natgillin/translations-raw huggingface dataset:
I anden halvdel af valgperioden 1989-1994 var jeg formand for Europa-Parlamentet.
I was president of the European Parliament in the second half of the 1989-1994 term.
Min embedsperiode faldt i en begivenhedsrig tid, hvor Europa efter ændringerne i 1989 og afslutningen af konikten mellem Øst og Vest stræbte efter en fælles fremtid.
I held oce at an eventful time in which Europe, having emerged from the upheavals of 1989 and the end of the cold war, was striving for a common future.
Den Europæiske Union, der i 80’erne endnu led under mange borgeres træthed over for Europa, k nu en ny nøglefunktion.
The European Union, still hampered in the 1980s by a widespread feeling of ‘Europe fatigue’, was thus called upon to play a vital new role.
I min embedsperiode var den første eufori over Murens og Jerntæppets fald imidlertid forsvundet.
Mind you, at the time when I was in oce, there was nothing left of the initial euphoria over the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the removal of the Iron Curtain.
Nu drejede det sig om at give den vanskelige proces, den samlede europæiske integration, retning og form.
The immediate priority was to give shape and direction to the arduous process of bringing Europe as a whole more closely together.
Borgerne i Central- og Østeuropa, der fulde af frihedstrang vovede springet ind i den nye tid, rettede mere end nogensinde før deres blik og håb mod Den Europæiske Union.
The people of central and eastern Europe, who, impelled by their urge for freedom, had dared to enter a new era, were pinning their gazes and their hopes more than ever on the EU.
Det daværende Fællesskab af 12 lande virkede som en magnet på lande, der ønskede at tiltræde Unionen, men samtidig var jeg klar over, at denne magnet i mange henseender stadig savnede indre kraft.
The Community of twelve, as it then was, acted like a magnet for countries wishing to join, but I was aware that the magnet in question in many ways still lacked inner strength.
Dengang drejede det sig om at lede presset fra de voldsomme historiske omvæltninger ind i ordnede politiske baner.
The momentum generated by the historic transformations had to be channelled on ordered political paths.
Udvidelse og uddybning af Fællesskabet stod på dagsordenen samtidig. Disse to store poler skulle sættes i relation til de store europapolitiske højdepunkter i 1992-1994:
Widening and deepening of the Community were both on the agenda.
Den 7. februar 1992 blev Maastricht-traktaten med målsætningen om skabelse af Den Europæiske Union underskrevet.
The Maastricht Treaty establishing European Union was signed on 7 February 1992.
Raticeringen skete efter en turbulent periode, udløst af danskernes nej (juni 1992) og ja (maj 1993).
D had blown hot and cold when the Danes first said ‘no’ (in June 1992) and then changed that vote to a ‘yes’ (in May 1993).
Ved årsskiftet 1992/1993 blev gennemførelsen af det europæiske indre marked fejret.
In late 1992 and early 1993 the single European market came into being in its completed form.
Europa-Parlamentet havde — trods dets dengang begrænsede beføjelser — fået stor indydelse på udformningen af dette økonomiske kraftcenter i Europa med fri bevægelighed for personer, varer, tjenesteydelser og kapital.
Even though its area of responsibility was still too modest, Parliament brought considerable inuence to bear in shaping this European economic powerhouse with its freedoms for persons, goods, services, and capital.
Det ry, Parlamentet erhvervede sig dengang, kunne det i den følgende tid udnytte til en udbygning af beføjelserne.
By capitalising on the reputation which it gained at that time it later managed to consolidate its powers.
Afgørelsen om optagelse af Østrig, Finland og Sverige i Den Europæiske Union fulgte den 1. marts 1994 med stor tilslutning fra Europa-Parlamentet.
The decision to admit Austria, Finland, and Sweden to the EU was taken on 1 March 1994 with strong backing from Parliament.
Udvidelsen af det daværende Fællesskab på 12 lande med Østrig, Finland og Sverige var dermed et faktum.
That set the seal on the enlargement of the then Community of twelve to include those three countries.
Samtidig hørtes kravet om en udvidelse mod Øst stadig oftere.
Meanwhile there were increasingly insistent calls for the EU to be enlarged eastwards.
Det Europæiske Råd i København formulerede i juni 1993 en række tiltrædelseskrav i form af «Københavnskriterierne».
The Copenhagen European Council laid down the requirements in June 1993 in the form of the ‘Copenhagen criteria’.
Allerede i foråret 1994 ansøgte Ungarn og Polen om optagelse.
