Brussels, 26/01/2000 (Agence Europe) - As we have already pointed out (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.7), the European Commission stresses in its opinion on the convening of the next IGC on institutional reform, presented on Wednesday afternoon by Romano Prodi and Michel Barnier to the European Parliament, that this conference is, for the Union, the "last possibility for preparing institutions for the enlargement in progress". The Commission, which notes that the European Council should at any rate give its stance this year on the inclusion in the Treaty of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the new provisions on security and defence, recalls that it requested the European University Institute of Florence to carry out a study on possible recasting of the treaties, and indicates that it reserves itself the possibility to present proposals on this subject to the IGC.
At this stage, the Commission is making proposals on:
I - The European Union Institutions, namely:
1) European Parliament: The Commission proposes: - keeping the maximum number of 700 MEPs; - inviting the EP to develop, itself, a method for sharing out the seats; - examining the possibility of electing a certain number of MEPs on European lists.
2) Council: The Commission recalls that the European Council approved, in Helsinki, recommendations on the working of the EU Council which do not require modification of the Treaty, but it does not rule out that "certain deeper changes" may impose such modification and be discussed by the Conference
3) European Commission: The opinion proposes review of the Commission's composition by fixing the number of Commissioners at: - either 20, with a system of institutionalised rotation in the Treaty, respecting strict equality between Member States (the document indicates that, in a Union of 28 members and 20 Commissioners, no nationality would be absent from the Commission during two successive terms of office); - or one Commissioner per Member State, with, at the same time, measures for indepth reorganisation of the Commission. In addition, the Commission proposes to make official the current commitment of each Commissioner to resign if the president asks him/her to do so, because of failure to comply with the conditions set out by the Treaty for carrying out his/her mandate.
4) Court of Justice: The Commission recalls that it requested a reflection group chaired by former President of the Court Ole Due to reflect on this subject (the report, established in close liaison with the Court and the Court of First Instance, will be handed to the Commission end January) and points out that, on this basis, it will later present a specific contribution.
5) Court of Auditors: The Commission proposes to set the number of members at the Court of Auditors at twelve.
6) Economic and Social Committee: The Commission proposes to fix the number of its members at a maximum level equal to the current level, and to abolish breakdown of seats per Member State according to socio-economic categories.
7) Committee of the Regions: The Commission proposes to restrict the number of its members to one third of the number of MEPs and to apply a key for breakdown identical to that used for the EP.
II. The decision-making process. According to the Commission, the IGC should:
1) decide to qualified majority decision-making the general rule, and define the "categories of provisions for which serious and lasting reasons justify keeping unanimity";
2) establish for all decisions of a legislative nature a link between qualified majority and codecision, extend the scope of Article 133 (commercial policy, formerly Article 113), to all services, to investment and to intellectual property rights, do away with cooperation procedure, foresee compulsory consultation of the European Parliament before concluding agreements with third States or international organisations.
3) examine two options concerning vote weighting in Council, namely: - either definitively establishing, in the Treaty, the threshold at a level below the current level by way of 71%: in order to restore the "representativity of qualified majority and the original balance", there needs to be a relative increase in the weight of the Member States with the biggest populations, according to the Commission, which also finds it desirable for the Treaty to specify that a decision adopted by qualified majority will only be definitive if it represents at least half the Member States; - or, if reweighting is dropped, the Treaty should provide that a decision taken by qualified majority shall represent a simple majority of Member States with a majority of the total population. According to the Commission, this system of "simple double majority" offers the advantage of being simple and transparent, and will not require modification with each new accession.
4) concerning forms of enhanced cooperation, not modify the basic conditions set out in the Treaties. However, the Commission proposes two changes to the formal conditions currently set out for introducing enhanced cooperation, namely: - fixing at one third of the Member States after enlargement the minimum number of States necessary for introducing enhanced cooperation in the framework of the Treaty; - abolishing the possibility for a Member State to call for a unanimous European Council decision when it is opposed to a decision taken by a qualified majority of Member States to authorise enhanced cooperation. In addition, the Commission suggests the possibility of introducing, under certain conditions, enhanced cooperation in the area of the common foreign and security policy.
Prodi: Applicant countries want to join a "powerful" Union, not a weakened
and diluted one - Fontaine, Brok and Tsatsos will be the "conscience" of European
citizens at the IGC - Fontaine expects EP opinion at the session of 2-3 February
Presenting the Commission's opinion, President Prodi reiterated that the EU wants "with us our friends from Eastern Europe", noting that they "do not want to join a Union which would be weakened and diluted by its mere size". What counts now is the concrete result of the Conference, said Mr Prodi, recalling that Helsinki left the door ajar on the question of the agenda and that, at any time during the Conference, any Member State, the Commission or Parliament may make a specific contribution, as long as it is relevant to the overall objective of adapting the EU institutions to a very significant enlargement. "The formal opinion of the Commission is not just another political statement": it is a substantial and detailed document, asserted Mr Prodi, who outlined the following:
Mrs Fontaine and Parliament's two representatives, Mr Brok and Mr Tsatsos, will have the role of being "the conscience of the European citizens" in this negotiation, concluded Mr Prodi, adding that the future reform must be "an opportunity for real dialogue with the people". "We must conclude this Conference at the end of 2000. It cannot allow itself to finish with unanswered questions", he added, noting that the ten months left for the negotiations will be more than sufficient if the political will exists.
