Article by Camille-Cerise Gessant
I - INTRODUCTION
On 1 July, Italy took over the rotating presidency of the Council of the Union for the twelfth time, 11 years after its last Presidency. Shored up by his party's success at the European elections, the President of the Italian Council, Matteo Renzi, has considerable ambitions for this Presidency. “We are trying to be ambitiously realistic. We will do our best to respond to our citizens' demands”, said the Italian ambassador to the EU, Stefano Sannino, who added that the Presidency would not be an easy one, as Matteo Renzi “is staking a great deal on change in Europe. This is not an easy task.”
The Italian Presidency will be even more of a challenge as it comes at a time of transition. Between 1 July and 31 December, the new Parliament will start its term in office, the European Commission will be replaced and the European Council will adopt a new president, who will be appointed at the October European Council and in place on 1 December. According to the under-Secretary of State for European Affairs, Sandro Gozi, Italy will have two challenges to face: managing the transition process and the fact that it “will be the only stable reference point in this period of transition”. This means that the period and the Presidency are likely to be more political than legislative, yet Rome hopes to use its six months of Presidency to discuss major political, economic and social orientations for the five years to come.
The Italian Presidency wants to put the question of the EU's future firmly on the table, promoting a debate on the institutional and political structure of the EU, see what can be done at the level of the “governance of the eurozone, making full use of the potential of the Treaty of Lisbon, which is not yet being fully exploited”, Gozi said. However, the Presidency is well aware that discussions on the Treaties are divisive, as the member states' opinions differ on any revision of these treaties. “The aim is not to launch a formal treaty revision process or to make any formal decisions, but to look at whether there are aspects of the treaties that we should change over the course of the legislative period”, Gozi has already warned.
The Presidency also wishes to carry out a reflection on how the Council of Ministers functions, to see whether it is still up to the job at hand in light of more recent political priorities or whether any changes should be made, but also on the future functioning of the European Commission, for example by setting in place clusters of commissioners. Reinforcing inter-institutional cooperation is also expected to be up for discussion.
II - INTERVIEW WITH SANDRO GOZI
Agence Europe - What are the priorities of the Italian Presidency of the EU?
Sandro Gozi, under-Secretary of State for European Affairs - The main priorities are a common European growth policy and fighting unemployment, particularly youth unemployment. The aim is to turn growth into a matter of European interest and common action. This means that we need to implement, with specific characteristics, the macro-economic rules, but also to make an effort to identify and create instruments at European level in favour of productive investments of common interest.
Fighting unemployment has to be carried out through reinforcing and extending the instruments already in place, particularly the youth guarantee, but we also need to work on other measures which could allow us to start to build a genuinely European employment market, such as initiatives for European employment agencies or increasing mobility programmes for apprentices.
The second main growth-creating priority is developing a policy for a real economy. Europe cannot be solely a finance-based economy; it needs to be a Europe which sets policies in place for a real economy. We need to work on a single digital market, and develop a truly common energy policy. We must also develop the scoreboard for the first principles of industrial policy decided upon by the European Council of March 2014. There is also work to be done to arrive at a common and ambitious EU position in the fight against climate change. This is also an industrial policy choice: we need to create synergies between the environmental aspect and the employment aspect and to develop initiatives for “green jobs”.
The Italian Presidency also intends to work on the fundamental rights. Why is this?
It is clear that we need to open the debate on how the EU can prevent risks of systemic violations of fundamental rights and how we can organise monitoring on a fundamental theme within which there are urgent aspects, such as a truly common immigration policy and a proper European asylum system.
Indeed, this common immigration policy and proper European asylum system are priorities of the Italian Presidency.
Our third major thematic priority is the Mediterranean. The Euro-Mediterranean policy must be a priority of our six months of presidency and the new legislative period.
In order to develop a genuinely common policy for the management of the external maritime border of the Mediterranean - which is vital for us - the Frontex agency needs a far more operational role, so that it can gradually replace the Mare Nostrum operation.
There are also Mediterranean dimensions in the various common policies we wish to develop, particularly those with a bearing on the energy policy. When we talk of diversifying European sources of energy supply, we look first of all to the south. We also need to make progress in the mobility partnerships with all of the countries of North Africa and, in the future, with the countries of the Horn of Africa, and work on policies with an economic cooperation and local development dimension and those relating to joint responsibility in managing migratory flows.
