The limits. The Polish prime minister gave us a bit of a surprise, by asking - and receiving a reply in the affirmative - his finance minister to take part in the work of the Eurogroup, even though his country is not yet part of the eurozone, so that the European general public would be aware that Poland had just taken up the Presidency of the Council of the EU for six months. When I say general public, I am not referring to the readers of our bulletin, who are of course very well-informed about the details of EU affairs, or to the citizens of Poland, or to any specialists in European matters, but to the vast majority of the population who feel a bit confused at the workings of the Community institutions. This majority is not in the wrong, because the six-monthly rotation of the Council Presidency no longer has the simple, global significance it once had. Today, it means neither the presidency of the summit (European Council) or of the External Relations Council, both of which now have their permanent presidents, Mr Van Rompuy and Baroness Ashton respectively; and it must also be borne in mind that the last few Presidencies have not exactly left an indelible memory on the minds of the general public or made their mark on European integration; some of them, indeed, have seemed to belong to the eurosceptic camp, if anything.
Welcome optimism. Radically different is the case of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has just taken up his European functions with dynamism and enthusiasm. It is this dynamism of spirit which came as such a welcome relief to me: finally, we have someone who is looking to the future of the EU with optimism! According to the president of the European Parliament, this Polish dynamism will be “particularly useful in dissipating the atmosphere of doubt which is set in… I hope that the Polish attitude will be contagious and improve the EU's mood”. And Mr Tusk told the European press that during its semester, Poland would be “optimistic, pro-European, pro-solidarity and ambitious”. All of this is a most refreshing change from the frustrated faces we see far too often, the information sources which announce only the failures and public opinion complaining about Europe's lack of power (in the countries which are part of it, whereas the countries which are not want nothing more than to join). Additionally, the figures support the words: the Polish rate of economic growth will far exceed the 3% mark this year, compared to 2.6% for Germany, 1.8% for France and 1% for Italy.
Two reservations. Optimism and dynamism are essential; but for what programme? The clear and detailed response can be found in no. 2552 of our series EUROPE Documents dated 1st July and Donald Tusk has stated that the most important thing for the Polish Presidency is to move forward at Community level, going beyond national interests. This is a significant statement, but one which calls for two reservations: (a) for most of the major subjects contained in the programme, the new Presidency will be able to open the debate without going much further; (b) on a couple of subjects, this Presidency has anticipated clearly national stances.
Opening debates. Let me explain. It is Poland's responsibility to open a number of discussions and negotiations on issues which are fundamental for Europe's development, and it will be chalked up to the country's credit that it will be preparing and announcing the launch of these. But let us make no mistake in the matter. The European Parliament, which, in most cases, will be the Council's interlocutor, does not have to consider that it is already looking at the positions of this Council as a whole. The Polish Presidency will be opening preliminary negotiations between the member states and this semester will only see the start of this exercise. The timetable is what it is; in July and August, not much happens, the real debates do not start until September. It is slightly as though the Polish Presidency chose a period of four months rather than six for certain dossiers.
Let us take the example of preparations for the financial perspectives 2014/2020, which will determine the annual budgets of the EU for the seven years of their duration. The European Commission has presented its proposals, which were brave and innovative, and our bulletin no. 1048 devoted several pages to their content and the initial reactions to them. Some fundamental aspects of Community activity will be completely overhauled; it will take two years of difficult talks, 2012 and 2013, to reach compromises and decisions. All the Polish Presidency can do is to open the debates within the Economy/Finance Council, given that the majority of the preparatory work will take place at the level of the heads of state or government and will therefore be prepared under the responsibility of Mr Van Rompuy. On the other hand, the Polish Presidency will be effective at the specialist Councils. I will go into greater depth on these comments in this section tomorrow. (F.R./transl.fl)