For the special honour of this invitation let me thank you Mr President and let me thank you this generation of European Parliamentarians and European Commissioners led by President Barroso: it is thanks to the work of all of you and the generations whose work we build upon that today we enjoy a Europe of peace and unity which will truly rank among the finest of human achievements and which is today a beacon of hope for the whole world.

And if anyone in any country or continent is in any doubt of how the human will and courage of representatives with a mission can build a new future out of past decades of despair, then let them simply reflect upon how sixty years ago Europeans talked of enmities that were forever entrenched, relationships that could never be repaired. They talked of a hard, long and bitter cold war, and did not believe it possible that our Europe could ever be fully at peace, far less that it could unite and cooperate.

And then let them think now of how today after years of cooperation and peace none but those on the political extremes would question that we are stronger and safer together than ever we were apart.

On November 9th this year we will celebrate the twentieth anniversary of something that surely for each of us in this chamber must count as one of the defining events of our lives - the fall of the Berlin wall: a wall torn down by the resolution of people determined that no barrier, no intimidation, no repression would ever again be allowed to divide us.

Friends today there is no old Europe, no new Europe, no east or west Europe. There is only one Europe…….. Our home Europe.

So I stand here today proud to be British and proud to be European: representing a country that does not see itself as an island adrift from Europe but as a country at the centre of Europe, not in Europe’s slipstream but firmly in its mainstream.

And that is why I am proud that by a large majority our British Parliament ratified the Lisbon treaty.

And I believe we in Europe are uniquely placed to lead the world in meeting the wholly new and momentous challenges of globalisation ahead precisely because of what we have achieved in our union. And so let me thank the members of this European Parliament who should all be proud because together we have also achieved

•    The greatest and biggest single market in the world, now bringing opportunity to 500 million people and
•    The most successful endeavour in economic cooperation anywhere in the world
•    The most comprehensive framework of environmental protection anywhere in the world - a defining achievement of European co-ordination, with this continent the first in the world to set itself unequivocally on the path to becoming a low carbon economy
•    And - through the world’s biggest programme of aid - the most sustained commitment to saving and changing lives everywhere in the world

And so many of the consumer and workplace rights we all enjoy across Europe have resulted from the campaigns led by individual members and the groupings of this house.

And of course - let us not forget that our European Union also has the most comprehensive social protection anywhere in the world – a set of rights and responsibilities that was enhanced for the people of Britain when this government led Britain into the social chapter.

These successes of Europe would all have been impossible without the cooperation between peoples that this Parliament has delivered.

Yes, we have seen unity advanced by officials meeting officials. Yes, we have witnessed unity when leaders meet leaders.  But the unity that will last is the democratic unity rooted in the common values of people now represented in this Parliament, and more than treaties, more than institutions, more than individuals, it is these defining values that bind us one to another.

Our whole experience as a European Union is that liberty, economic progress and social justice advance together or not at all.

And these values are rooted in the lessons we have learned working together.

The truth that freedom must never become a free for all.

The lesson that markets should be free but never values free.

The belief that being fair is more important than being laissez faire.

And we have learned again that wealth is of no great value to society unless it serves more than the wealthy. And riches are of value only when they enrich not just some communities but all.

This is not simply our political philosophy - in Europe we believe these truths because we have lived them.
And now in the midst of a global crisis of a speed, scope and scale quite unprecedented in history, I want to discuss with you how, applying these values that are now part of our DNA, and those lessons that we have learned over time, Europe and the world can rise to the four great  challenges of globalisation;

•    Financial instability in a world of instant global capital flows
•    Environmental degradation in a world of energy shortages
•    Extremism and the threats it brings to security in a world of unprecedented mobility
•    And growing poverty in a world of worsening inequality

But I want to discuss too how the global economy, managed properly by us together, could as billions of people, in Asia and elsewhere, today producers of their goods, become tomorrow consumers of our goods; how we can see over the next twenty years the biggest expansion of middle class jobs and incomes ever seen, and a world economy whose output doubles, creating new opportunities for all of us.

And I want to discuss how on that foundation we can build from a world which today looks unsustainable, insecure and unequal a truly global society which is sustainable for all, secure for all and fair for all.

And let me repeat: I believe that the European union is uniquely placed to lead in addressing these questions– precisely because we have proved over the last 60 years that we as Europe can meet and master the challenge  of cooperation across borders, of coordination between peoples, and of achieving unity out of diversity.

Some of you will know that I have for many years advanced the case for a global Europe and for the economic reforms to make it happen. I know some critics suggested that I supported global action more because I supported European action less. But I have made this case so strongly for so long precisely because I passionately want Europe to be leading on the world stage. And it is because I believe that the countries of Europe, having come together around values of liberty, fairness and responsibility, have so much to offer the world as it too comes together.

