Brussels, 21/06/2000 (Agence Europe) - During their hearing in Brussels before the Convention responsible for the drafting of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the EU accession candidate countries showed complete unanimity in welcoming the Charter, but also near unanimity against the inclusion of the Charter in the Treaty - at least for the moment. It is a case of avoiding that this issue delays the conclusion of the IGC, and thus accession to the EU, announced the Romanian Secretary of State, Eugen Dijmarescu, for who "the works are not yet advanced enough for the Council of Nice, in December, to be able to decide whether or not to give legal force to the Charter. The Bulgarian Ambassador Abntoinetta Primatarova felt that the Charter must not create new accession criteria. The deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Czech Republic, Martin Palous, felt that, personally, the Charter should have a strictly political nature, so as to "make the rights more visible." Furthermore, he protested against the difficulty in debating a text without knowing what statute the Charter will have.
Michel Frendo, member of the Maltese Parliament, spoke clearly for the inclusion of the Charter in the Treaties, which would be "natural development of the Community acquis." The Ambassador for Cyprus Theophilos Theophilou indicated that his country "intends adopting the Charter, whatever its form." For the Lithuanian representative, Vilenas Vadapalos, "the adoption should not pose any problems."
If they shared their fears of seeing the IGC delayed by this issue, most of the speakers especially justified their reticence as to a possible binding nature for the Charter with risks of divergent jurisprudence, between the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Communities. The Maltese and Slovenian representatives felt that to avoid any confusion, the EU should adhere as is to the EHRC. Furthermore, the Maltese and Slovenia, Czech and Hungarian representatives said they where favourable towards the inclusion of economic and social rights into the Charter. The Estonian and Slovakian representatives where against it. For Lithuania, the question "is open". According to Poland, "since the Charter must not create new responsibilities for the EU," the social rights must limit themselves to the principals in the EHRC.
Hungary hopes that the rights of minorities, "which are part of the Copenhagen criteria for accession to the EU," will be included in the Charter. The Slovenian representative said he shared this position. On the other hand, the Romanian Secretary of States Eugen Dijmarescu was opposed to it.
Without the decision already being taken, the members of the Convention would be ready to organise a new meeting with the candidate countries, at the end of September, so as to discuss the draft Charter when it is close to being finished. Several representatives of the candidate countries made the request during the hearing. A new meeting on the final draft and the legal nature of the Charter would, in the eyes of the Polish Deputy Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Jerzy Kranz, be both "necessary and desirable (…) so that the candidate countries may give their opinion and know what they are moving towards." Furthermore, several countries, including the Slovak and Czech Republics intend to present their positions in a more detailed manner, through a written document.
For Robert Badinter, it would be "premature" that Charter has legally binding force
The former President of the French Constitutional Council, Robert Badinter, took a stance in a column published in Le Monde of the 20 June for a political and not legal nature of the Charter. For Robert Badinter, it would be "premature" to give a judicial capacity. Europe should, he writes, adopt "an innovative and realistic stance. Innovative, by adopting and proclaiming a Charter of Fundamental Rights that covers not only classic freedoms, but also economic and social rights and the new rights answering to the requirements of our time. Thus the EU would mean that it rests upon on a Community of values and that its members are forced to respect them. Realist, with regard, as long as the EU does not have a Constitution, that it is not formed in a Federation of Nation States, this Charter must not be given a binding judicial capacity or submitted to the jurisdictional control of the Luxembourg Courts." Mr. Badinter asserts that "when, in a time frame that we hope is short, the EU will be given a Constitution," the Charter of Fundamental Rights "foundation of the European Federation" could become "an eloquent preamble."