mr president some concrete questions were raised
first of all regarding the reintroduction of visa requirements for nationals of the czech republic travelling to canada the commission regrets that canada has reintroduced this visa requirement
i discussed this issue with the canadian prime minister in the margins of the last g eight meeting
i expect this measure to be temporary and i hope that full visa travel between the czech republic and canada will be established soon
i asked commissioner barrot to meet czech officials to discuss this urgently and i understand that the first meeting between commission officials and czech foreign affairs officials took place in brussels yesterday
on that basis the commission will examine the situation carefully and will report on this in the visa reciprocity report that will be issued probably in september two thousand and nine
in cooperation with the czech government we will consult the canadian authorities in order to get more information on the reasons behind their decision and we will make all the necessary efforts to restore visa-free travel
concerning the issue of the regulation and supervision of the financial market which was also raised during the debate of course there is still an agenda to complete namely what was adopted at the european council as a consensus based on the de larosière report a report i commissioned from that high-level group but we also have to take note of the progress that has been made
the commission proposals on capital requirements deposit guarantees credit-rating agencies and on the solvency directive for the insurance sector have all been adopted by the european parliament and by the council
the commission has presented draft legislation on hedge funds and private equity on securitisation and remuneration in the banking sector
it is now for the european parliament and the council to adopt them if they agree rapidly
another point that was mentioned during the debate was the issue of resistance to protectionism
in fact it was a very important topic at the one march european council
during the last half of two thousand and eight there was a dangerous drive for some protectionist internal measures in the european union
i think it is fair to say that the czech presidency and many member states made it clear that we cannot accept this kind of fragmentation of our internal market so the discussion that took place during those months was also a very important development
finally concerning the critics of the parliamentary ratification of the lisbon treaty let me tell you i cannot understand how someone who has been elected to a parliament can call into question the parliamentary ratification of a treaty
a parliament is the basis of democracy and ratification by parliament is as legitimate as a referendum