I want to see a globalisation that is open, free-trading and flexible, but which is also inclusive and sustainable. That is the message, at these most testing of times, that Europe can demonstrate to the world and Europe can send to and share with the world, and which has never been more relevant nor more urgent.

Because today an international hurricane is sweeping the world and lashing all our shores. The crisis is global but every single European country feels its impact directly - it is hitting every business, every worker, every homeowner and every family too.

Let us be honest with each other:

Our global economic system has not just developed but been distorted in ways that run contrary to the values we celebrate and uphold in every other part of our lives. Values such as being fair to others and taking responsibility for our actions; honouring hard work and not rewarding irresponsible excess.

Complex products like banking derivatives which were supposed to disperse risk around the world have instead spread contagion.  So no longer can we allow risks to be transferred round the world without clear responsibility:  I say every part of what was a shadow banking system must now come under the supervisory net.

Established limits to markets agreed in one country or region are being overtaken by global competition between all countries and so I say it is not enough to promote self regulation and allow a race to the bottom: we have to agree international standards of transparency, disclosure and – yes - of remuneration.

And just as globalisation has been crossing national boundaries – we now know it has been crossing moral boundaries too.

As we have discovered to our cost, the problem of unbridled free markets in an unsupervised marketplace is that they reduce all relationships to transactions, all intentions to self interest, all sense of value to consumer choices, all sense of worth to a price tag.

A good society needs a strong sense of values. Not values that spring from the market, but the values we bring to it. Values of honesty, responsibility, fairness, hard work. Values that come not from markets; but instead from the heart.

And so, starting at our debate today as we prepare for the London summit next week, I propose that we as Europe take a central role replacing what was called the old Washington consensus with a new consensus for our times.

Faced with all these global problems we cannot stand where we are: we have to act but we have of course a choice. I know that the temptation for some is to meet this new insecurity with retreat, to try to feel safe by attempting to pull up the drawbridge or turn the clock back. But I tell you if there’s anything we know from history it’s that protectionism is the politics of a, retreat and fear and in the end, protects no-one at all.  And instead of heading for the rocks of isolation, but together charting the course of cooperation – that is our national interest.

And so I believe we should instead face this new world with confidence and a bold plan - that is why I propose Europe takes the lead to ensure that:

- every continent makes the changes in its own banking systems that will open the path to shared prosperity once again
-  every country participates and  cooperates in setting global standards for financial regulation
- every continent injects the resources into their economy needed to secure economic growth and jobs

So first, we must do everything in our power to create a world in which we are not here to serve the market, the market is there to serve us. And that is why we in Britain have removed uncertainty from the banking sector in order to get lending out to the people who need it to get on with ordinary life in the midst of extraordinary times.  I believe that the common principles behind the US, UK and wider European plans for cleaning up the banks’ balance sheets will help to rebuild confidence and restore lending to the wider economy.

And I see that for the first time ever across our world we have a growing consensus reflected in the European de Larosiere report, the g30 report led by Paul Volcker and the British Turner report, that in the interests of protecting people’s savings, tough regulatory standards should be set across Europe and the world, agreed to and fully monitored, not just in one country but in every continent.

And I believe that we can for the first time agree the big changes necessary for coordinated action that will signal the beginning of the end for offshore tax havens and offshore centres. And so let us say together that our regulations should apply to every bank, everywhere, at every time, with no opt-out for shadow bankers and no hiding place in any part of our world for tax avoiders who refuse to pay their fair share.

Second, we know that worldwide fiscal and monetary stimulus to the economy can be twice as effective in every country if it is adopted by all countries. I believe that we are seeing the biggest cut in interest rates the world has ever seen and seeing implemented the biggest fiscal stimulus the world has ever agreed.

And I am confident that at the London summit we can build on the action that the European Council and G20 ministers agreed a few days ago: that we will do whatever it takes to create the growth and the jobs we need.

Because I believe that no one should go unemployed for months without the offer of a job or training to obtain a job, no school-leaver should be out of school and out of work for long without being offered the chance to get the skills they need.

And I believe thirdly, that in this crisis we must take urgent, serious and large-scale action to build a low carbon recovery and make our economy sustainable.

Europe led the industrial revolution and now we can lead a low carbon revolution – through investment in energy efficiency, the expansion of renewables and nuclear power, the demonstration of carbon capture and storage, the development of the smart grid and the commercialisation of electric and ultra low-carbon vehicles. That is why I am so proud to have been part of the decision on the European 2020 package on energy and climate change in December – a decision of  this Parliament which has now set the highest standards  for global leadership in the road to a climate change agreement at Copenhagen.

Fourth, what we are now experiencing in some of the countries of eastern and central Europe demonstrates why we must build anew the international economic co-operation to help countries in their time of need.

