Group of the European People's Party (Ghristian-Democratic Group)
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EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Group of the European People's Party (Ghristian-Democratic Group) Secretariat Doc.31/82 Luxembourg, September 1 982 Report on the activities of the Group of the European People's Party (Christian-Democratic Group) of the ," July 1981 - July 1982 Luxsmbourg 1040 Brussels C€ntre €uropdcn, Platcau du Khchberg rue Belllard 97-113 Tef. 43001 Te1.212342'11 CONTENTS pa9e I. INTRODUCTION II. A TENTATIVE APPRAISAL 11 III. THE WORK" OF THE COr\4MTTTEES AND ACTION TAKEN AT PART-SESSIONS 43 - POLITICAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 45 - COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE 55 - COMMITTEE ON BUDGETS 75 - COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC AND MONETARY AFFAIRS 93 - COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND RESEARCH 12I - COMMITTEE ON EXTERNAL ECONOMIC RELAT]ONS 129 - LEGAL AFFAIRS COI,IMITTEE 139 - COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND EMPLOYMENT 165 - COMMITTEE ON REGIONAL POLICY AND REGIONAL PLANNING L77 - COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT r83 - COMMITTEE ON THE ENVIRONMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH AND CONSUMER PROTECTION 193 - CCI4MITTEE ON YOUTH, CULTURE, EDUCATION, INFORMATION AND SPORT 20L - COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION 209 - COI,IMITTEE ON BUDGETARY CONTROL 215 - COI,IMITTEE ON THE RULES OF PROCEDURE AND PETITIONS 2t9 - COMMITTEE ON INSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS 22r - COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO THE SITUATION OF WOMEN IN EUROPE 23L IV. ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DELEGATIONS 235 V. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS AT THE EPP STUDY DAYS IN NAPLES (ITALY) AND LIMERICK (IRELAND) 239 VI . EPP DELEGA?IONS TO THIRD COUNTRIES 245 VII. ORGANS OF THE GROUP AND REPRESENTATION OF THE GROUP IN THE ORGANS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 265 VIII. REPORTS AND INITIATIVES OF THE EPP GROUP AND ITS !lEMBERS 287 AND STATISTICAL INFORMATION ON THE WORK OF THE PARLIAMENT AND THE EPP GROUP 337 IX. CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF MAIN EVENTS IN THE COMMUNITY 339 I NTRO DU C T ION Between 1981 and 1982 the Group of the European Peopte's Party (CD Group) was invoLved in a series of compLex and decisive issues: the entargement of the Communi ty to incLude Spain and Portugat brith aLL its poLiticaL and economic 'i mpLications, the battLe against the econonri c crisis, the broadening and strenqthening of reIations with Th.i rd t,lorLd countries, the lvlandate of 30 May and econotiri c alignment and the tong hard road towards European poI iticaL union. The Christian-Democratic Group responded to the chalLenges with a determjned and consistent poLiticaL activity, emerging incidentaLty as the most united and homogeneous among the parliamentary groups- This unity is the resuLt of cLose and fruitful poLiticaI debate within the Group which not only made our poLiticat action dynamic and imaginative but atso coherent and .incisive. In Strasbourg, on 25 March 1982, the European MP's sotemnLy commemorated the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome and recaLLed the achievements of the founding fathers of Europe : the men who, in the aftermath of a war which deeply ravaged Europe, undertook the difficutt and courageous task of overcoming narro91 nationaL interests and proposed instead a spirit of coope rat i on. over these 25 years the Community has made impressive progress towards an even closer union among the peoptes of Europe, thereby achieving one of the fundamentaI aims envisaged by the Treaty of Rome. An even more notabLe deveLopment has been the enlargement of the European Economic Community with the accession of Ir eland, Denmark, the United Kingdom and, more recentLy, Greece; the Europe of the Ten today is the major l,'lorLd economi c power with a gross domest ic product higher even than that of the USA- But, beyond these positive aspects, Furope must now face a series of problems which threaten it !,ith progressive paralysis; these inctude the dis- tressing and persistent economi c crisis and its attendant sociaI repercussions, the monetary disorder and aLso a revivat of outdated, but above atL steriLe anc harmfu I nationatistic attitudes- In view of these circumstances the European ParIiament, having been direct[y etected by the citizens of Europe, has not only the right but primari Ly the duty to 4, and by exercising its oh,n initiative to stimutate us out of our present stagnation. The Christian-Democrat ic Group has devoted a speciaL effort to materiaL[y strengthening Europe and overcoming those obstactes which hinder the smooth funct ion ing of the Community. over the past year Partiament has given much attention to the questions of the common agriculturaL poLicy and of the customs union which were both at the core of a Lively and methodicat debate to uhich the EPP Group made a partjc- uIarty informed contribution. The common agriculturaI poIicy L,as also re-examined in the