Bruges, 01/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - "Vision is really needed in Nice (…) if we wish to renew the link" between the Union and its citizens, said Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato, on 29 November at the College of Europe in Bruges, in a speech entitled "Nice, gateway to Europe" (see also EUROPE of 30 November, p.3). "Are we set to create a federal superstate?" asked Mr Amato, adding: "I would certainly argue that we are not. Those who speak of a Constitution - including myself and some of our German friends - and even those who speak of a Federation - as Altiero Spinelli did in the past and Joschka Fischer has done more recently - are well aware that the federal level should complement the level of national states and not become a substitute for it". Mr Amato spoke of the problem of citizenship, saying one should consider "the European dimension as a part, a necessary part, of our national citizenship", and that the Charter of Rights is so essential because it will make the European dimension of national identities explicit.
Giuliano Amato, who affirms that "this debate on vision is not (…) a fuite en avant, an escape from the present", stressed that it is necessary, in a future post-Nice "constitutional" process to involve not just the national parliaments and the European Parliament, but also the new members and the other candidate countries. In his view, two issues must be tackled in Nice in particular, issues that he sees as "real gateways to this kind of future". They are: the Charter of Fundamental Rights and enhanced cooperation. Recalling the innovative ideas launched by Italy and Germany, Mr Amato said he attributed considerable importance to enhanced cooperation for development of a "truly common European space in justice and home affairs", "not to mention economy". Thus, he sees the euro area countries as the "most naturally candidate for experiments in enhanced cooperation precisely in relation to the area of economic and financial policy" (on condition that this deeper integration remains open to all and is achieved within the institutional framework of the Treaties).
Regarding the other key themes of the Nice summit, Mr Amato spoke mainly of: - vote re-weighting in Council. He said that Italy has put forward proposals aimed at ensuring "an adequate decision-making power for the larger countries" and protecting the "interest of the smaller countries"; - the European Commission, considering the EU needs not only stronger Council but also a stronger Commission (in his view, the EU will "be a capable structure only if a reformed Council can make decisions bearing a solid legitimacy and if a 20-member Commission can play an enhanced role as guarantor of the Treaties"; - the extension of qualified majority vote, affirming that "the more you pass the qualified majority, the more it means that you accept that your being European implies that you are ready to accept the decision taken by the majority of Europeans".