By the spring of 1994 Hungary and Poland had already applied to join.
Ved valget til Europa-Parlamentet i juni 1994 kunne Parlamentet allerede præsentere sig for vælgerne med de styrkede beføjelser, det havde fået med Maastricht-traktaten.
D failed on that occasion, as they have done at subsequent elections, to persuade voters to turn out in higher numbers.
Da jeg trådte i spidsen for Europa-Parlamentet, var der store forventninger om, at Parlamentet i væsentlig grad kunne påvirke udviklingen mod en ny fremtid for vores kontinent.
When I assumed the presidency of Parliament expectations were high that Parliament would decisively inuence our continent’s progress towards a new future.
Fra min tid som gruppeformand i Det Europæiske Folkeparti (PPE) vidste jeg, at dette kun kunne lykkes, hvis flertallet blev organiseret på tværs af partier og på denne basis søgte drøftelser på lige fod med Rådet og Kommissionen.
Having chaired the Group of the European People’s Party (EPP), I realised that that the key to success lay in mobilising majorities across party boundaries and, on that basis, seeking to talk to Council and Commission as an equal partner.
Set i bakspejlet kan det siges, at det lykkedes, fordi folkets repræsentanter kunne udbygge og udnytte deres beføjelser.
In retrospect it can be said that Parliament succeeded in doing this because it managed to consolidate and utilise its powers.
Maastricht-traktaten skabte jo ikke blot køreplanen frem mod Den Monetære Union og euroen, men — hvad alle måske ikke længere husker — medførte også en betragtelig udbygning af Europa- Parlamentets beføjelser.
As well as providing the road map for monetary union and the euro, the Maastricht Treaty also – and this is something which quite a few people have forgotten about – greatly expanded Parliament’s sphere of responsibility.
Dengang skete den endelige omformning fra et parlament med overvejende rådgivende karakter til fælles beslutningstagning i lovgivningen.
It was at this point that the mainly advisory role of Parliament was replaced irrevocably by legislative codecision, conned at that time to selected areas, including the single market, consumer protection, and the environment.
Denne fælles beslutningstagning omfattede dengang kun udvalgte områder, f.eks. det indre marked, forbrugerbeskyttelse og miljø.
Given that codecision has now become the norm for European legislation, the only possible conclusion is that the thinking behind my strategy at that time helped to produce the desired result.
For mig som formand var det fra begyndelsen centralt at føre denne fælles beslutningstagning til succes i praksis — og dermed efter nogen tid at lade ønsket om en udvidelse af disse beføjelser komme mere til udtryk.
rience in Parliament. At part-sessions, for example, I regularly brought together senior leaders of the Council, the Commission, and Parliament in what is termed the trialogue.
Når man ser, at den fælles beslutningsprocedure nu er blevet til det normale inden for EU-lovgivningen, må man konstatere, at mine daværende strategiske overvejelser har ført til succes.
To elude the pressures of tight schedules, I would often invite everyone to lunch, that is to say, not just the Presidents, but also the heads of their private oces and the Secretar-ies-General.
I den forbindelse har jeg ikke blot fulgt de store strategiske linjer, men også været opmærksom på mindre elementer på grundlag af de erfaringer, jeg havde gjort som parlamentariker.
The discussions focused equally on matters of principle and current problems with the aim of reconciling the two at the practical level.
Således praktiserede jeg på plenarmøderne regelmæssigt den såkaldte trilog mellem lederne af Rådet, Kommissionen og Parlamentet.
This cooperation worked very well throughout my presidency and also extended to other bodies, for example the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors.
For at undgå problemer med tidsfrister indbød jeg ofte til fælles middag, hvor ikke blot formændene, men også kabinetscheferne og generalsekretærerne deltog.
It sometimes happened that in budget discussions the other bodies would attempt to agree on a common approach aligned with Parliament – and this often provided a decisive counterweight to the Commission where substantive issues were concerned.
Her drøftedes principielle spørgsmål og aktuelle problemer og blev afstemt efter hinanden i praksis.
Today this would be described as exerting inuence through successful networking.
Dette samarbejde fungerede godt i hele min tid som formand. Dette gjaldt også for andre organer, som f.eks. Domstolen og Revisionsretten.
The grand design of giving Parliament a greater say in legislation and the budget had to be managed by making a number of minor changes to political practice.
Dette førte til, at de øvrige organer under budgetdrøftelserne søgte en fælles linje, der var baseret på Europa-Parlamentets — og ofte i specikke spørgsmål dannede en eektiv modvægt til Kommissionen.
