calendario eventi  :: 

X

13/9/2001

Dichiarazione On. Imelda Read

Parlamento Europeo, Bruxelles

14 settembre 2001

Dichiarazione della On. Imelda Read Presidente della delegazione del Parlamento Europeo per le Relazioni con gli Stati Uniti

Washington, D.C., 13 September, 2001

As chairman of the European Parliament delegation, on an official visit in Washington, D.C., I wish to express my deepest sympathy to the families of the innocent victims and to the people of the United States, its government and elected representatives.
These heinous attacks are not solely directed against the United States of America but on what we are and what we stand for, our common values, our freedoms, democracy itself.
There can be no stronger terms of condemnation than those chosen by the Council of the European Union in its Declaration of September 12 and there can be no ambiguity in our resolve to "help identify, bring to justice and punish those responsible: there will be no safe haven for terrorists and their sponsors ".
In these difficult moments the words of a great American Thomas Jefferson, a founding father, come to mind.
He said: "I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man".
Today, his words should serve as guidance for us.
Today, we stand united in our determination to combat international terrorism. We Europeans share in your sorrow for the loss of so many of your fellow countrymen and also for our fellow citizens who perished in these attacks.
The European Parliament reacted swiftly to these tragic events and held yesterday a special meeting of the Conference of Presidents open to all Members with Mr. Verhofstadt, President of the European Council and Mr. Prodi, President of the European Commission. Mrs. Fontaine, President of the European arliament issued a strong statement echoing the feelings of us all.
The perpetrators of these evil acts have not weakened our democracies nor have they diminished our resolve to preserve our way of life.
The European Union and its Member States have offered practical assistance for the search and rescue operations and we expect that teams from our countries will be arriving to New York as soon as circumstances permit. It is my strong belief that together we shall overcome this evil and we will do so by pursuing actively together the promotion of peace, democracy, stability and prosperity in our countries and in the world.
Let me quote a famous European, a founding father of the European Communities, Jean Monnet: "We must organize the collective action of our civilization. How can that be done? Only by uniting in collective action Europe and America, which together have the greatest resources in the world, which share the same civilization and which conduct their public affairs in the same democratic manner ".
Let us today remember these words as we stand here united in sorrow but also in our resolve.
I would like to ask you to join me in a moment of silence in memory of the victims.

stampa

permanent link