The regions fight to safeguard funding. Europe says yes to drilling as the US counts the cost of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Jacques Delors on German reunification.

The News: Regional Policy – Deep Sea Drilling – Jacques Delors

European regional  leaders took to the streets

to demand financial guarantees for  the future of the regional policy.

Despite the Gulf of Mexico disaster,  MEPs rejected a European moratorium.

Jacques Delors, the former Commission  president came to the EP to mark

the 20th anniversary of  German reunification.

Welcome to this edition of  EuroparlTV News.

It’s a first: around a hundred European  regional leaders protested in Brussels.

The protesters fear cuts to  the post-2013 regional budget.

Every year 49 billion euros  are given to Europe's regions.

143 European regions are worried about  the future of the post-2013 cohesion policy

a policy which is crucial  in times of economic crisis.

It allows regions  to safeguard their growth

through building  projects and job training.

Waving their flags local representatives  addressed their grievances

to José Manuel Barroso,  the European Commission President.

the authorities in Brussels  have guaranteed the financial means.

We want it to continue because  it’s the everyday face of Europe

vis-a-vis our citizens, businesses,  laboratories, researchers

and those who are suffering and  want to obtain qualifications and jobs.

MEPs hammered home their message  at the plenary session vote.

They reiterated their will  to follow an ambitious regional policy.

This MEP supports the actions  of the regional leaders.

It’s a real political act  to say that

we have given our full backing to  this European policy.

We want to maintain it  and to continue to promote Europe

Cohesion policy represents 45%  of the EU budget,

a larger sum than  the Common Agricultural Policy.

In 2010, 49 billion euros were set aside

to bring the poorest regions  up to speed with the richest.

The less developed regions will be  the main target of the cohesion policy

because the very meaning  of the cohesion policy is solidarity.

Now the 27 Member States must be  convinced of the merits of this policy.

A dramatic turn of events this Thursday:  MEPs rejected a call for a moratorium on

Barroso’s Commission must now present  solid proposals to improve safety.

Oil platform operators  can breath a sigh of relief.

MEPs have lifted the threat of  a moratorium on deep sea drilling.

The oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico  that caused unprecedented pollution,

led to an EP committee to call for  a freeze on all drilling in Europe’s seas.

Until the BP spill there were  no major accidents in the Gulf of Mexico.

What I’m saying is that  there are very old platforms

and that new requests  want to drill deeper than ever before.

In Europe 10% of oil is supplied by  off-shore platforms like this one.

There are no European laws  on deep sea drilling.

Each Member State that authorises  drilling sets its own standards.

Those against a moratorium believe  existing laws are sufficient.

So why now call for this moratorium on  any further exploratory drilling?

We export some of the best safety and  security technology to the world.

What sort of message  will it send to our customers

that the European Parliament no longer  has any confidence in our industry?

But MEPs want an EU emergency action  plan to be put into place.

They also want  the Commission to set out

who should take responsibility  for pollution.

He had a ringside seat 20 years ago  during German reunification.

Alongside Lothar de Mazière,  the former East German PM,

Jacques Delors  was the Parliament's guest of honour.

the Parliament has decided  to celebrate this event.

Reunification worried many people.  What were your feelings?

As president of the European  Commission you were close to events.

I recalled that there was a note  annexed to the 1957 Rome Treaty

that stated that West Germany  reserved full entry rights,

should an opportunity  to reunite Germany arise.

In terms of how I felt, I was in favour of  unification like everyone else.

Politically, it was very important for  Germany to be reunited.

On the left,  some in Germany affirm that

former French president  François Mitterand accepted reunification

in exchange for German agreement  on the creation of a single currency.

François Mitterand,  as president of an EU Member State,

asked himself  how things would turn out.

Would the forces of democracy  and wisdom win out?

Did one lead to the other?  Reunification and single currency?

If Jean Monnet were alive he'd say  Europe only advances when crisis strikes.

But I think the idea of a single currency  had been in people's minds for a while,

since the single market  and the Single European Act.

The idea existed, so I wasn't  the first to raise it.

You once said that there was much  to do to consolidate the body of EU laws

and to meet future challenges,  so very briefly,

the European Union should take  to weather uncertainty?

National governments should explain to  citizens why we are building Europe

and why they are members of the EU.  -State the case for Europe.

The EU should make  more use of cooperation,

Cooperation in  economic and monetary union,

This type of cooperation  doesn't require treaty changes.