Brussels, 25/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Council of 10-11 December 2009, which will be the last summit under the rotating presidency of the EU (the next, in March 2010, will be prepared and chaired by Herman Van Rompuy), will be the ideal opportunity for the 27 to "draw a line" under the too-long institutional debate over the new treaty and return to the "real problems" which are of concern to the citizens of Europe, such as the economic crisis, climate change and internal security. That was the view shared by the vast majority of MEPs during the debate on Wednesday 25 November between the EP, the Swedish Presidency (represented by Cecilia Malmström) and the president of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso. Ms Malmström explained that the December European Council will focus on three main issues, all of which have a direct impact on the lives of the citizens: - climate change (the summit will be taking place at the same time as the Copenhagen conference, which will be held from 7 to 18 December); - the consequences of the economic and financial crisis (assessment of measures already taken, debate on the exit strategy, seeking a political agreement on financial supervision); - adoption of the Stockholm programme for justice, liberty and security. This new working programme for the next five years (2010-2014), which takes over from The Hague programme, will create "added value for the citizens", as it will help to make Europe safer whilst protecting the individual freedoms of the people, said Ms Malmström, who stressed the need to guarantee a "balance between security and liberty". Institutional issues, however, will not be entirely absent from the summit, as the Presidency also intends to present a report ("roadmap") on the practical implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon, which will enter into force on 1 December. As for the two people appointed on 19 November, they will take up their duties on 1 December (Catherine Ashton) and 1 January 2010 (Herman Van Rompuy), said Ms Malmström.
José Manuel Barroso also expressed his relief at the fact that the institutional debate is now concluded. "It is time to refocus our efforts on the substance, on the real subjects which affect the everyday lives of the citizens", he said. The subjects on the agenda of the European Council respond to this concern and the 27 must therefore do all in their power to reach definitive results very quickly, starting with climate change in the Copenhagen conference, hopefully leading to an "ambitious agreement", at least confirming the objective of 2° Celsius and showing that "we are moving from talk (on climate change) to action" to fight this massive problem. The economic crisis must also remain a priority issue, with particular focus on its social impact and job creation, said the president of the Commission.
"I am pleased that discussions on the people are now behind us and that we are once again discussing matters of substance", said the leader of the EPP Group, Joseph Daul, with particular reference to the economic crisis and the Copenhagen conference on climate change, "which we hope will lead to detailed commitments, not just political declarations". Mr Daul also referred to the appointment of Herman Van Rompuy who, with his sense of consensus and step-by-step approach in the process of European integration, will revive the "Monnet method". As for Catherine Ashton, the EPP welcomes her appointment, "but we will be listening very carefully to her answers during the January hearings", Mr Daul warned.
Martin Schulz (S&D) pointed out that as regards these appointments, the Socialist group had one "clear priority": to obtain the post of vice-president of the Commission. This objective had been achieved, "also thanks to the support of Mr Barroso", whom Mr Schulz especially thanked, describing this as a "good omen" for future cooperation. Mr Schulz also requested that the future commissioners of the Socialist family be given important portfolios, preferably ones related to "major challenges", such as social issues or the environment. If this Socialist request is granted, "nothing can happen to you", Mr Schulz told Mr Barroso.
Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the ALDE Group, added: given that the Liberals appear to have been at the back of the queue when the major posts were being handed out, the Liberal commissioners will have to be given "good portfolios". As for the subjects on the agenda of the forthcoming European Council, Mr Verhofstadt stressed the need for a "legally binding agreement" on climate change in Copenhagen and on a "better balance" between liberty and security in the Stockholm programme (after the events of 9/11, security has been tightened up at the expense of fundamental freedoms, he argued). As for the impact of the economic and financial crisis, Mr Verhofstadt pleaded in favour of the creation of a single European financial supervisor "linked to the ECB, why not?"
