MEPs' debate on the State of the Union 2012, during the EP plenary session in Strasbourg. Statements by Graham WATSON (ALDE, UK), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE), Raül ROMEVA i RUEDA (Greens/EFA, ES), Manuel BARROSO, President of the EC, Joseph DAUL (EPP, FR), Martin SCHULZ, EP President, and Guy VERHOFSTADT (ALDE, BE).

VERHOFSTADT, Guy (Renew, BE)

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

LAMBERTS, Philippe (Greens/EFA, BE)

BARROSO, Jose Manuel (PT, EC President)

SCHULZ, Martin (S&D, DE)

DAUL, Joseph (EPP, FR)

state of the Union 2012 (T)

WATSON, Graham (ALDE, UK, Sir)

ROMEVA i RUEDA, Raül (Greens/EFA, ES)

State of the Union 2012: extracts from MEPs' debate

Exterior shot of the European Parliament, Strasbourg, France (1 shot)

SOUNDBITE (English), Graham WATSON (ALDE, UK), "President, we welcome your advocacy of a European political space and the news that the Commission will bring forward proposals on European political parties. But for parties to be truly supranational, elections must be supranational. Do you propose the direct election by the universal suffrage of your successor ? And if not, why not ?"

SOUNDBITE (French), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE), "I just want to encourage you to do one thing : you want to have an ambitious federalism for a banking union, and we're with you. But we would like to see the same level of enthusiasm and audacity on the federal fiscal level. Sometimes in the American terms this word only means looking at expenditure. But what we want to have is a fiscal convergence. So you brought an initiative on tax on financial transactions, that's perfect : we need multinationals of all sectors, financial sector included, to pay the taxes that they should. And for that we need to have a harmonized corporate tax in Europe : we will be with you on that."

SOUNDBITE (French), Ra&#252;l ROMEVA i RUEDA (Greens/EFA, ES), "Two million people marched in Barcelona yesterday and they had a demand: "Yes to more Europe, yes to a better Europe, a different Europe" but they want to be able to participate directly as a people. The message of these citizens is legitimate and clear and democratic, and it's up to us, the European Institutions, to respond to that as democratically and courageously as possible. So we need to lift up to this challenge, can we ? We need to listen to people, that is part of the European Pillar and the credibility of the European project."

SOUNDBITE (English), Jose Manuel BARROSO, President of the EC, "There are some people that say : "democracy cannot be transnational, can only be national, because it is based on national parliaments". I'm sorry, those who say these things have not understood that we're in the 21th century, and in the 21th century we have transnational phenomenon like the financial markets, and that if we don't have transnational mechanisms to deal with them, in fact the people, the citizens will not have the leverage to regulate and to have their say. That is why, at the European level, we need also a European democracy that is not built against our national democracies but as a complement to them, as a coordination, and that basis for the European Democracy is precisely this Parliament. And that's what I'm telling you, I'm telling you that the Commission is ready to engage in this Parliament, and that we are going to put proposals before the next European Parliament elections, that we can have a real European debate."

SOUNDBITE (English), Jose Manuel BARROSO, President of the EC, "Some of us, instead of trying to attack each other, would be given a better use of our time if we could try to convince not only the parties here in Strasbourg, but the parties back home in the capitals to say the same things they say here in Strasbourg, because the reality is that very often we hear here the parties saying one thing and we know very well that the parties, when they are in governments back home, they say a very different if not a completely contradictory thing. This is why we need to build a true public space in Europe, with a true European democracy, with true European parties and true European institutions not working against our Members States, but working for a union that goes beyond the Member States and that gives each Member State and our citizens the capacity to defend our interests and our values in a global world."

SOUNDBITE (French), Joseph DAUL (EPP, FR), "Thank you very much for that European discourse ! I would say, Manuel, you should speak this way at Council next time and I will be with you 100% all the way."

SOUNDBITE (German), Martin SCHULZ, (S&amp;D, DE), "Mister Daul, and I said this before : Mister Barroso is just as combative in the Council as he is here. And having had the occasion to be at his side in these occasions, in fact he is even more outrageous !"

SOUNDBITE (English), Guy VERHOFSTADT, (ALDE, BE), "Commission should use more his right of initiative on a number of topics and on a number of issues. Don't wait for the green light from Paris or Berlin or other capitals - or the red lights, yes, the red light is always there but not the green light ! Do what is necessary and put your legislative proposals on the table and I think that the effect on the market can be so positive that's it will be more difficult for these countries to act negatively."