63((&+ 5RPDQR3URGL President of the European Commission :HOFRPHWRWKHQHZWUDLQHHV Palais des Congrès %UXVVHOV2FWREHU
Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcoming a new group of trainees in autumn is like greeting a second spring. Because VWDJLDLUHV come with the energy of youth and the promise of fresh ideas. So it gives me great pleasure to say hello and welcome to all of you today. This autumn is no ordinary autumn. Not just because Brussels has favoured us with an Indian summer. Don t believe what people say: the sun is always shining in Brussels. Sometimes the clouds just get in the way This autumn is the continuation of a hugely eventful year. A year of historic developments. The introduction of euro notes and coins went through without a problem. The single currency is now part of our everyday lives. The prophets of doom were confounded. And the euro is now hovering around parity with the dollar. China's central bank, for instance, has put some of its reserves into euros. This foreshadows the advent of a multi-polar world. Recently, the Chinese Minister of Industry also told us that China's production capacity would be sufficient for the whole world and that if the Chinese economy continued to grow at its present rate, the workforce would need to increase by another 300 million. That gives the measure of the challenges Europe faces. They make even our largest Member State look puny in comparison. This year has also seen the opening of the European Convention and the debate on the future of Europe. And the Copenhagen European Council is set to take a momentous decision on our next enlargement -- the biggest we have ever seen. This enlargement is the largest single step ever taken towards unifying our continent. It will heal many scars of the past. It holds out great opportunities and daunting challenges. I cannot over-emphasise the importance of these two issues -- the Convention and enlargement -- for all Europeans. The Convention is discussing the shape of the European Union of tomorrow. It is asking: What we should do together within the EU; What policies we should apply and who should apply them; What institutional structure will help us to take decisions in a European Union of 25 plus Member States. Put another way, this comes down to asking where our common interest lies. And how we can ensure the Union has the institutions, the policies and the powers to define and support that common interest. You will understand that our Community system will always need an honest broker. The role of the Commission, together with the other institutions, is vital in developing our supranational democracy and preserving unity. During your "VWDJH", you will come to realise that the European civil service is deeply committed to the task of European integration and the achievement of a grand political project. Your work as trainees will give you many insights into the Commission's role -- in safeguarding the Treaties, in fostering and furthering the common interest. 2
The issues before the Convention are crucial for all EU citizens -- today and in future. They have implications for countries beyond our borders too: Russia, Ukraine, the Balkans and around the shores of the Mediterranean. The Balkans is critical to our enlargement strategy and to our neighbourhood policy. It is the link between the two. And it stands as a geographical, cultural and religious bridge between Europe and Asia. The European Union is a force for peace and prosperity in Europe and abroad. If we are strong -- and that means speaking with a single voice on vital issues of common concern -- we can do much outside Europe too. And to be strong we must be more united. Being strong means having a robust common foreign and security policy. That would help us assume our share of responsibility for peace and development in the world. Being strong also means speaking in unison on many issues: human rights, poverty, the environment, trade, energy -- just to mention a few. All the policy areas affecting our relations with the outside world. A stronger common foreign policy is an important political goal of ours. But the European Union is not just made up of goals. It also comprises immense economic realities -- Including the customs union, the Single Market, the single currency. Being strong also means having a sound currency that can bolster our prosperity. Because we need prosperity to defend a balanced model of society. We have the single currency. But on its own the euro isn t enough. Now we need to move towards more coordination of our economic policies. Last week you probably read about our proposals regarding the Stability and Growth Pact. As you all know, fiscal prudence is a building block of EMU: price stability and strong growth can be maintained in the long run only if countries keep their budgets in order. The Stability and Growth Pact translates into action the Union s commitment to sound public finances. One of the Pact s key elements is for euro-area countries to bring their budgets close to balance or in surplus over the medium term. Eight of the twelve countries concerned have already fulfilled this commitment. Four countries, however, have not. Four years into EMU, Germany, France, Italy and Portugal still have large deficits. This is mainly because they did not take advantage of strong growth in past years to put their houses in order. Last June those countries undertook to reduce their deficits in the next two years to bring them close