Rebecca Harms, the co-president of the Greens/EFA Group, welcomed the fact that there will be a higher number of women in the forthcoming Commission, but pleaded for them to be given important portfolios as well. She also proposed that Herman Van Rompuy "voluntarily" agree to meet the various political groups before taking up his office, in order to "get himself known" and discuss his programme. On the programme for the forthcoming European Council, Ms Harms voiced her criticism of the "hasty" manner in which the EU intends to renew the Lisbon Strategy," which was a complete failure". Between now and March 2010, when the new strategy is to be approved by the Spring European Council, "we will not have enough time" to carry out a critical analysis of the strategy as it has functioned so far, Ms Harms argued. As regards the Stockholm programme, she shares Mr Verhofstadt's opinion, stating that "the balance between security and liberty is not sufficiently guaranteed", at the expense of liberty. Timothy Kirkhope, the leader of the Conservative group (ECR), welcomed the end of the institutional debate, calling for the EU immediately to "get back to business". "The citizens don't care about the details of qualified-majority voting if they have just lost their jobs", he pointed out. Lothar Bisky, the leader of the GUE/NGL Group, said that the European Council should focus more on the social consequences of the crisis. He is also of the opinion that the Lisbon Strategy "has failed". Mr Bisky also pleaded for "stricter controls" of the financial markets and a "binding" agreement on climate in Copenhagen. Nigel Farage (EFD) spoke out in the strongest terms against the appointment of Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton, "two political pygmies"- which will suit José Manuel Barroso down to the ground, making him the "only winner" in these decisions. Mr Van Rompuy will never stop the traffic in Washington or Beijing, "nor even in Brussels", said Mr Farage, who pointed out that the salary of the permanent president of the European Council would be "higher than that of Barack Obama". As for Ms Ashton, Mr Farage criticised the fact that she has "never been elected" in any of her posts and that "nobody has ever heard of her". "That makes her perfect for Europe", but her appointment is "an embarrassment for Britain", Mr Farage concluded. The president of the EP, Jerzy Buzek, called Mr Farage to order, because he "personally" believed that his comments were "improper", to which Mr Farage responded by saying that Mr Buzek was not a neutral president.
Although the debate concerned preparations for the European Council, many MEPs wished to have their say on last week's appointments
What logic was used to allocate the new posts? A Community logic, said the Italian EPP member Mario Mauro: what matters is not the fact that Catherine Ashton is English, but the fact that she comes from the Commission; and Mr Van Rompuy is not being asked to "sing louder than the others, but to get the others to sing from the same hymn sheet". Will Ms Ashton really start her new job on 1 December, without waiting for the approval of the EP? That will put us in a kind of legal no man's land, said the German Liberal Alexander Lambsdorff, who then aimed the following at Nigel Farage: if your party came into power, a lot of citizens would leave the country and go and live elsewhere... "Nobody can reasonably want these mandates to go by the board", said the French Socialist, Catherine Trautmann, who added her calls for Ms Ashton's hearing and the end of the "archaic method" currently in force for making appointments. In addition, "between a less powerful Commission and a reinforced intergovernmental axis", the EP should play a greater role. The EP, agreed French Liberal Marielle de Sarnez, should propose new procedures and a new method for appointing people to the key positions at the head of the EU. The Luxembourg Liberal Charles Goerens wanted to know why the "indisputable qualities" of the prime minister of this country, Jean-Claude Juncker, "were an obstacle to his being appointed". All of these discussions on the personalities of the new leaders are inappropriate, said the Estonian Socialist Ivari Padar; they must be judged on their work, as soon as possible.
On the substance, the German Green Gerald Häfner issued the following warning: the governments are prepared to grant billions to come to the rescue of the banks, but are they prepared to do the same to fight climate change and safeguard the future of humanity? A number of MEPs took pains to raise specific issues of particular interest to them. Cyprus's Takis Hadjigeorgiou (GUE/NGL), whilst stressing that his group was in the favour of Turkey's accession to the European Union, pointed out that the country must respect its commitments towards Cyprus. The Slovenian Socialist Zoran Thaler called on the other members not to forget the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), a neighbour country of the Union which finds itself in a "frozen conflict" in the middle of Europe. The Swedish member Gunnar Hökmark (EPP) said that it was now time to revive the process of enlargement, particularly regarding Iceland. Hungary absolutely cannot accept the Commission's position on not reusing CO2 emissions quotas after 2012, said Janos Ader.
An agreement on the new appointments, an agreement over Lisbon, now we must resolutely turn towards the future, said Poland's Andrzej Grzyb (EPP), who called for a debate on the post-Lisbon Europe. Othmar Karas, a member of the same group, voiced his hopes that at the forthcoming European Council, the qualitative leap which Europe has just made would make itself felt: Europe has changed, let us welcome this, said the Austrian MEP. (H.B./L.G./transl.fl)