On these questions of migration and asylum, how do you intend to convince your colleagues that these questions need to be dealt with in a more European way, rather than in a spirit of southern countries versus northern countries?
We feel that this theme of North versus South is evolving. That we are left on our own to save human lives in the Mediterranean and fight human traffickers and the fact that there are countries, such as Sweden, with a considerably higher number of refugees and asylum applications to deal with than the European average, are two aspects of the same problem: the lack of a genuinely European immigration and border management policy, and the lack of a genuinely common asylum management system.
We are committed to encouraging Europe to develop these two policies, which are of common interest. It is time to make progress on them. The short-sightedness, indifference and selfishness towards human tragedies in the Mediterranean of the Europe of yesterday are completely unacceptable. But we are already in the Europe of tomorrow and we want this Europe to provide far more solid, effective and fairer responses to questions of immigration and asylum.
What are the Presidency's plans in terms of neighbourhood, enlargement and foreign policy?
As regards neighbourhood, we plan to continue the EU's action in Eastern Europe, particularly in Ukraine. We also want to relaunch - and set the pace of - the enlargement process to the Western Balkans, particularly Albania and Serbia.
Looking to the West and to the East, there are two major priorities. To the East, we see a coming-together between Europe and Asia, with an EU-ASEM summit in Milan on 16 and 17 October. To the West, negotiations continue with the United States over the TTIP, which we see as a strategic process for Europe and of huge importance for European and Italian industry. There are obstacles, the negotiation process may not conclude until 2015, but we wish to give it a further shot in the arm.
Coming back to the functioning of your Presidency, it comes at a time of transition, with a new Parliament, a change of Commission and a new President of the European Council. Will this be a very specific Presidency?
It will certainly be a very specific Presidency, but it is also a political opportunity, in that we will be the only fixed point in an institutional environment in transition. We want to use these six months to provide a concrete and immediate response to the European citizens, who massively voted in favour of a radical change in EU policies. We need to respond to their demands with a six-month period in which we discuss the major political, economic and social orientations for the new legislative period.
Another of the priorities of your Presidency is to discuss the future of the EU, from an institutional point of view and also a political one. Basically, what does that mean?
We will interpret our Presidency not as a few months of transition, but as the first six months of a new legislative period of five years, which has to be a legislative period of change in Europe.
It is quite clear that the EU's system of functioning is a theme on which we have to open a debate, and we would like to organise several sessions of the General Affairs Council to see how we can improve this functioning. We also have to question whether the current functioning of the Council of Ministers is still up to the job, in light of the new political priorities. And even if this will obviously be the clear prerogative of the new President of the Commission, we wish to reflect on how the Commission has functioned, and how it should function, with the idea of clusters of commissioners.
Talking about the future of the EU also means taking stock of the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon, seeing whether there is still any potential to make use of the strategic common policy objectives (economic policy, industrial policy, immigration policy, fundamental rights). We also need to see if there is any opportunity to restart the work on a reinforcement of inter-institutional cooperation.
Then, we need to see whether there are any clauses in the existing treaties which could be revised to achieve the new political objectives. The aim is not to launch a formal treaty revision process or to take any formal decisions, but to see whether there are any aspects of the treaties that should be revised in the course of the legislative period. We want to encourage this debate at the start of the legislative period, because we feel that this is the best time to do so.
III - ITALY WANTS TO GET GROWTH MOVING AGAIN AND IS FOCUSING ON REAL ECONOMY
One of the priorities of the Italian Presidency is the “Europe of opportunities”, with its six months to focus on growth and the fight against unemployment, particularly youth unemployment. Italy wants to make growth a question of European interest and common action, with, in addition to the implementation of the macro-economic rules, the creation of instruments at European level for productive investments of common interest. In order to fight unemployment, Rome is focusing on reinforcing and extending the instruments already in place and on progress on other measures to start to create a genuinely European employment market. A further summit on youth unemployment will be held in Turin towards the end of the six months of its Presidency. It will also focus its efforts on mobility, social dialogue, job creation, the structural reform of the employment markets and investing in human capital. “The Commission will have to present a report on the implementation of economic governance, the 2-pack and the 6-pack (which were discussed at the December European Council). This could be an opportunity to see how much margin we have to be sure that the process is growth-friendly”, Sannino added.
