Strasbourg, 04/07/2000 (Agence Europe) - The debate on Europe's future has been rekindled, and we should welcome that "as it is necessary, in decisive periods, to look a little further than immediate deadlines, to seek to set a course. I had the opportunity of expressing myself on the subject last week. My reflections are aimed at lightning up path to the future, at saying what Europe could and should be in the future. They are thus situated beyond the French Presidency of the Union. I shall not return to this today". This is what President Chirac had to declare Tuesday morning when presenting the European Parliament with the major outlines of the programme for the French Presidency of the Council, adding: "But one thing is clear and I stressed it in Berlin: Any further advances for the Union is dependent on the success of the institutional reform. Should the IGC not succeed, it would be pointless to think of the next steps".
Jacques Chirac also sketched out the goals of the French Presidency:
(a) adopting a "European Social Agenda", which, "based on the communication that the Commission has just submitted, will allow a five-year working programme with all the actors concerned to be defined" and that will have to have an ambitious content regarding "social protection, worker association in company decisions, reconciliation between family life and professional activities, lifelong training."
(b) strengthening the coordination and consistency of economic policies, which means: - improving the functioning of the euro "providing one's work with greater visibility and authority"; - actively preparing the population for the arrival of the euro. "The citizens' appropriation of the euro is crucial. All must be done to succeed in this major step at practical level and human level", said Chirac; - strengthening the coordination of budgetary policies "by rendering our Community examination procedures more effective"; - progressing with the harmonisation of fiscal policies "in the follow-up to the European Council of Feira".
(c) placing Europe at the cutting-edge of the information society, following-up the decisions taken in Feira. Mr. Chirac notably mentioned the new developments in venture-capital, the Community patent, the European scoreboard for innovation, the creation of a network for scientists and the development of the European content, the fight against cyber-crime, and said that the Presidency would also ensure the consolidation and deepening of ties with the outlying regions, so that the Azores, Madeira, the Canaries, and the French overseas Départements may also benefit from the rights stemming from their specific constraints.
a) Bring the EU closer to the citizens, "to bring to life our common project into our minds." In this context Mr. Chirac raised:
b) The Charter of Fundamental Rights, judging "essential" that the Convention which drafted it "has finished its work sufficiently early to enable the considering of the Charter before the end of the year;
c) "Europe of mobility, knowledge and youth", asserting that "we must be ambitious and aim for a significant increase in EU trade, as well as a certain vision of the dialogue of cultures and cultural diversity."
d) The improvement of daily life for Europeans, notably in terms of: - public health and consumer Safety. Mr. Chirac intends counting on the support of the EP for the creation of an Independent European Food Safety Authority, and also insisted on the recognition of the precautionary principal and on progress in terms of labelling and the traceability of genetically modified organisms. He added: "Let us not forget that agriculture is the most important common policy. The French Presidency will be especially attentive to it in the WTO, within the framework of the enlargement negotiations and the taking into consideration of the difficulties" of certain subsidiaries, such a pig farming, fruits and vegetables or bananas; - environment, saying that in the next three month concrete progress will be reached to spare our coasts from a repetition of tragedies such as the Erika, and "a sound agreement" at the Hague Conference on green house gases and climatic change; - Justice and Home affairs, where the Presidency will ensure "an ambitious follow-up" to Tampere, emphasising the fight against drugs financial organised crime and on European co-operation over asylum and immigration. Noting that "the Dover tragedy is in all our minds," Mr. Chirac announced that the Presidency is "preparing specific measures on the sanctions against those responsible for the trafficking in human beings;" - sport. Applauded after making a reference to the Euro 2000 football championship, "which gave so much pleasure and happiness to European," Mr. Chirac announced that the Presidency would work so that the EU "better take into account sport and its social function." "There is a problem that must be studied and resolved," he asserted.
