Brussels, 02/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - European Council President Goran Persson met Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, who is to chair the European Council in the second half of the year and, in talks in Brussels, they discussed the organisation of the post-Nice process, in which the Swedish and Belgian Presidencies are engaged, as provided for in the Declaration of Nice. "We must start with a broad debate", whereas the Belgian Presidency will follow a "more structured agenda", said the Swedish Prime Minister at a dinner organised in Brussels on 1 February on the occasion of the meeting of the "International Advisory Council" of CEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies) headed by Peter Ludlow. Mr. Persson placed emphasis on the need to involve the European Parliament in this process, and recalled that he had spoken of this with its President, Nicole Fontaine.
In an address before CEPS' guests, Mr. Persson observed that "there is an almost infinite number of parties who have a stake in the future of the Union. They should have the right to be heard before we embark on the next review of the Treaty in 2004 (…). The declaration in Nice does not specify the structure and the format for preparing the next IGC. That issue itself should be part of the wide-ranging debate. In the same vein, I would find it both ill-advised and useless to try to define the scope of the debate. The scope will be determined by the multitude of contributions themselves and by the strength the arguments in them." Having said that, Persson also commented on the questions cited in the Declaration of Nice: - simplification of the Treaties. This is an "obvious" need, but, "it will not be easy to simplify without changing the content": there will therefore "have to be realism in the quest for simplification"; - clearer delimitation of competences: yes, but "without dismantling what the Union has achieved and without losing the tools we will need for future challenges". "We might find it easier for national competence and Community rules to co-exist, the way they do in the Lisbon process"; - future status of the Charter of Fundamental Rights: "we should proceed carefully in order not to undermine other instruments (…), such as the European Convention on Human Rights"; - the role of national parliaments: "more could be done to provide them with better opportunities to scrutinise and provide views on draft legislation". Concluding, Mr. Persson said he had the feeling that "the next IGC is likely to be closer to Amsterdam than Nice in nature", and added: "I would advise against giving the public the impression that the institutional architecture of the EU in its entirety is due to be reformed. That would lead to false fears and false expectations". According to him, "we don't need to create more visions, more brilliant projects, more promises, we need to deliver", taking account of the wishes of the citizens.
In addition, in his address Persson turned especially to:
Streamlining the EU's external dimension, by encouraging the Council to continue with vigour in its efforts along these lines, and considering "beyond that, we should strive towards a more common foreign policy, in the sense of speaking with one voice in international fora, such as the UN".
Regarding some of the Union's new tasks, such as employment, education systems, research and social cohesion, he declared himself "convinced" that these were areas where national competence would remain. "A rushed search for common rules and regulations, decided at supranational level, cannot be the best way forward", said Mr. Persson. The "open method of coordination", defined in Lisbon, is a good way forward in such areas, and another method would be closer cooperation through codes of conduct, like those on unfair tax competition and export control of arms.
Finally, answering a question on Turkey, Mr. Persson said that the EU had to stick to the message by which countries candidates for accession had to respect the Copenhagen criteria, while remarking, regarding the Turkish people: "They belong to this family, we need their cooperation".