And although the EUROPE 2020 strategy - a growth strategy - will not be revised until March 2015, Italy wants to discuss it with its partners so that they can give the Commission their opinion. Every sectorial Council will try to define a framework for this strategy, ahead of the European Council of December.
In order to create growth and employment, the Presidency is highlighting to areas of the “real” economy: the industrial policy of the EU and the digital agenda.
As regards industrial policy, the Presidency wishes to build on a communication on the European industrial renaissance, which was presented in January by the Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Italy's Antonio Tajani, and on the first principles of industrial policy decided upon at the European Council of March 2014. The Presidency wishes to develop a roadmap, within the Competitiveness Council and the October European Council, to mark off the stages by which Europe will pursue the industrial policy strategy. Italy, which is deeply committed to the industrial policy, will work on an ambitious common position of the EU to fight climate change, another priority of the Presidency. It aims to reach an agreement on the new framework for the climate and energy at the European Council of October 2014. The EU must prepare the European common position, which has to be enough to win over its international partners, in advance of the global climate summit to be held in Paris in 2015 (Cop 21). The Italian Presidency will still be in place when the United Nations climate summit is held in New York in September.
The single digital market and the digital agenda are also close to Italy's heart, as the country believes that if the objective is 2015, then it is “being pursued too timidly”, said Gozi. By the end of December, the Italian Presidency wants to have laid the foundations for a single digital market in 2015 and for the development of the European digital agenda. Italy will hold a summit on the subject in Venice this July.
As regards the single market, Rome aims to wrap up the Single Market Act 2 and consider the next steps. “Our Presidency will launch a debate on the role of the single market in promoting growth, innovation and employment in the framework of the mid-term review of the EUROPE 2020 strategy “, the Presidency's programme states.
Energy, including energy security and the common energy policy, will also be dealt with under the country's six months of presidency. “We're not going to create a common European energy policy during our six months”, Gozi acknowledged, but Europe should include the development of a single market and the common energy policy as a priority over the next legislative period, he added.
There is also more to be done on the implementation of banking union, taxation (financial transaction tax) and on the own resources of the EU. Small and medium-sized enterprises which want to make more effective use of the instruments of the EU, such as the competitiveness programme for SMEs and access to lending, are other areas for work. The Presidency also hopes to work on research and innovation, making better use of Horizon 2020 and the European funds.
Also in relation to economic growth, the Presidency intends to work towards the creation of a single European transport area, with priority given to the European TEN-T corridors. The Presidency hopes to feed into a strategic debate on attracting private capital and the need to give member states greater flexibility in their use of public budgets to pay for major cross-border projects of Community interest.
IV - EUROPE OF RIGHTS CENTRAL TO PRESIDENCY
The Italian Presidency will also focus on fundamental rights, with the EU to prevent the risk of systemic violations of the fundamental rights on the basis of the new EU framework to reinforce the primacy of law, which was published by the European Commission in mid-March 2014. “A communication is not enough to bring in new control and prevention procedures on systemic risks of fundamental rights violations within the EU”, Gozi stressed. He added that the heads of state and government must give strong legitimacy to a system which is needed, but which could be the subject of clashes between European institutions and member states. Through the Copenhagen criteria, questions regarding fundamental rights are closely monitored during the process of accession to the EU, but not very much at all afterwards, once the country is in the EU. “There is a risk of double standards”, Gozi explained. He said that there is an enormous gap between the infringement procedure and Article 7, which needs to be plugged.
The Italian Presidency hopes to encourage the European governments to engage in the process of the accession of the European Union as a bloc to the European Convention of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
As was also the case for the Greek Presidency, one of Italy's main priorities is to bring a unified European approach to questions of asylum, migration, trafficking in human beings and the management of the external borders of the EU. The countries of southern Europe would like to see a division of the burden of illegal immigration, which the northern countries are struggling to take on board. “This is a real challenge for the EU”, Sannino explained. “Migration is one of the tricky dossiers. The key to move forward is to step away from confrontation and incrimination towards logical cooperation”, he added. Gozi reiterated that everybody had been struck by the Lampedusa tragedy, and now “it is useful to see whether there is a desire to develop a truly integrated policy”. Italy is working on the basis of Article 80 of the treaty, on solidarity and the sharing of responsibilities, in the field of the management of migration. The Presidency would like the Frontex agency to be reinforced, both from a financial and operational point of view, so that Frontex can gradually replace the Mare Nostrum operation, set in place by initiative of Italy. Since the operation was launched in October 2013, more than 73,000 migrants have been intercepted at sea - an average of 270 a day.
