument for ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. This is not only an EU-US issue, it is one that affects the whole world, as the Swedish Prime Minister and myself saw at the Council of the Socialist International last week in Lisbon. Another fundamental issue, that of enlargement, was also an area the Swedish presidency focussed on. I should like to thank Mr Poettering, who expressed his support for a proposal that was originally put forward by my colleague, the vice-chairman of our Group, Mr Hänsch. The proposal was not the exclusive property of the Group; it could be said that it came from Parliament as a whole. With regard to external policy, Sweden maintained its internationalist approach. I feel that where the Middle East is concerned, not only was there a European majority behind the proposal in the Mitchell report, but also, for the first time, we are not only handing over money, we are also playing a leading role, as the Prime Minister pointed out. His presence with Javier Solana in the Middle East was an important step forwards, which we must support, because it is crucial that we make progress with the Mitchell report and move beyond this point of departure. In Macedonia too, we are sharing the burden with the Americans – which I think they are beginning to appreciate – and are playing a leading role. The President-in-Office of the Council’s visit to North Korea – which was initially something of a surprise – has also given us greater acknowledgement and greater influence with our American partners and the rest of the world. I also wish to highlight the significant work Sweden has carried out in the United Nations with an old friend of ours, Pierre Schiori – whom we greatly miss – who has also done great work on behalf of Europe over the last six months. I wish to pay particular tribute to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Anna Lindh, who I would say has acted decisively, graciously and with her habitual charm in implementing all of the presidency’s work. One final point, to some extent, cast a shadow over the Göteborg Summit, namely the violent demonstrations that those of us who were there witnessed at first hand and also on television. It must be said, first of all, that we fully respect people’s right to demonstrate; this is a citizen’s fundamental right. Many people demonstrated peacefully in Nice and in Göteborg. This is, of course, to be welcomed and appreciated, because it means that Europe’s citizens are beginning to take an interest in what we do. We continually complain that they do not take any notice of us but really, the fact that we are beginning to see active demonstrations about what we are doing is a positive development. Nevertheless, we must differentiate between the violent actions of small minorities who act like commandos and, with a nihilistic and violent attitude, seek to destroy the things for which we are working. I wish to point out to Mr Poettering, that the problem is not whether these people are of the fascist or the antifascist persuasion. The dividing line is between democrats and antidemocrats and we must remember that extremes clash, in politics too. There is no need, then, to discuss whether the demonstrations are fascistic or not. What is crystal clear is that these are people who are acting violently and with scorn for the institutions and for freedom. I feel that given this scenario, we democrats must present a united front. It is not that some of us feel more affected than others about what has happened. We have to adopt a very firm attitude on this. My final observation, Madam President, concerns the debate on the future of Europe. You have not managed to include the convention, but I hope that you will continue striving to ensure that we do so under the Belgian presidency. (Applause)

Political group: PSE