context of the Mandate of 30 May drawn up for the purpose of a review of the various Community poticies within the frameuork of the Community's budget - Parliamentrs attitude to the common customs union was undeniabLy highLy criticaL, especiatly as regards the fact that,25 years after the aboIition of tariff barri ers, major obstactes to trarCe between the Member States stitL remain in the form of non-tariff barriers, customs format ities, technicaI and administrative obstructions, fiscaI positions, etc- whi ch together hinder the proper functioning of Community trade. These probLems !,ere at the centre of a report drawn up on the initiative of the Christian-Denocrats which succeeded in pressurizing the Commission into present ing new proposaLs on these issues, now being considered by Partiament- one of the Community,s majon achievements in recent years - eSsent'i aL to the creation of a united Europe - has been the invotvement of the Member States in foreign poLicy, with speciat regard to potitical cooperat ion. Here the EPP has reguIarLy played a key rote in determining ParLiament's approach as, for exampte, in the debates on the MiddLe East, Potand, Afghanistan, and in its relations with Japan and the USA. The EPP is convinced that Europe can and must pLay an active role on the 'internationaL scene, encouraging a comprehensive approach which ranges from a pol.icy of deterrence or at Ieast restraint of Soviet aggression, through upholding the right of atL peoples to Life and Iiberty as procLained in the United Natjons Declaration, att the way to the search for a batance between the conditions necessary fOr free trade and those for stabLe and harmonious economi c growth. These pr.inciptes appl-y not on[y to the industriaIjzed wortd but atso to the deveLoping countries; the European PeopIes' Party has expressed its serious concern over the steadiLy worsening worLd food situation and has strongLy (ACP) urged the EEC and the African, Caribbean and Pac'if ic States within the framework of the Lom6 convent ion, to direct their efforts towards a new and fairer system of internationaI retations and aro for devetopment. Internal[y, Europe is facing a severe economic crisis uith a heavy tott of 10 miLl.ion unempIoyed. The CommunitystliLL has onty Limited powers in the sphere of employment pol"icy, responsibiLjty remaining to a Large extent with the nation- al governments; nonethetess, practicaI measures have been suggested at Community IeveI to aLLeviate the probLem of unempLoyment, the most significant of which are the proposaLs on voLuntary part-time work, the retirement age, vocat ionaL training, and others concerning particuIar di sadvantaged sociaL groups which are more directty vutnerab[e to the economi c crisis, ie women, young peopte ancl migrant workers. Partiament has aLso made specific efforts to ensure greater participation by emptoyees in the management of enterprises, a matter of partic- utar importance in times of economi c recession. The EPP is concerned that our efforts to orotect the envi ronment shouLd not be curtai Led because of financiaL difficuLties. The Christian-Democrat ic Group has given its support to the proposal for a directive from the Commission of the European Communities for controtLing various forms of pottution; to the same domain belong the initiatives firmLy pursued by our Group for the protection of certain animat species threatened with extinction. The Community is cons idered in man./ quarters as a pureLy economi c body set up tntith the aim of increasing the voLume of trade and industr.iaL output- It is true that its name indicates that it is founded on an economic agreement, but the pot.iticaI aspect remains of vitaL importance. The uttimate aim of the fore'runnens of European unification has aLways been to establish close economic Links as the sine qua non of a future politicaL un i on. Significant in this respect are the words of one of the f i rst Pres.i dents of the EEC, !JaLter HatIstein, when he stated that we are not in fact deaI ing with trade but wjth poLitics. t'Je Christ ian-Democrats are convinced of the need to proceed decisiveLy and resoluteLy atong the road of poLiticaI unity and we see the European Union as an indispensabte instrument for the consoLidation of freedom, democracy and peace, and the well-being of our peopLes. This politicat evoLution obviousLy implies perfecting the Community Institutions; in this context the resuLts of the initiaI phase of the wonk carried out by the committee set up by the European ParLiament to draw up a nelr draft of the Treaty -which concluded when the motjon for a resotution on European union was voted - have been positive- But the wor.k of the Committee on InstituiionaI Affairs on the proposed amend- ments to the Treaties wouLd remain fruitLess without the contribution of the generaL public and of the nationaI parLiaments. 1ale Christian-Democratic members of the European ParLiament beIieve that our cot Leagues in the nationaL parLiaments must be invoLved from the outset, for without their support and without the consensus of the peopIes, the work of the Committee on InstitutionaL Affairs and the European Par"Liament's proposaLs wouLd be mereIy academic or narcissistic.