A new reformed IMF, in which we welcome greater representation from the emerging economies, and which must have at least 500 billions of resources, twice what it has today, a must be empowered to help countries faced with a flight of capital, assist them to restructure  the capacity of their banks and enable  them to restore lending to their industries- an IMF that does not just react to crises but prevents them and a world bank that has the resources to prevent poverty and to facilitate, amidst the collapse of trade credits, the expansion of trade.

So as we remember and celebrate that our European union and this Parliament has so successfully expanded to welcome new members of our family, I say to Union members from Eastern Europe now; we will not walk away from you at your time of need, we will do all that we can to be at your side.

And Mr President let us never forget that for hundreds of millions of people in the poorest countries thrust into extreme poverty, this crisis is nothing less than a matter of  life and death.

The grim truth that because banks can fail, and trade collapse, half a million extra children - 10 and a half million children in all - will die this year because they are literally too poor to live.

Ten and a half million children is not just a statistic.  It is one child, then a second child, then a third and a fourth: each of them not just a child but somebody’s child.  Each a funeral that need never have happened and a life that could be saved.

That strikes at the very soul of my being and yours. Times that are difficult for us must never become the excuse for turning our backs on the poorest of the world or allowing broken banks to lead to and justify broken promises on aid.

So instead of allowing our European aid pledges to drift towards being mere intentions, then vague aspirations, and eventually quiet betrayals, we should instead re-double our efforts to make ours the great generation that finally makes poverty history.

We can together deliver the biggest fiscal stimulus the world has ever seen, the biggest cut in interest rates, the biggest reform of the international financial system, the first international principles governing banking remuneration, the first comprehensive action against tax havens and for the first time in a world crisis new help for the poor. And how do we build this global consensus for global change? Let me say

One of the great opportunities ahead of us is for Europe and every other continent, and Europe and America to work more closely together.

I talked to President Obama yesterday about what I want to talk to you about today: a new era of heightened cooperation between Europe and America.

Never in recent years have we had an American leadership so keen at all levels to cooperate with Europe on financial stability, climate change, security and development, and seldom has such cooperation been so obviously of benefit to us and to all the world.

Starting with the EU-US summit a few days from now when President Obama comes to Prague, we can transform that summit from just an annual meeting into an unstoppable progressive partnership to secure the global change the world needs.

And think of all the advances we, Europe and America, in a new era of trans-Atlantic co-operation can work together to achieve. And let us work together for a worldwide climate change agreement as started by Chancellor Merkel for the biggest cuts in carbon emissions the world has ever seen.  And of Europe and America working together to defeat the growing threat of terrorism from Pakistan and Afghanistan that can strike our countries’ streets at any time. And with France rejoining the centre of NATO under the leadership of President Sarkozy, let Europe and America work together to achieve something once a dream but now possible: a world where there nuclear weapons do not proliferate and the nuclear powers agree real reductions in their arsenals.

And let us work together for an urgent imperative all of us want to see in our lifetimes, something that all parties in this Parliament crave: peace in the Middle East, a secure Israel side by side with a viable Palestinian state.

But truly the most immediate and most urgently needed gift our European and American cooperation could give is that as a result of the G20 there will be more jobs, more businesses, more trade as together we meet and master the greatest challenges of our time.

You know there’s a quote I love from one of our most famous Europeans - Michelangelo - that it is better to aim too high and fall short than to aim too low and succeed. And that is the choice we face now - because as I look around this chamber today I see that all of us here today are not just witnesses, not just spectators, but the makers of change, free to shape our own destiny.  The people of Europe need not be mastered by events, as victims, but can be the master of them - so let it be said of us that at the worst of times, in the deepest of downturns, we kept to our faith in the future and together we reshaped and renewed the world order for our times.

For I believe that only once the history books have been written will we be able to truly grasp the range and scale of the extraordinary challenges each country in every continent is having to deal with now.

This is more than a moment of change in our common history: this is a world of change.

And we should remind ourselves that the most epoch-making decades in European history have never been fully understood as they happened.

We look back on the renaissance as one of the greatest ages the world has ever seen, but we cannot attribute its impact on the world to a single date or person or breakthrough.  We look back on the enlightenment but we cannot say with certainty when or by whom or how it was launched - merely that today’s Europe and today’s world wouldn’t exist without it.  And when we look back on the industrial revolution we cannot point to the day the whistle blew and it began, to one entrepreneur or inventor who inspired it, or a management committee that oversaw it.  No - we can only say that it happened, and that today we are all the beneficiaries.

And so too in our time we face an epoch-making moment of change, not yet fully understood, where we can each hasten or delay progress by the myriad decisions we take together every day.

And so let us not retreat into the protectionism that is the road to ruin, but let this be our legacy:

That we foresaw and then shaped a global society for our times. That instead of globalisation being a force for injustice and inequality we made globalisation a force for justice on a global scale.

That faced with the most difficult of challenges, a united Europe founded on shared ideals, helped build the world anew.