Italy would also like to see a reinforcement of the Schengen acquis, an improvement of the European asylum system with the possibility of mutual recognition and mobility partnerships with third countries of origin and of transit. The Italian Presidency will support any initiatives in the fields of mutual recognition of national asylum decisions pooling reception centres at European level to deal with any crisis situations and particular pressure which may arise, emergency planning and crisis management.
The work will also cover legal migration. The Italian Presidency hopes to encourage the use of regular migration channels, laying emphasis on the link between migration and growth, particularly by making it easier for travellers in good faith to access the EU and by making a contribution to negotiations on the revision of the existing visa code and the introduction of the movement visas.
The home of the Mafia, Italy also plans to tackle organised crime and its infiltration into the legal economy and public procurement. It will pay particular attention to fighting money-laundering and corruption and to confiscating the proceeds of crime. Fighting terrorism and aspects related to prevention and protection, in particular terrorist activities carried out by solitary actors and foreign fighters, will also be central to the debates. Many Europeans have left to fight in the Middle East and the Europeans are concerned at their possible actions once back on European soil.
Italy also plans to focus on the office of the public prosecutor. Although this dossier has got off to a tough start, the Presidency believes that there is every chance of making progress during the next six months. Data protection is another priority of the Presidency, which hopes to make “substantial progress on the raft of measures on data protection” and to ensure a “high level of protection for the right to personal data in the field of information exchange with third countries”.
V - THE MEDITERRANEAN - A STRATEGIC REGION FOR THE PRESIDENCY
As a country of southern Europe, Italy will lay emphasis on the Mediterranean, and not just from the point of view of migration. “The Mediterranean is not just a sea, the border of Europe, we want to see the Mediterranean at the heart of Europe, we need a Mediterranean policy”, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi explained. In full respect of the role of the high representative in matters with a bearing on the foreign affairs of the EU, the Presidency would like to see greater emphasis on the Mediterranean dimension during its six months, but also for the whole of the forthcoming legislative period. “Although recent events in the East (…) have commanded a great deal of attention, we want to be certain that the Mediterranean will not be forgotten, this is a highly sensitive region”, the Italian ambassador explained. Italy wishes to facilitate and help the development of the region by setting in place a platform to coordinate investment in the Mediterranean, the energy dimension and the diversification of sources of energy supply. It hopes to develop the link between development and economic cooperation and local development and joint responsibility in the management of the migratory flows and migration. The Presidency also wishes to make progress in the mobility partnerships with all of the North African countries, but also, in the future, with the countries of the Horn of Africa.
Italy's particular focus will be on Libya, a transit country for many migrants. “Around 96% of all migrants who choose to cross the Mediterranean come from Libya”, Renzi stressed. Italy wants Libya to have in place a solid government so that it can manage its land and sea borders better. The Presidency hopes that Libya will ratify the convention authorising the UNHCR to operate on its soil, so that the High Commissioner can act in the country, manage the flows of people directly from Libya, and determine who is an asylum seeker and who is not. This would also require Europe to receive those who are eligible for this status correctly, said an Italian Presidency source.
The foreign minister, Federica Mogherini, is also keen for peace negotiations in the Middle East to be relaunched under the Presidency, with stronger action on the part of the EU, in line with American efforts. She stressed that “there is room for European action (…) to try to relaunch peace negotiations in the Middle East” and Italy, which has traditionally enjoyed good relations with both Israel and Palestine, could “help, and support effective Commission action”, alongside the other member states.
Italy also plans to continue the EU's actions in the eastern reaches of Europe, first and foremost in Ukraine, not only in the framework of the security crisis, but also to ensure the correct implementation of the association agreement. It wishes to see how relations with Russia could be envisaged.
Italy also wishes to relaunch, and set the pace for, the enlargement process to the Western Balkans, particularly Albania and Serbia. It also hopes to take the accession negotiations with Turkey back off ice. The Presidency plans to define the stages the candidate countries are capable of attaining over the next six months, to ensure that these countries' efforts are recognised accordingly. The foreign minister plans to visit all of the countries during the Presidency.