European Parliament President Nicole Fontaine stated that, "in all likelihood", Parliament would be issuing its opinion on the convening of the IGC at its session on 2 and 3 February in Brussels.
Mr Barnier: "we have sought all the answers to a single question"
Commissioner for institutional matters Michel Barnier stressed that the "state of mind" in which he had prepared the opinion, under the authority and with the "personal confidence" of Romano Prodi, was marked by "lucidity and determination". Mr Barnier noted the "particular role" of the Commission, which is "guardian of the Treaties, but not conserver of the treaties". It may first of all say why the treaties function or why, for example, "they would no longer function at all" in a Union with some thirty members. The time of truth has come, with this "great enlargement which is far more rapid and vast" than what was imagined in Amsterdam, with very clear risks of "blocking and dilution", acknowledged the former French minister for European affairs. In this "rather grave hour", the Commission wanted to carry out work that was devoid of ideology or a tactical spirit, a "useful and operational" task, said Mr Barnier (the Commission's opinion is a weighty document of around 70 pages). The Helsinki negotiating brief for the IGC is "what it is". "We could work with this brief by using all the opening set out in its lines and between lines", said the Commissioner, who explained that the method is simple and objective and that "all the answers" were sought to a single question, that being: "How can we work, or speak to each other, or take decisions in a Union of thirty countries?". Mr Barnier said this question had been raised for each institution and for each decision-making system, and responses had been given. He stressed that the Commission only presented two options about the Commission's composition, while, on the question of vote weighting within Council, it gives preference to a "simple, clear and lasting" system, that of simple double majority (see above).
"Our work is not over and we should return to certain points, such as": a) reorganisation of the treaties. The Commission will probably have a feasibility study available from the Institute of Florence on this question in May (ED.: the division of the Treaty into two parts); b) the "legal system", on which the Commission awaits a report from a reflection group (see above). Mr Barnier also stressed the importance of the role played by the Parliament and of the contribution that its representatives will make at the IGC, and also the importance of coherence between this contribution and that of the Commission. He also insisted on the need for a public debate, including, "more than in the past, with national parliaments" and also with citizens. He announced Commission initiatives on this last point.
Mr Napolitano says European Commission has found its ambition again
Chair of the EP constitutional committee Giorgio Napolitano pointed out that his committee was willing to discuss the draft Parliament opinion on IGC from today on. He stressed that this opinion will be essentially political, of a kind different to that of the Commission, which, "I think quite rightly felt it was its duty to go into the details" of reform. With its opinion, the Commission "returned to the ambition" of its communication dated 10 November, and assumed its role of initiative, said Mr Napolitano. However, he added, among the themes not yet cited, "I have found two which are particularly dear to the Parliament, namely the coordination of economic policies and Article 99 of the Treaty (broad economic policies and guidelines), which will have increasing importance with the growing role of informal meetings of economic and finance ministers of the euro zone. Mr Barnier responded to this by saying that he had mentioned this aspect with his colleague for economic and monetary affairs, Pedro Solbes, but that the Commission "needed a little more time" to go into it deeper and, possibly, to make proposals. More generally speaking, Mr Barnier pointed out that he found it "logical and quite natural" that there is a "certain complementarity and coherence" between what the Commission and Parliament are doing for the negotiation about to open.
German Christian Democrat Elmar Brok, one of the two EP representatives at the IGC, also raised the problem of EMU and Ecofin Council control. He felt that sooner or later it would be necessary to raise the question of the EU's legal personality. What parts of social policy should, in future, be decided by qualified majority?; he asked, moreover, and Mr Barnier replied that it would be all social policy, except for issues concerning social security. Mr Brok took up an idea dear to him, that of distinction between the Council acting as legislator and that as executive. Mr Barnier replied by noting that the Council has already gone some way along the road to its own reform but, before posing more fundamental questions, it will be necessary to have a certain "maturity" within the Council itself.
The other EP representative at the IGC, Greek Socialist Dimiteis Tsatsos, stressed that future reform should reconcile the effectiveness of institutions with the respect of certain principles, like that of equality between member States, e.g. concerning vote weighting within Council. Mr Prodi replied that, according to the "simple double majority" formula, preferred by the Commission, "one vote from Luxembourg will count like one vote from Germany". This, at the end of the day, is the "federal principle", said Mr Prodi.
EUROPE will report on the continuation of the debate in tomorrow's issue.