Brussels, 14/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Swedish Permanent Representative Gunnar Lund, who represents the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs within the IGC preparatory group, underlined, on Tuesday before the European Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee how important it is for his country, which is assuming, next January, the Presidency of the EU Council, that the Intergovernmental Conference on institutional reform is a success in Nice. During our Presidency, we want to concentrate on the enlargement negotiations, affirmed Ambassador Lund, for whom enlargement and deepening must be two parallel processes (according to him the experience of previous accessions show that these enlargements reinforced the EU at both a political and institutional level).
Over the main themes of the IGC, Mr Lund (on the Swedish position towards the European Commission, see yesterday's EUROPE, p.3) noted in particular that:
- Sweden is prepared to move to qualified majority in a series of fields, such as asylum and immigration, free movement, the functioning of the singly market, the social aspect, industrial policy, transport, regional policy and structural funds (but not taxation, he added). Could you accept qualified majority also for Common Agricultural Policies and the European development Fund? Asked the Dutch Christian-Democrat Mrs Maij-Weggen. The IGC did not broach this theme, indicated Mr Lund. Furthermore, she asserted that Sweden has a very constructive attitude towards the widening of codecision, but that she regrets any automatic link between qualified majority and codecision, and that she feels it important to continue in this field on a case by case basis. "Please go as far as possible" with codecision, stated Mrs Maij-Weggen.
- Sweden is ready to examine reinforced co-operation under a new angle, while in Amsterdam we adopted a system for an EU of 15 we are now moving towards a Europe of 27. The reinforced co-operations must thus be facilitated and simplified, but while the creation of a Europe of several speeds, with "two or even three categories of countries, underlined Mr Lund.
The President of the Constitutional Committee, Giorgio Napolitano (Democratici di sinistra) asked Mr Lund: Do we not already have a two track Europe, notably with EMU and Schengen? And he added: Is Greece considered a "second class" country as long as it has not joined the Euro? I do not think so. Has Italy felt itself to be a "second class" country because it has not joined the Schengen? The United Kingdom and Sweden, which could join the Euro, but, until now, have not wanted to. Have they the feeling of being "second class" countries? Answering him, Mr Lund admitted that the "uniformity" within the Union had been broken, and cited with regard to this the Social Chapter (which the United Kingdom only joined with the arrival of the Blair government: Ed). What is necessary for him, however, is the vision of Europe in the longer-term: thus, he wondered if they are considering, for the future, a Europe characterised in a permanent manner by (different speeds of integration" and if they intend to "abandon, forever perhaps" the vision of reuniting all of us in a more homogenous collective. I have the impression that the vision has changed, he added, while noting the both Joschka Fischer and Jacques Chirac "play with the idea" of a "centre of gravity" or an "vanguard". That said, Mr Lund recognised the need for a debate on the future of the Union: it must be a fundamental debate, and it will require sufficient time to complete, he asserted.