Trade agreements, including the treaty with the United States, are another priority. Gozi sees this agreement as “a strategic process for Europe and of huge importance for European and Italian industry”, to which Rome plans to give a new boost. Italy, which is well aware of the problems, is planning to propose dividing the negotiation themes into two categories: the issues on which there could be an agreement fairly easily and the tougher issues, which could be held back for a second phase, in order to get the negotiations into a rhythm and prepare a pillar of common agreement, on the basis of which the work on the more difficult questions can be carried out.
Another important moment will be the Asia-Europe summit (ASEM), to be held in Milan on 16 and 17 October. In order to prepare for this meeting, the Presidency will “support a coherent commitment” with the countries of Asia Pacific, “on all of the major global and regional challenges with a bearing on sustainable growth, stability and security”.
VI - CALENDAR
July
1-3 Plenary of the European Parliament (Strasbourg)
7 Eurogroup (Brussels)
8 ECOFIN (Brussels)
8-9 Informal Justice - Home Affairs (Milan)
14 Agriculture - Fisheries Council
14-15 Informal Competitiveness (Milan)
14-17 Plenary of the European Parliament (Strasbourg)
16-17 Informal Environment
17 ECOFIN 'budget' (tbc)
17-18 Informal EPSCO 'Employment'
21-22 Informal Competitiveness - Industry
22 Foreign Affairs Council (Brussels)
22 Informal Competitiveness - Research
23 General Affairs Council (Brussels)
August
28-29 Informal General Affairs
29-30 Gymnich (Informal Foreign Affairs)
September
9-10 Informal Defence
12 Informal Eurogroup
12 ASEM Finance Ministers
13 Informal ECOFIN
15 Agriculture - Fisheries Council (Brussels)
15-18 Plenary of the European Parliament (Strasbourg)
16-17 Informal TTE (Transport)
19 Informal Foreign Affairs (Trade)
22-23 Informal EPSCO (Health)
24 Informal EYCS (Culture)
25-26 Competitiveness Council (Brussels) - Competitiveness
28-30 Informal Agriculture - Fisheries
29 General Affairs Council (Brussels)
October
6 Informal TTE 'Energy'
8 TTE Council 'Transport' (Luxembourg)
8-10 Mini-session of the European Parliament (Brussels)
9-10 Justice and Home Affairs Council (Luxembourg)
13 Eurogroup (Luxembourg)
13-14 Agriculture - Fisheries Council (Luxembourg)
13 Informal Cohesion
14 ECOFIN (Luxembourg)
16 EPSCO (Luxembourg)
16-17 EU-ASEM summit (Milan)
20 Foreign Affairs Council (Luxembourg)
20-21 Informal EYCS 'Sport'
20-24 Plenary of the European Parliament (Strasbourg)
21 Environment Council (tbc) (Luxembourg)
21 General Affairs Council (Luxembourg)
23-24 European Council (Brussels)
November
6 Eurogroup (tbc) (Brussels)
7 ECOFIN (tbc) (Brussels)
10-11 Agriculture - Fisheries Council (Brussels)
12-13 Mini-session of the European Parliament (Brussels)
14 ECOFIN 'Budget' (Brussels)
17 Foreign Affairs Council (Brussels)
18 Foreign Affairs Council (Defence) (Brussels)
18 General Affairs Council (Brussels)
19 General Affairs Council 'Cohesion' (Brussels)
20 Foreign Affairs Council 'Trade' (Brussels)
24-27 Plenary of the European Parliament (Strasbourg)
25 EYCS Council 'Culture and Sport' (Brussels)
27 TTE Council 'Telecommunications' (Brussels)
December
1 EPSCO Council 'Health' (Brussels)
3 TTE Council 'Transport' (Brussels)
4-5 Competitiveness Council (Brussels)
4-5 Justice - Home Affairs Council (Brussels)
8 Eurogroup (Brussels)
9 ECOFIN (Brussels)
9 TTE Council 'Energy' (Brussels)
11 EPSCO Council 'Employment' (Brussels)
12 Foreign Affairs Council 'Development' (Brussels)
12 EYCS Council 'Education and Youth' (Brussels)
15 Foreign Affairs Council (Brussels)
15-16 Agriculture - Fisheries Council (Brussels)
15-18 Plenary of the European Parliament (Strasbourg)
16 General Affairs Council (Brussels)
17 Environment Council (Brussels)
18-19 European Council (Brussels)