Brussels, 14/07/2000 (Agence Europe) - Before the European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs on Tuesday, Spain's representative in the Preparatory Group for the IGC, Carlos Bastarreche, presented the positions his country has defended in the framework of the Intergovernmental Conference.
- Composition of the European Commission: in an enlarged Europe, "one has to de-nationalise the Commission so that the number of Commissioners is inferior to the number of Member States", said Mr. Bastarreche.
- Majority voting in Council: Agreeing with the principle of an extension of majority voting in Council, the diplomat did not want to stipulate in which fields Spain thinks this could be envisaged. "We do not believe that qualified majority must automatically mean co-decision" with the European Parliament, he pointed out.
- Weighting of votes in Council: Spain is open to the two solutions being envisaged (system of dual majority or simple re-weighting) but "I have the impression that a small majority is emerging in favour of a re-weighting of votes", Bastarreche observed.
- Enhanced cooperation: "It is a question of substance, the must be analysed not only from a procedural point of view but in its content", the diplomat declared. "For us, it is a good system to progress in the second pillar, as well as for the third and first pillars, for what does not affect the very heart of the Treaty", which are the four fundamental freedoms and agriculture. In these fields, "we strongly doubt that it is a good idea".
- Charter of Fundamental Rights: "A priori, we can envisage its inclusion in the Treaties (…) the final decision will depend on the content of the Charter", the Spanish diplomat pointed out.
- Defence: "Spain is in favour of a European defence", he said. Stating that much had been accomplished through agreements, he nevertheless said he was against including this issue on the IGC's agenda if it slowed down its conclusion.