The originally informal cooperation between the Council, the Commission, and Parliament was gradually placed on the more solid footing of interinstitutional agreement.
I dag ville man sige: Indy-delse gennem vellykket networking.
The practical improvements made to the budget procedure at that time seemed small in the overall scheme of things, but were nonetheless important in that they helped ultimately to make Parliament the powerful budgetary authority that it is today.
Det store mål, udvidelse af den parlamentariske medbestemmelse i forbindelse med lovgivning og budget, blev opfyldt gennem en række små ændringer i den politiske praksis.
Apart from the budget and legislation, Parliament acquired the right under Maastricht – and hence during my presidency – to say yes or no to the accession of new members.
Samarbejdet med grupperne og udvalgene måtte tilpasses til den nye procedure.
This right was exercised when the number of Member States rose from 12 to 15, enabling the broad mass of the public to understand what wais involved.
Det oprindeligt uformelle samarbejde mellem Råd, Kommission og Parlament blev gradvis etableret på et mere fast grundlag af interinstitutionelle aftaler.
A decade later, when the time came for the eastward enlargement, Parliament’s right to give its assent was turned into a historic first step in a new direction.
Ud over Budget og lovgivning k Parlamentet med Maastricht-traktaten — og dermed i min embedsperiode — retten til at sige ja eller nej til optagelse af nye medlemmer.
When I attended EU summits as president of Parliament I was able to put Parliament’s case.
Denne ret kunne udøves og tydeliggøres for den brede oentlighed ved udvidelsen fra 12 til 15 medlemsstater.
Even apparently trivial gestures are signicant to the extent that, in protocol terms, they denote enhanced status.
Ti år efter, ved udvidelsen mod Øst, blev den parlamentariske ret til godkendelse udnyttet til at sætte en afgørende historisk kurs.
As a result of a custom introduced during my presidency, the President of Parliament is not only allowed to speak at the start of a summit, but also photographed with the Heads of State or Government and the Commission President.
Som formand for Parlamentet kunne jeg på EU-topmøderne bringe Europa-Parlamentets holdninger til udtryk.
Since the autumn 1992 Birmingham Summit the President of Parliament has appeared in every ocial photograph of the participants or ‘family portrait’.
I den forbindelse spillede også tilsyneladende uvæsentlige protokollære aspekter en rolle.
What really mattered, of course, was not gestures of this kind, but the policy directions charted at the summits held during that period.
Således blev der i min embedsperiode indført den skik ikke blot at lade Parlamentets formand tale ved topmødets indledning, men også at fotografere ham sammen med stats- og regeringscheferne og formanden for Kommissionen.
An opportunity to set a new course arose two months after Birmingham, at the Edinburgh Summit, at which I put forward a new scheme to the assembled Heads of State or Government laying down how seats were to be allocated in Parliament.
Fra og med topmødet i Birmingham i efter-
As a result of reunication Germany was given 99 seats, and in general the numbers of seats were
Som helhed afspejlede mandatfordelingen i højere grad medlemsstaterne størrelse — et demokratisk krav.
based more accurately on the size of the Member States – as democracy demands.
Dette forslag blev vedtaget og gennemført i praksis.
The proposal was accepted and implemented.
Topmødet i Danmark i 1993 skal også fremhæves. Det gav de central- og østeuropæiske reformstater et troværdigt tiltrædelsesperspektiv.
One event that stands out is the 1993 summit in Denmark, which opened up a genuine prospect of accession to the central and eastern European countries in the process of reform.
Det faste løfte blev imidlertid bundet til obligatoriske krav, de såkaldte »Københavnskriterier«.
The firm promise was, however, made subject to binding conditions known as the ‘Copenhagen criteria’.
Det gav kursen mod EU en klar retning: omstrukturering af tidligere kommunistiske regimer til demokratier og retsstater, omlægning af tidligere planøkonomier til social markedsøkonomi og overtagelse af EU-retten.
The stages to be completed on the way to the EU were thus clearly marked out: formerly Communist regimes had to be transformed along democratic lines, in accordance with the rule of law; erstwhile command economies had to be converted into socially tempered market economies; and candidates had to take over Community law.
Som repræsentant for Europa-Parlamentet fandt jeg det på topmødet i København centralt ikke blot at fokusere på kandidaternes tiltrædelsesevne, men også på Unionens optagelsesevne.
When I represented Parliament at the Copenhagen Summit I maintained that the point to bear in mind was not just the ability of the candidates to join, but the ability of the Union to absorb them.
