President Dimitriadis,
Honorable Members of the Bureau,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am happy to see that the Bureau of the European Economic and Social Committee is meeting here in Berlin today. Welcome to all of you!
We very much appreciate the willingness of the EESC to travel to the capital of the Presidency for a meeting. The decision to do so shows the EESC's strong interest in conducting an open dialogue with and in the Member States.
The German government highly values the self-image of the EESC as an intermediary between the interests of the European administration and those of civil society.
Through the collaboration of the business and social groupings represented in the EESC, you are all an important contribution to European integration. Your efforts and the time you invest in the work of the EESC show how great your interest is in integrating civil society into European policy.
This is particularly clear in the insightful opinions issued by Study Group members. Of particular interest for the German Ministry of Economics and Technology is your most recent piece on the challenges and opportunities posed to Europe by globalization.
The topic of globalization has played an enormous role as a cross-sectional theme over the full course of the half year term of the German Presidency. The entire range covered by the topic has been explored. Thus, the EU's Trade Ministers, at their informal meeting in Brussels on February 11, considered the progress made by the Doha Round. But globalization was also at the center of attention at the June 6 meeting of Labor Ministers.
Directly or indirectly - global challenges affect every facet of our daily life. Events in other regions of the world now influence our social and internal security, our energy supplies, and our environment. Globalization influences the labor market and even our health.
We discussed the economic aspects of this topic at the Informal Competitiveness Council in Würzburg in April 2007. On that occasion we treated the question of whether the EU was competitive and internationally attractive amidst globalization.
There was agreement that globalization was an irreversible world economic process. The great challenge lay in shaping this process for the good of the citizens and the companies operating in international competition in Europe.
We underlined that Europe would only be able to take on these challenges by concerted effort. Insulating Europe from the rest of the world would be the wrong approach. Rather, the "key" lay in a strong (especially economically strong) and dynamic EU.
The goal of the EU must therefore be to further improve the competitiveness of the European economy. Under the leadership of German Minister Glos, the Ministers reiterated their determination to push forward with implementing the Lisbon Agenda and continuing to strengthen the European internal market.
The EESC's position on the topic of the challenges and opportunities posed to Europe by globalization adds further dimension to these thoughts and reveals paths for the Europeans to take in common in a globalized world.
The EESC makes it clear that the challenges of globalization are not to be met merely by an economic approach. Account must also be taken of political, social, ecological, and cultural matters. I expressly support the views of the committee on re-starting the WTO's Doha Round of negotiations. A conclusion without undue delay would be ideal, and we are still working on this goal. Incidentally, further development is also needed in the other areas.
Only in this manner can global governance evolve. And this is a way in which the EU can use its common values and principles as models. I therefore thank you very much for submitting your views.
I wish you successful deliberations here in Berlin.
Thank you!