Reassert Europe's place in the world. Mr. Chirac notably mentioned:
e) Foreign and Security Policy, by indicating this it will be especially necessary that: - the Political and Security Committee, aimed at replacing the Political Committee, "slowly becomes the backbone to CFSP, supporting and supported by Mr. Javier Solana;" - the armament industries confirm, "through their closer ties and their co-operation programmes, the political ambitions of Defence Europe." Mr. Chirac noted that the last months have been very positive, "in terms of helicopters and missiles, or with the Future Transport Aircraft."
f) Three main priorities that come to the fore, i.e.: - The Balkans, with the summit whose aim will be to give countries in the region a clear European perspective so as to encourage them to reform and co-operate at a regional level;" - the Mediterranean, with, "if the circumstances allow, the organisation in Marseilles of the first Euro-Mediterranean summit" (opportunity of giving new impetus to the Barcelona process, notably thanks to the adoption of a peace and stability Charter and the strengthening of economic and cultural ties; - Asia, with the third AEM summit. The Presidency will also work towards implementing "effectively" the new ACP convention, concluded Mr. Chirac, asserting that Europe should also "play its part, in a coherent and united manner, so that a new round of negotiations, global and balanced, may start within the WTO."
Mr. Prodi: Community method" must be protected - Commission wants to closely co-operate
in preparation of Balkan summit
In his speech on "the passing of the torch" to the French Presidency, the President of the European Commission Romano Prodi underlined, with regard to the aims of the Nice Summit, that a Europe of 27, 28 members or more, would need stronger institutions, more dependable," a "stronger and more dependable democratic undertaking" and a stronger legal system. Thus it would be illusory to consider the "Monnet method as something that belongs to the past, which can be effectively replaced with ad hoc solutions," asserted Mr. Prodi, adding that the European Parliament, the system of checks and balances without which we could build nothing long-lasting." "Given their essential character, we must work to improve them, and this is the task we have set ourselves for Nice," he said.
Furthermore, Mr. Prodi noted that the European legislating process is in the process of "maturing and becoming even more consensual", which is "reassuring," given that the European Commission recommended an extension of codecision and qualified majority to the IGC Mr Prodi pointed out in this context that the codecision procedure has worked "increasingly effectively". According to a recent survey, over half of all legislative proposals presented during the last year "or just over" have been adopted in second reading, whereas, for almost one fifth, only one reading was enough.
The main theme of France's priorities leads essentially to one concern, that of achieving a "better quality of life", said Mr Prodi, who stressed that one must heed this demand made by citizens. In this context, moreover, he congratulated himself for the plan to organise a "political summit" with the Balkan States which "are the furthest along the road to democracy". The Commission, he said, has "already begun to establish premises for this summit and we trust we shall be able to act in close collaboration with the French Presidency in more specific preparation".
Commenting on the speech by President Chirac, Mr Prodi also:
- "unconditionally" backed the commitment to make the European social agenda move forward. Mr Prodi recalled that, in February this year, when presenting the Commission's strategic goals for the 2000-2005 period, he had cited the redefinition of Europe's economic and social priorities among these aims, and said he was encouraged by the progress made on the economic front. The social aspects are only one side of the coin, on which we must focus our effort during this half year, he added, considering that the social policy agenda recently adopted by the Commission "finds a just balance between the political guidelines agreed in Lisbon and in Feira on one hand and the duties and powers that the Treaty confers upon us, on the other". This document should therefore "have the consensus of everyone" at the Nice Summit. He stressed the need that the "Union should not give the impression it is creating inequality in our society". After the approval, "in record time", of the directive against racism, he now expects the Presidency to use the same methods of attack on the other aspects of the anti-discrimination package. Mr Prodi mainly cited equal opportunities for men and women, the fight against the trafficking of women and children, inequalities in access to education, and the "poverty trap" into which "too many European citizens fall".
- hoped that "once we have presented our proposal", the plan to create an Independent Food Safety Agency will go ahead rapidly. Mr Prodi expects the EP to give its stance "at the latest" during its first session in October.
- regarding environmental matters, affirmed that, during the November meeting in The Hague, the Union should confirm its "leadership role", maintain its commitments made in Kyoto and put pressure on its international partners so that they do the same. Furthermore, Mr Prodi announced for the autumn a Green Paper on common transport policy and a "strategic document" on energy sources and energy supply security, and affirmed that Council and Parliament should rapidly adopt the package of measures proposed after the sinking of the Erika. Finally, the Commission president stressed the need to adopt, as a matter of urgency, the new framework legislation on the deliberate emission of genetically modified organisms, so that public opinion and the markets will have more trust.