Brussels, 20/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - In the traditional letter to the Heads of State and Government and to the President of the European Commission before the European Summit, the President of the European Council sets out how he sees the unfolding of the next European summit, on Friday and Saturday in Stockholm. Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson writes:
"I look forward to welcoming you to Stockholm on 23 and 24 March for the spring meeting of the European Council. The meeting will be the first regular Spring Council devoted to the follow-up of the Union's strategic goal set in Lisbon. Your contributions and the Commission's Synthesis Report have been very valuable in our preparations and in paving the way for real progress in Stockholm. We must be able to demonstrate concrete results to the citizens of Europe. Commitment to the ambitious targets set in Lisbon is essential for the Union's credibility.
The purpose of the Stockholm meeting should be to actively consolidate the integrated approach for modernising the European model. Economic reform, employment and social policies must be mutually reinforcing to achieve this. In Stockholm, we should address the general economic and social situation taking account of the demographic challenge facing Europe. We need to reinforce action to create more and better jobs, harness new technologies, modernise the European social model and accelerate economic reform.
The Broad Economic Policy Guidelines are at the centre of economic policy coordination in the Union. They provide the framework for defining overall policy objectives. In Stockholm, we should provide strategic guidance for this work in order to foster sustained growth and stability oriented macroeconomic policies. We also need to improve procedures in order for the European Council's spring meeting on economic and social issues to take account of a generally agreed objective of sustainable development.
Our meeting will start at 09h30 on Friday, 23 March with an exchange of views with the President of the European Parliament. Following our discussion with Mrs Fontaine, I intend to organise our work in two main table rounds and a session devoted to the Conclusions. I foresee participation by Finance Ministers during all the sessions of the meeting.
The first table round will begin at 10h00. This should focus on the macroeconomic context and economic reform. I would particularly like to hear your views on the 2001 Broad Economic Policy Guidelines and the main elements of the policy strategy, market openings in key sectors, risk capital and financial markets, the need for better regulation, new technologies including eEurope and biotechnology, public procurement, state aid, targets in enterprise policy and the role of international trade in modernising the European economy.
At 11.40 we will break our discussions for a meeting between President Putin and Heads of State and Governments, immediately followed by a lunch in the meeting room. The discussion with the Russian President is expected to focus on economic cooperation between Russia and the European Union. In parallel the Foreign Ministers will have a working luncheon with the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, where a broader range of issues may be discussed.
At 15h00, we will resume our meeting. The second session will focus on modernising the European social model and on the demographic changes ahead. Issues to be discussed include: how to ensure implementation of the European Social Agenda agreed in Nice, the need to increase labour force supply and employment, how to improve women's and older people's opportunities to enter and remain in the labour market, pension systems, benchmarking - based on indicators - in the fields of social inclusion, provisions of care facilities for children and other dependants and quality in work, and action on skills and mobility.
On Friday evening, I would like to invite you to a working dinner at the National Museum of Fine Arts at 20h00, where we will be accompanied by Foreign Ministers. (…/…)
I suggest devoting our discussions to the situation in the western Balkans, the Middle East and on the Korean Peninsula. The exchange of views on developments in the Western Balkans will be prepared by the foreign ministers, who will discuss the issue during their lunch and report to us. On the Middle East, we should discuss how the European Union could play an enhanced role in promoting the resumption of the peace process. I would also wish to follow up on discussion on how the Union can support the efforts to build peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
On Saturday 24 March, we will meet again for the third working session, at 9.45 a.m., in order to approve the Conclusions. I expect this session to end at around lunchtime. I am convinced that we will have a fruitful and constructive discussion, and look forward to seeing you shortly in Stockholm."
Presidency places emphasis on demographic ageing, biotechnology - Impact of new
trade round on growth - Selective EIB loans for Russia
Presenting the priorities of the Summit to the press on Tuesday, Sweden's Permanent Representative, Gunnard Lund said, regarding the Lamfalussy Report, that a special EcoFin Council had been scheduled for Thursday evening in Stockholm, from 20.00 hrs., but that there was still hope of settling the problems in suspence before the European Council (notably at a Coreper meeting on Wednesday). The integration of European financial markets is too important to be placed in deadlock by differences over the decision-making mechanisms, he said.
In addition, he placed emphasis on certain priorities of the Swedish Presidency: Social agenda, and, notably, the effects of demographic ageing (especially pension schemes, over which he hopes for a signal in Stockholm). As to whether, in this context, the European Council would raise the problem of immigration, Mr. Lund replied that that could not be ruled out, but that the Heads of State and Government should not be focusing on that subject; - contribution of new technologies, and in particular biotechnology, to growth in Europe, while respecting ethical imperatives; - integration of the sustainable development dimension in the Lisbon strategy of which each spring summit will ensure its follow-up. In addition, Lund noted that, in Stockholm (see above for Mr. Persson's letter) the issue of the forthcoming launch of a new multilateral round of trade negotiations in the WTO would also be discussed, and its impact on growth in the Union. Asked about the French objections to an early and binding timetable for the liberalisation of the energy market, Mr. Lund said he hoped that the summit would endorse such a timetable, but that "remains to be seen". (At a press conference with Mr. Prodi, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin said that it was not simply a question of the timetable, but that the problem was especially to ensure citizens' access to the pubic service and security of supply: see other article).
As for talks with President Putin, asked whether the Summit would be able to give the green light to EIB loans to Russia, Mr. Lund said that the time had not come to provide the European Investment Bank with a "general mandate", but that one could consider "very selective" funding, on a case by case basis, for projects of significance for the European Union.
Several Member States should raise BSE and foot and mouth crises
It may be remarked that Mr. Persson's letter makes no mention of the problem of food safety in the EU, following the BSE and foot and mouth crises. However, in Stockholm, State Secretary Lars Danielsson said that the issue had been put to the Swedish Prime Minister by all colleges he had met on his rounds of the capitals before the Summit, and that he had always stated that Agenda 2000 had to be respected and the budgetary ceilings set in Berlin for the period running up to 2006, proceeding with a mid-term review in 2002-2003.