Paris, 28/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - The French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, in his scheduled speech on "The future of the enlarged Europe", made on 28 May, insisted, as expected, even more on the institutional architecture of the EU, on the "planned society" and the "vision of the world" that Europe must have. We will publish the full text of this speech, in which the French Prime Ministers clearly takes his distance from certain aspects of the Schröder plan (view of a European federation in which the present Member States would have the status of the German Lander, notes Mr Jospin - or the return of certain policies to the national sphere).
With regards to the "planned society", Mr Jospin made several concrete suggestions, including those of: - providing Europe with an economic government for the Euro zone; - create a fund for joint actions allowing to support any member country hit by world e4conomic turbulence; - draft a true European social law, the prospect being that of a European social treaty; - create an operational criminal police, of which Europol would be the core, and a specific police force responsible for the protection of the external borders of the Union and its international airports; - provide the Union with a European consumer statute based on the precautionary principal and the traceability of products.
"Europe must help chart the course of the world" also asserts the French Prime Minister, to which Europe must in particular: enhance the role of the High Representative for CFSP; - unify its external representation of the Euro zone, notably through an elected presence of the Eurogroup; - define a long-term defence strategy (which means in particular adopting a coherent position against the American initiative to create an antimissile shield); - call in the WTO for a trade policy "setting clear limits" (in particular, the liberalisation of trade must not affect public services, cultural diversity, social progress and food safety).
As for the institutional reforms, Mr Jospin asserts that is will not be possible to put forward institutional architectures (…) without having considered, prior to this, the political meaning that should be given to Europe. Make Europe without undoing France - nor any other European nations: this is my political choice, stated Lionel Jospin, who said he fully subscribed to the "federation of nation-States" formula forged by Jacques Delors, a notion which, according to him, translates with fairness the constitutive tension of the European Union. To move towards such a federation, it will be necessary to clarify the respective competences of the Union and the States, but without bringing into question the shared competences and by rejecting the "bringing back into the national sphere of competence" of policies such as the agricultural policy or the structural policy. A federation implies that the national parliaments are better associated to the European building process, feels Mr Jospin, who suggested to entrust to a "common body - permanent conference of parliaments or "Congress" - a true political role, consisting of verifying respect for subsidiarity and each year debating the "state of the Union". As for the three major European institutions, Mr Jospin proposed in particular:
(1) An in-depth reform of the system of electing the European Parliament (a vote combining proportional and a system of large regional constituencies). Moreover, Mr Jospin suggested giving the European Council the right to dissolve the EP.
(2) The selection of a Commission President (institution which needs to have its authority and political legitimacy enhanced) issued from the European political formation victorious in the European elections.
(3) Enhancing of the Council by: - fully consecrating the European Council in the future Treaty, which should in particular approve a true multiannual legislature programme and gather more frequently, for example every two months; - establish a permanent Council of Minister whose members, sort of deputy Prime Ministers, would coordinate European issues in their own national government.
These paths outline the prospect, to which I am favourable, of a European constitution, concludes Mr Jospin, for whom European Charter of Fundamental Right would be at the heart of this constitution. According to him, the preparing of this constitution could be entrusted to a Convention gathering together representatives from the States, national parliaments, European Parliament and civil society (but he does not cite the European Commission).