Stockholm: We Must Get Balance Right
Wednesday 16 December, 2009
Timothy Kirkhope MEP has warned that parts of the Stockholm Programme impinge on areas that lie at the heart of national sovereignty. The Stockholm Programme will define EU police and customs cooperation, rescue services, criminal and civil law cooperation, asylum, migration and visa policy for the next 5 years.
"These are areas which lie at the heart of national sovereignty: defending the law, ensuring security, and protecting the public are amongst the most important duties of a democratic state. We must therefore balance the need for joint action with respect for the rights of our member states.
"Parts of the Stockholm Programme simply fail to get the balance right. Some of the proposals will simply centralise power, create unnecessary expense, and add further bureaucracy for very little added value.
"Our priorities must lie in the direction of competition, de-regulation, innovation and job creation. The people of Europe deserve nothing less.
In a debate attended by Swedish Premier Fredrik Reinfeldt and President of the Commission Jose Manuel Barroso in the European Parliament Mr Kirkhope also congratulated the Swedish government on its handling of the heavy workload. But Mr Kirkhope stressed that greater efforts needed to be shown to help tackle Europe's economic crisis. He spoke of the need to do more to push the Lisbon Strategy, a programme which was supposed to foster competitiveness within the EU.
"I have spoken in this chamber repeatedly of the need to reinvigorate the Lisbon Strategy. And yet our global trading position, relative economic weight, and international competitiveness are in jeopardy. The future prosperity and well-being of our citizens depend on a dynamic economy able to generate jobs and wealth by unleashing the creative energies of entrepreneurs and by stimulating the growth of successful businesses.
"Part of this economic regeneration will be the greening of our economies.
"We all hope an agreement in Copenhagen this week will draw up a realistic framework to tackle climate change whilst facilitating economic growth and development."
