Munich, 25/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - Loyola de Palacio, European Commission Vice-President, discussed the major topics to raise in the debate on the future of Europe with the Minister-President of Bavaria, Edmund Stoiber, accompanied by his Minister of European Affairs, Reinhold Bocklet, in Munich on 25 April.
A press release states that Bavaria is fighting for national parliaments and the European Parliament to be involved as quickly and as fully as possible in preparations for the future Intergovernmental Conference, and that, as far as it is concerned, subsidiarity should be the main theme of the exercise aimed at ring-fencing competencies between the EU and Member States. The EU should only carry out tasks which only it can assume, says the press release, which cites the common security and defence policy, common immigration policy, combating cross-border crime, and trade.
In addition, the press release emphasises that for Bavaria it is most important that the notion of "new governance", that will be explicitly set out in the Commission's future White Paper, does not harm the aim of a clear ring-fencing of competencies between the different levels in Europe, and that participation of civil society in this debate should not short-circuit the EU's democratic institutions.