to balance by 2004 at the latest. This seemed feasible at the time because, like everybody else, we looked forward to a strong economic recovery in the second half of 2002 and buoyant growth in the next few years. Unfortunately, the recovery in growth -- in Europe and in the US -- has so far failed to materialise. The Commission was faced with a dilemma. Should we try to force the countries to meet their commitment irrespective of the change in the economic situation and risk aggravating the economic downturn? A risk, I would like to stress, for the whole euro area, given the fact that the three large countries account for three quarters of the euro-area economy. Or should we be realistic and accept a dilution in the adjustment effort required of those countries and risk undermining the credibility of the Stability and Growth Pact? 3
The Commission made a proposal that seeks to solve this dilemma. We suggested that the countries still in deficit should be given more time to attain balanced budgets. But we asked them to make a minimum structural adjustment year by year and to commit themselves to step up the retrenchment when growth allowed it. I believe this proposal is consistent with our two objectives: sustaining economic activity at a difficult juncture and strengthening the credibility of the Pact by avoiding the repetition of past policy mistakes in periods of high growth. These proposals will be enshrined in the Common Principles that the Commission will soon propose for enhancing the process of economic policy coordination as requested by the Barcelona European Council. As trainees you will be working in all the Commission s departments. Collectively you will cover the whole breadth and scope of the Commission s work and policies. You will also learn about the challenges and advantages of working in our multicultural and multi-linguistic environment. We work in eleven languages and that number may double after enlargement. This complicates our work. But it broadens our vision. I believe you will find it an enriching experience -- as it is for all of us who work here -- sharing ideas and comparing approaches with colleagues from other cultures. For many of you, this is not the first experience in another cultural environment. You may have studied abroad, for instance under the Erasmus programme. Erasmus has been an outstanding success. Since the programme started in 1987, one million students have taken advantage of the opportunities it offers. In two weeks time, we will be celebrating Erasmus Week. 30 former and current Erasmus students will come to Brussels for this event. Erasmus has done a lot to promote student mobility and encourage cooperation between universities. It has also helped shape a common European identity. We want to follow up that success. So we have decided to throw the programme wide open -- a sort of "people-friendly" globalisation. Erasmus World will open our universities to the world. Let us think what that means. It means welcoming post-graduate students and lecturers into our universities from all over the world. At the same time it means opening our universities to students and scholars from elsewhere -- to their ideas and energy and input. With the system of European Masters, this will help us achieve our aim of making Europe a centre of intellectual and scientific influence and innovation. This is good for students and scholars and good for Europe too. Just as traineeships in the Commission are beneficial for the VWDJLDLUHV and for us. Many of you come from outside the EU s current Member States. And some of you even come from further afield. This exchange of ideas across cultures is invaluable. But it is more than that. In the world we live in, it is indispensable. Perhaps the greatest threat we face stems from intolerance of other cultures. Of course, there are other threats -- to the environment for instance. And that endangers our very existence on this planet. 4
Of course the North-South divide, the income gaps, the disparities in living conditions, in health and sanitation, in prospects of a decent life, threaten our relations with our fellow humans in other continents. All these need to be tackled. But we must combat intolerance too. Not only in our relations with neighbouring countries, but also within our inner cities. That is why I have always stressed the need for dialogue between cultures and peoples. That was my message to the interfaith meeting I attended in December last year, following the awful events of 11 September. It was my message to the conference on intercultural dialogue organised in March. And to the recent colloquium on cultures, religions and conflicts in Beirut. It is the idea behind the Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for dialogue between cultures that we plan to set up. I have set up a High-Level Advisory Group to consider how this Foundation can give impetus to the Euro-Mediterranean cultural dialogue and lay down practical guidelines for a fresh approach to cultural cooperation. So you see action is following up the idea. As trainees from all over Europe and beyond, you strengthen and refresh our diversity. You will learn from us and from each other. And you will enrich us with your insights too. So, young ladies and gentlemen, the autumn and winter you will spend at the Commission holds great prospects. You have come at a crucial time. I am confident you will make the most of it. I wish you every success in your traineeships. Thank you. 5