Evnen i det tidligere Fællesskab af 12 lande til at optage nye medlemmer, samtidig med at dynamikken i den europæiske integration blev bevaret, var et vigtigt element.
Whether the then Community of twelve could accept new Members while keeping up the momentum of European integration was a question that had to be taken into account.
Topmødet i København bar frugt de følgende år, ti år senere kunne frugten høstes i form af den store udvidelse i 2004.
The seed of Copenhagen sprouted up in the years after, and the fruits were reaped a decade later when the biggest single enlargement was achieved in 2004.
I min embedsperiode fra januar 1992 til valget i 1994 kom Europa-Par-lamentet et godt stykke fremad på vejen mod en demokratisk folkerepræsentation i Europa, der på lige fod med Rådet vedtager love og budgetter og dermed påvirker næsten 500 millioner menneskers liv.
During my term of oce from January 1992 to the 1994 European election Parliament advanced quite a long way towards the goal of becoming a Europe-wide democratic representative body adopting laws and the budget on an equal footing with the Council and hence controlling the destiny of some 500 million people.
Dengang sigtede jeg ofte mod gradvis fremgang for den europæiske integration i det parlamentariske arbejde.
At that time my attention was often focused on the gradual progress of European unication in parliamentary work.
Men i erindringen overstråles de daglige problemer af Europa-Parlamentets »stjernestunder«.
But the memory of the ‘daily grind’ is eclipsed by Parliament’s ‘moments of glory’.
Hertil hører for mig de fremragende EU-taler, som dronning Elisabeth II og Vaclav Havel holdt i plenarforsamlingen i Strasbourg — endnu i dag læseværdige beretninger om den europæiske integration!
Two examples which, to my mind, belong to the latter category are the splendid European speeches by Queen Elizabeth II and Vaclav Havel in the Strasbourg Chamber, testimonies to pan-European unication that are still worth reading!
EUROPAPARLAMENTET VED INDLEDNINGEN TIL EN NY ÆRA I EUROPA
PARLIAMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA IN EUROPE
Det Europa-Parlament, der blev valgt i juni 1994, trådte sammen i et nyt Europa.
The European Parliament elected in June 1994 met for the first time in a new Europe.
Berlinmuren var faldet.
The Berlin Wall had fallen.
Central- og Østeuropas folk havde befriet sig fra det kommunistiske diktatur og Sovjetunionens herredømme.
The peoples of Central and Eastern Europe had freed themselves from the dictatorship of Communism and the all-embracing grip of the Soviet Union.
Jerntæppet, som havde delt Europa igennem fyrre år, var faldet.
The Iron Curtain, which had divided Europe for 40 years, had collapsed.
Den kolde krig mellem blokkene i Europa var ophørt.
The Cold War between the two blocs in Europe was over.
Aldrig før i sin historie havde Europa-Parlamentet måttet indstille sig på et politisk billede, der var ændret så radikalt.
Never before in its history had the European Parliament been required to adjust to such a fundamentally changed political environment.
Valget til Europa-Parlamentet i 1994 var første gang, at borgerne i det tidligere DDR deltog.
The 1994 European elections had been the first in which the citizens of the former GDR had taken part.
For mig var det særligt bevægende at kunne byde kollegaerne fra det østtyske område velkommen som frit valgte medlemmer. Et par måneder senere — i januar 1995 — modtog Parlamentet også medlemmerne fra de nye medlemsstater Finland, Sverige og Østrig.
It was particularly moving for me to be able, in my inaugural speech, to welcome colleagues from East Germany as freely elected Members.
Det var det første skridt til forening af hele Europa.
This was the first step towards the unication of Europe as a continent.
Europa-Parlamentet var blevet udvidet fra 567 til 626 medlemmer.
The European Parliament had grown in size from 567 to 626 Members.
Det blev ikke kun større, men også rigere på politisk kultur, erfaring og tradition.
It was not only bigger, but also richer in terms of its political culture, experience, tradition.
Det Europæiske Fællesskab havde taget skridt til at indlede forhandlinger om optagelse af de central- og østeuropæiske lande.
The European Community had set out along the road to negotiations on the accession of the States of Central and Eastern Europe.
I disse landes parlamenter havde man i sagens natur ikke tilstrækkelig indsigt i og forståelse for forløbet af den kommende tiltrædelsesproces og de krav og vanskeligheder, der var forbundet hermed.
