Activites

• 2009/12/16 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, received praise from MEPs and the European Commission on the outcome of the Swedish Presidency. The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, welcomed Sweden’s commitment to issues such as the Lisbon Treaty, the financial crisis and the fight against climate change.Overall, MEPs considered the evaluation of the results of the Swedish Presidency of the European Union to be very positive.The Chairman of the EPP Group appreciated the honest and responsible management of European affairs by the Swedish Presidency. The representative of the ECR Group welcomed efforts to avoid the temptation of being populist, in a time of crisis.The leader of the S&D expressed a more reserved view stating that the Presidency had failed to exert enough influence on issues such as the Copenhagen conference. The representative of the EFD group criticized the Swedish Presidency on the lack of influence on issues such as illegal immigration, refugees and organised crime. In this context, he regretted the criticism by the EU as regards the Swiss referendum on banning minarets. On climate change, another major concern for the MEPs, the President of the European Commission recalled that a consensus was reached at the European Council of 10 and 11 December, stating that the EU should pull its weight in this area. Therefore, the Commission will propose a new strategy in early 2010 to develop a "green" economy to help overcome the crisis.The President of the EPP Group recalled that he expected the Copenhagen commitments to be balanced and verifiable, accompanied by financial sanctions for non-compliance.The leader of the ALDE Group stressed the need for the EU to cooperate closely with the United States and China to obtain a proper basis of an agreement to convince others. He also proposed that the EU should increase its offer of 20% greenhouse gas cuts by 2020 to 30%. The Greens sent a warning highlighting that the reduction targets were not sufficient enough and that many loopholes existed in the EU and that the objective of limiting global warming to 2°C would be impossible to achieve if the EU was to stick to its current proposals.As regards the 2020 EU Strategy, Members felt that the EU had to be careful not to make the same mistakes as in the past. In this regard, the leader of the EPP Group recalled that the Lisbon Strategy, by setting unrealistic goals, had led to disappointment. The representative of the GUE/NGL insisted that priority be given to social and economic needs of citizens rather than economic profit.The President of the European Commission called for a debate to be held with MEPs on the 2020 EU Strategy.

• 2009/12/11 Additional information

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• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament

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