WRITTEN QUESTION P-2915/03 by Francesco Speroni (NI) to the Commission. Prodi's partiality during the referendum campaign in Sweden.
Date: 2003-09-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European integration, President of the Commission, Sweden, election campaign, euro, referendum

20.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 70 E/163

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2003)

As the Honourable Member will no doubt be aware, the President of the Commission was publicly stating
the position taken by the Laeken Summit in December 2001, which was reiterated by the Council (Foreign
Affairs) on 28 January 2002 in the following words: ‘Israel needs the Palestinian Authority and its elected
President, Yasser Arafat, as a partner to negotiate with, both in order to eradicate terrorism and to work
towards peace’.

(2004/C 70 E/172)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2915/03

by Francesco Speroni (NI) to the Commission

(29 September 2003)

Subject: Prodi’s partiality during the referendum campaign in Sweden

Why, in the course of the recent referendum campaign in Sweden, did Romano Prodi, the President of the
Commission, come down clearly in favour of that country’s accession to the euro, adopting a partial stance
with scant regard for the sovereign will of the Swedish people, whose task it was to choose between two
alternatives which were both compatible with Union law?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2003)

At Parliament’s part session on 16 January, the President of the Commission stated that ‘for millions of
European citizens, the euro notes and coins in their pockets are a tangible sign of the great political project
of building a united Europe. As a symbol of that unity, the euro is having an even greater psychological
impact than the abolition of passport controls at Europe’s internal borders. The euro is thus becoming a
key element in people’s sense of a shared European identity and a common destiny, just as it is tangible
evidence that European integration is now irreversible. (…) We must take this as a valuable lesson and
apply it in the preparations for all stages in the process of integration’.

There was no reason to change this well-known position of the entire Commission during the referendum
campaign for the adoption of the euro in Sweden.

(2004/C 70 E/173)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2925/03

by Salvador Garriga Polledo (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 October 2003)

Subject: European productivity pact

Historically, Europe and Spain have ranked low on productivity, one of the principal reasons being the
absence of any large-scale application of new technology to production processes, unlike the USA, which
according to the ILO, is the world’s most productive country, with average growth running at 2,2 % for the
last seven years.

Europe clearly needs to learn its lesson, and deal with its productivity deficit, something which requires an
intra-Community pact at European level to boost Europe’s low productivity rates.

Does the Commission believe that following the success of the Economic Stability Pact, it should now put
forward a European productivity pact, with a view to making up lost ground vis-à-vis the USA, and enable
the Old World to catch up with the productivity rates of the US economy?