Aix-La-Chapelle, 30/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - The French Minister for European Affairs Pierre Moscovici, when speaking last Saturday at the Charlemagne Colloquium in Aix-La-Chapelle, asserted that it is time to "better specify the finalities of Europe", and asked himself the following questions:
1. What plan for an enlarged Europe? Noting that the Union seems "on the way to setting its final borders", Mr Moscovici noted that "our people, overtaken by the changes, need to better understand the destination", but he added that, "concerning borders, it is crucial not to completely fix the lands, as it is for the Union to "maintain its power of attraction".
As for the allocation of competences, Mr Moscovici admitted "the need to specify in an operational manner the concept of subsidiarity", but for him, an excessively schematic approach would thus be unrealistic".
2. What institutional architect? There, Mr Moscovici made the following suggestions, to politically raise the three parts of the institutional triangle": - the Commission "could be more legitimate and better incarnated if its President was the emanation of the European Parliament elections"; - the Council should fully find its role, "for example thanks to the establishment of a permanent Council of Ministers specialised in European matters which would manage, in cooperation with the Commission, the current affairs"; - the political weight and responsibility of the European Parliament would be enhanced by a standardised voting system "combining proportional representation and geographic proximity with the voters, but also by imagining a right to dissolution in case of political crisis with the Commission or Council". "It would remain to clearly state the prospect of a European Constitution, once more recently raised by Chancellor Schröder. I fully believe in the use of such an fundamental Act, of a great political scope, which would solemnly translate a common project", also asserted Mr Moscovici, while noting that "a Constitution is not just a Charter" and that the European Parliament, "though it has its word to say, does not have the powers of a constituent assembly". Finally, Mr Moscovici underlined "the common responsibility that falls on Germany and France in this time": the stakes of the French Presidency "challenged, once more, our partnership", but it is now important to enter together "into this enlarged Europe, both to give it substance - the enhanced cooperation - and to develop common visions of the greater stakes, such as enlargement, growth and employment in the Euro area," he concluded.