However, their parliaments were, naturally enough, lacking in knowledge and a real understanding of the procedures, requirements and problems involved in the impending accession process.
Europa-Parlamentet måtte hjælpe dem med at finde deres rolle i arbejdet med at gennemføre gældende fællesskabsret i national lovgivning.
The European Parliament had to help them grow into their role in transposing the acquis communautaire into the national law of their countries.
På mit initiativ mødtes for første gang i den europæiske integrationsproces alle kandidatlandenes parlamentsformænd til en meningsudveksling i Europa-Parlamentet.
At my instigation, for the first time in the history of the European unication process all the presidents of the parliaments of the applicant States came together in the European Parliament for a free and frank exchange of views.
Disse møder blev gentaget med jævne mellemrum, indtil de konkrete tiltrædelsesforhandlinger blev indledt.
The importance of such exchanges was demonstrated by the fact that meetings of this kind were then held regularly until the accession negotiations proper started.
Vores parlament har således indtaget en rolle som frontløber ved at sørge for at inddrage parlamenterne i arbejdet for at forene Europa og ved at udøve parlamentarisk kontrol med denne proces.
Our Parliament played a pioneering role in the work of providing parliamentary scrutiny of and safeguards for the European unication process.
Få måneder før valget til Europa-Parlamentet i 1994 var Maastricht-trak-taten trådt i kraft og havde for første gang givet Europa-Parlamentet reel medbestemmelsesret, navnlig i forbindelse med direktiver til gennemførelse af det indre marked.
A few months before the European elections the Treaty of Maastricht had come into force and, for the first time, had conferred on the European Parliament genuine rights of codecision, in particular in the area of the directives and regulations dealing with the completion of the internal market.
Denne medbestemmelsesret blev nu gjort gældende i praksis.
Those rights now took eect. A new era was ushered
Det var begyndelsen til en ny æra, da jeg på Parlamentets vegne underskrev det første EF-direktiv, der var blevet vedtaget på grundlag af den nye procedure for fælles beslutningstagning, og som efterfølgende blev oentliggjort i EF-Tidende og trådte i kraft som »Europa-Parlamentets og Rådets direktiv«.
D in when I, on behalf of Parliament, signed the first EC directive which had been adopted under the new codecision procedure and was subsequently published in the Ocial Journal and brought into force as a ‘Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council’.
Med de nye beføjelser havde Europa-Parlamentet udviklet sig fra et rådgivende forum til et parlament med beslutningskompetence, men dets arbejdsmetoder og dets fremtoning i oentligheden var stadig af en sådan karakter, at det blev opfattet som et parlament med ren høringskompetence.
Its new powers had turned an advisory parliament into a decisionmaking parliament, but its working methods and its public prole were still those of a parliament with a purely consultative role.
Vi var derfor nødt til at reformere arbejdsmetoderne, f.eks. afviklingen af debatterne og afstemningerne på plenarmødet, samarbejdet mellem udvalgene og presse- og PR-arbejdet.
We faced the task, therefore, of reforming those working methods, for example the conduct of debates and votes in plenary and cooperation between the committees, and reorganising Parliament’s press and public relations work.
Ganske vist gik alle kollegaerne i begyndelsen entusiastisk ind for gennemgribende reformer, men hver gang den gode vilje skulle omsættes til handling, sank begejstringen.
Although, initially, almost all my colleagues were enthusiastic advocates of the thoroughgoing reforms, that enthusiasm shrank with every step in the process of putting our intentions into practice.
Jeg er den dag i dag Pauline Green og Wilfried Martens taknemmelig for, at de støttede mig kraftigt og gennemtrumfede reformerne i deres vrangvillige grupper.
To this day I am grateful to Pauline Green and Wilfried Martens for their determined support in pushing through the reforms in the face of the scepticism of their political groups.
Også i dag trænger Parlamentets arbejdsmetoder til at blive reformeret.
Today, Parliament’s working methods are once again in need of reform.
Det var ganske vist kun en høring, men alle involverede vidste, at enhver kandidat, der ikke havde et flertal i Parlamentet bag sig, ikke havde nogen chance.
Although it was no more than a consultation, all those involved knew that any candidate who failed to secure majority support in Parliament would forfeit all credibility.
Det var også klart, at Santer i et sådant tilfælde ikke ville tiltræde sit embede.
It was also clear that in such an event Santer would not take up his oce.
Det var lykkedes Parlamentet at få medindydelse i spørgsmålet om besættelse af en toppost i EU.
Parliament had secured at least some say in the process of making top-level appointments in Europe.