Brussels, 05/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - On the even of the European Summit in Nice, Germany and Italy, already authors of a joint contribution on enhanced cooperation, passed around a joint paper on the "post Nice". They call for the holding of a new conference of Member States in 2004 to be formally set out in the Nice Treaty, in the Article concerning the possibilities for an amendment of the Treaty (presently Article 48) or in a protocol.
The propose to already include, in a protocol or a declaration included in the final act of the Treaty, a lust of questions to be examined, which include: - a more precise demarcation of the European Union's competence and that of the Member States, - the statute of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, - a better separation of powers between the institutions of the European Union, - a simplification of the Treaties in view of making them more readable and clearer.
Finally Germany and Italy hopes that the conclusions from Nice underline the need to a wider debate following the 2004 conference, which includes the EU accession candidate countries. the completion of this conferences is, however, not a prior condition for the accession of new Member States, they add. The admission of new members should be possible after the ratification of the institutional reform adopted by the Nice European Council.