English for international relations by Caldirola Anna

Author:Caldirola, Anna [Caldirola, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: EDUCatt
Published: 2015-02-10T16:00:00+00:00

TEXT 11

Objectives:

• Analysis of rhetorical devices.

• Reading Comprehension

BRUSSEL’S EUROPEAN COUNCIL

PRESIDENCY CONCLUSIONS – Brussels, 11 and 12 December 2008

The European Council on 11 and 12 December 2008 approved a European Economic Recovery Plan. The plan provides a common framework for the efforts made by Member States and by the European Union, with a view to ensuring consistency and maximising effectiveness. The European Council also reached agreement on the energy/climate change package which should enable this package to be finalised with the European Parliament by the end of the year. This decisive breakthrough will enable the European Union to honour the ambitious commitments entered into in this area in 2007 and to maintain its leading role in the search for an ambitious and comprehensive global agreement at Copenhagen next year. The European Council demonstrated its intent, through concrete decisions, to give new impetus to the European Security and Defence Policy in order to meet the new security challenges. Lastly, the European Council discussed the factors designed to respond to the concerns expressed during the Irish referendum and established an approach to enable the Treaty of Lisbon to come into force before the end of 2009.

The meeting of the European Council was preceded by an exposé by the President of the European Parliament, Mr Hans-Gert Pöttering, followed by an exchange of views:

1. The European Council re-affirms that the Treaty of Lisbon is considered necessary in order to help the enlarged Union to function more efficiently, more democratically and more effectively including international affairs. With a view to enabling the Treaty to enter into force by the end of 2009, the European Council, while respecting the aims and objectives of the Treaties, has defined a clear path.

2. […] The financial crisis is now impacting on the economy. The euro area, and indeed the Union as a whole, are threatened with recession. In these exceptional circumstances, Europe will act in a united, strong, rapid and decisive manner to avoid a recessionary spiral and sustain economic activity and employment. It will mobilise all the instruments available to it and act in a concerted manner to maximise the effect of the measures taken by the Union and by each Member State. In that context, Member States’ policies on social protection and inclusion also have a vital part to play.

3. […] The financial markets remain fragile. We must remain vigilant and continue to implement, as a priority, measures to create greater stability and transparency of the financial sector, particularly those envisaged by the ECOFIN Council road map. In this context, the European Council hopes that negotiations with the European Parliament will lead to the rapid adoption of the legislative decisions on which the Council has agreed a general approach. It also calls for decisions to be taken quickly on the other priority issues identified, in particular credit rating agencies financial supervision and accounting standards.

4. […] As regards action by the European Union, the European Council supports in particular:

− rapid additional action by the European Social Fund to support

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