Brussels, 31/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 31 October, the European Commission had a discussion on the Intergovernmental Conference on institutional reform in the EU, at the end of which Commission President Romano Prodi and the Commissioner for institutional issues, Michel Barnier came to speak to the press on the state of negotiations, both assuring journalists that, right up to Nice, the Commission would endeavour to preserve the Community model and secure as large an extension of qualified majority voting as possible.
The real test of the success of this IGC will be the extension of qualified majority voting, Romano Prodi reaffirmed, adding: it is a question of abolishing as far as possible the right of veto, which is a "ball and chain" for European construction today, and will be even more so tomorrow. In Biarritz, we had encouraging results on this subject, but "national administrations now seem to be back-stepping", and there is "an ebb" on this issue, said Prodi, recalling that, for the Commission, it was "crucial" that qualified majority voting was enlarged to three sectors: trade policy (unanimity on services and intellectual property places the Commission is a position of weakness in international negotiations), social policy (social security schemes remain national, but account must be taken, for example, of border problems, that risk either not being "covered", or taxed twice), asylum and immigration (the programme of Tampere "cannot be achieved through unanimity"), certain tax matters (it is a question of "updating" certain texts that go back ten years or more, said Mr. Prodi, citing VAT and excises), cohesion policy. After 2006, "it seems to me that it will be impossible to carry this policy through with unanimity", Prodi told the press. As for Mr. Barnier, he noted: I believe that we are moving towards an "agreement" on qualified majority voting for cohesion policy, as one can well imagine what would happen if, in an EU of 25, the veto should remain for a policy as fundamental as solidarity within the EU (were we to keep unanimity; either we do not move forward, or we nationalise, or we sprinkle, he said). On qualified majority voting, "as we stand, we are making no progress, and there is even a risk of back-treading in relation to the spirit of Biarritz", said Michel Barnier.
Regarding the composition of the European Commission, Mr. Prodi said that Tuesday's talks had confirmed the preference for the idea of a Commission with one Commissioner per Member State. In this discussion, the problem of the "representation of the Union as a whole" was indeed raised, and fear was expressed that, if a decision concerning a Member State was taken by a Commission in which that State had no Commissioner, the temptation should be to "take the problem to the level of the administration, and politicize the administration", Prodi remarked. This choice for the formula of one Commissioner per Member State raises the problem of the organisation of the Commission and the powers of its president, said Mr. Prodi, announcing that the Commission would, before Nice, be making "proposals on our organisation" (in answer to a question, he referred to the ability of the president to appoint vice-presidents to whom particular tasks would be delegated, of changing the portfolio of a Commissioner or of stripping a Commission of his or her portfolio).
Regarding the weighting of votes in the Council, Prodi said that the Commission had on Tuesday confirmed its preference for a double majority system, States and the population, as this is something the public would find easier to understand. There are other proposals with similar effects, but when "one begins to speak of square roots and multiplication of coefficients", clarity dims, said Mr. Prodi, noting that "it is difficult to get European citizens excited over square roots".
But the real question, is that we must maintain the "Community model", with a Council that decides (and, much more often than today, in co-decision with Parliament) and a Commission that proposes and executes, said Prodi, adding: we shall have no truck with "fragmentation" that would destroy this model.
As for enhanced cooperation, Mr. Prodi considered that the feeling there had been in Biarritz of moving towards an agreement was being confirmed, and that they were currently progressing on the basis of the joint German/Italian proposal, which is "largely shared" (see full text in EUROPE/Documents No. 2215 dated 16 October 2000). Now, it is generally agreed that the Commission has to play a role in enhanced cooperation, not only in the first pillar (as "assurance that it is not unraveled"), but also in the second and third pillars, said Mr. Barnier, adding that he believed they were "close to an agreement, based on the German/Italian proposal" and the Commission's opinion of 26 January, which provided for the abolition of the veto and "a number probably close to eight for triggering enhanced cooperation".
Asked about the post-Nice Council period, Commission President Romano Prodi said that, whether a question of another IGC, "another constitutional-type hypothesis or a new model" IGC, the Commission is not opposed, "on the contrary", because institutional evolution will not come to an end in Nice. The Commission is ready for such debate, reiterated Michel Barnier, repeating (he had already told the European Parliament) that the Commission is prepared to draw up a preliminary report on this new phase for submission to the European Council at end 2001, under Belgian Presidency, which could take the necessary decisions. Also arguing for the "Community model", Michel Barnier highlighted the role the Commission will also have to play "after Nice".
Asked whether the IGC negotiations were not being hindered by the fact that, so far, the French Presidency has not presented any draft Treaty proposals, but simply proposals for articles, Michel Barnier stated: "What I understand of the Presidency's intentions is that there will be a summary paper on an initial package of structural subjects (qualified majority, enhanced cooperation, Court of Justice, etc.) to be discussed next Saturday morning at the special IGC meeting on 4 and 5 November in Paris. Afterwards, added the Commissioner, the Presidency will submit detailed proposals on "subjects related to power", including a proposal on three operational options for the European Commission, "a limited Commission, a broad Commission and a limited Commission at a later date" (an option to which France is particularly attached).