Brussels, 19/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hubert Védrine, stated, on Monday in Brussels, that a "small easing" is being felt in the negotiations of the Intergovernmental conference on institutional reform. The EU Minister for Foreign Affairs are gathering for the seventh time, on 18 September. "For the moment, there is not one point on which a conclusion exists, but we have started the ground work (…) We are out of this form of trench warfare. We talk and we are seeing options appearing", summarised the Minister for European Affairs, Pierre Moscovici.
The Fifteen broached, in a "super restrained" session, the issue of the size and composition of the European Commission in an enlarged Europe. The debate still opposes the 10 "small States" that are members of the European Union, which presently only have one European Commissioner, against the 5 "large" (France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom). The French Presidency would like to develop the ides of a capping in the number of Commissioners to twenty, by possibly considering, for their nomination, a system of rotation between Member States. Though "a proposal for a restrained Commission is no longer a realistic option", noted one diplomat. "There is a clear majority in favour of one Commissioner per Member States, recognised Mr Moscovici. Though, he added, "there has been, in my opinion, a realisation that there cannot be one Commissioner per Member States without a form of hierarchy and reorganisation of the Commission (…) Some countries will not make the sacrifice of their second Commissioner" without it. On Monday Germany seemed on the same wave length: "it is clear that more hierarchy is needed in the Commissioner, either with a strengthening of the President's role, or through the creation of a form of junior Commissioner", announced the German Secretary of States Gunter Pleuger (see below).
The second theme broached, the issues of the extension of qualified majority voting within the Council, "numerous difficulties remain", indicated Hubert Védrine. "Certain delegations have objections of principal, others are ready to move towards qualified majority, but call for greater guarantees. We could say that the true negotiation started on this issue. Its what we want". Though it is difficult to talk of concrete progress at this stage. Mr Védrine even refused to cite any single article over which an agreement between the Fifteen has emerged. "It is too early, he announced, but many things can happen in a few weeks", he commented. "The countries with the most difficulties are the United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain, Portugal and France", felt one diplomat.
The next meetings of the Preparatory group (the Vimont Group) will work on the concrete draft articles that could move on to qualified majority. The issue of the European Commission will , on the other hand, be returned directly to the Heads of State and Government, during their informal meeting in Biarritz, the 13 and 14 October. "In Biarritz, we will have talks on the wider basic options of the Intergovernmental Conference (..) It will be the occasion to measure the determination of the French Presidency, which is great, not to do just anything", indicated Mr Moscovici, for whom "better no Treaty at all than a reduced Treaty".
Size and composition of Commission: several Member States do not share Presidency's analysis
EUROPE believes that, during the talks on the size and composition of the European Commission of the future, numerous Member States did not share the analysis made on behalf of the French Presidency by Mr Moscovici, who asserted that the efficiency requires a Commission reduced in size, who indicating that a rotation between Member States on an equal footing, for the nomination of Commissioners, does not pose any problems for France. Spain, on the other hand, spoke out against a rotation under these conditions, while the smallest Member States felt that a Commission without one Commissioner from all the Member States would not be seen as legitimate. It is not only a case of guaranteeing one Commissioner to "small" Member States, said some of the participants, who underlined that, for example, a College without German or French Commissioners risks being an weak Commission, thus inefficient (could we have imagined the German reunification process with a Commission without a German Member, asked one of them). These countries, while accepting a certain amount of hierarchy" without an enlarged Commission, insisted on the need that each Commissioner has the right to vote; as for the possibility of having Commissioner without portfolio, the idea was launched to entrust these members of the Commission with temporary tasks (such as that of internal reform of the Commission entrusted to Neil Kinnock).