Wednesday, 16 September 2009
The new president of the European Parliament and sixty nine year old Polish MEP, Jerzy Buzek, gave his inaugural speech on the 15th September. After saying that his election is a “symbol” of the “united Europe,” he pointed out the most important challenges the EU faces, and included the economic crisis, the need for European solidarity, energy and the environment, foreign policy and human rights.
He argued that the current economic crisis is the most serious challenge that the EU must deal with, but the EU should support globalization instead of protectionism. He also mentioned the negative effects of the recession on society and focused on European solidarity by saying, "There is no real community of solidarity when the most vulnerable are left on the sidelines." According to Buzek, the solidarity should be in the form of cohesion funding (the richer members should support the development projects for the poorer members) and “Cohesion policy should remain a strong policy of the EU and remain a priority in the next financial perspective if we want to achieve the full integration of our reunited continent.”
In terms of energy, the new president argued that the EU should extend its energy sources. The EU members should deal with the gas issue together rather than with bilateral agreements to prevent problems similar to those that Bulgaria and Slovakia faced during the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute. He also suggested a common EU energy policy by referring the European Coal and Steel Community (1951). In the speech, he mentioned that the EP would work with other EU institutions in terms of environmental issues and according to him; the EU needs a green revolution to tackle the effects of climate change.
In his speech, the enlargement was defined as one of the most successful policies of the EU and Croatia and Iceland were shown as possible members for the future. On external relations, he focused on Southeast Europe and added, "we must continue developing our strategic partnership with Russia.”
As for human rights, the new president suggested that women should be included in the economy so that they may benefit from their potential skills. Moreover, with the help of new communications technologies, the Parliament's activities should be seen online because he believes that, "Citizens must know to whom they give their votes." Additionally, he offered himself as a mediator in the dispute between Slovakia and Hungary over minority and language rights.
