Strasbourg, 13/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the EP adopted (403 votes for, 66 against and 81 abstentions) a long resolution setting out its demands at the summit of Gothenburg (EUROPE will come back to this). The debate, however, was largely geared to the Irish "no" to the Treaty of Nice.
Anna Lindh, Council President, expressed disappointment at the results of the Irish referendum, but ratification, she said, must go forward, and this signal must also be given to the candidate countries. She insisted on the fact that it is better to anchor Europe in the conscience of citizens. In Gothenburg, it will be necessary to reaffirm the need to enlarge the public debate on Europe, a debate that should be carried out, as majority opinion believes, by the Convention method, she added.
Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, replied that he was pleased to note the Swedish Presidency is ready to envisage a debate within a representative structure of States and European and national elected representatives. The Commission is willing to make an active contribution to this work, he assured. On enlargement, Mr Prodi acknowledges that, in some cases, solutions may be facilitated by the adoption of transitional periods. The Commission is ready to propose technical solutions and the necessary political compromises. This enlarged Europe will have long common borders with large countries such as Russia and Ukraine, and our people must be reassured on this, he added. He went on to stress that Russia and the EU last month decided to begin work in order to create a "European common economic area". This is no longer a dream but has entered the realm of reality, he said.
During the debate, the president of the EPP-ED Group, Mr Pöttering, invited the Swedish President to tell President Bush, in a measured but decided way, that the Kyoto Protocol must be respected. However, in his view, Mr Bush is not entirely wrong in defending nuclear power, whose pacific use cannot be ruled out for ideological reasons (implicit criticism of recent decisions of German government). Mr Baron, President of the Socialist Group, invited the Commission to present a declaration on economic and social cohesion and enlargement (see EUROPE of 8 June, p.10). Citizens pay without knowing what they are paying for: this declaration should help them to understand the significance of cohesion and solidarity, he affirmed. Ms Hautala, Co-President of the Greens, said she had been unfair towards the Commission, after Stockholm, concerning its ability to present valid proposals concerning sustainable development. She said she felt she must withdraw her criticism and welcome its report. Italian Radical Dell'Alba posed the problem of the central seats of European agencies, hoping that hasty decisions would be avoided such as that of locating the seat of the Food Safety Agency to Helsinki (see p.16). Some MEPs, including Swedish Social Democrat Jan Andersson, invited the Presidency to give Gothenburg clear indications as to the date of future accessions. Ms Lindh said she would pass the message on in Gothenburg.
President Prodi, who answered MEPs on the subject of these remarks concerning the establishment of a European tax, specified that technical reflection is in progress at the Commission and that this tax would be a substitute for existing taxes.
Irish referendum: according to constitutional committee, it confirms need to attribute mandate on future of the Union to a Convention
The Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Giorgio Napolitano, read a declaration adopted the day before by the latter on the Irish referendum on the Treaty of Nice, affirming that the further examination of the Treaty of Nice by national parliaments called upon to ratify it cannot ignore the problem posed by the Irish vote. As well as seeking solutions, the committee reaffirms with growing conviction its positions on the method to be followed by the year 2003. The Irish vote confirms, he said, the need for a mandate for the elaboration of texts with constitutional value to be entrusted to a Convention which, thanks to the participation of national parliaments and the European Parliament, may guarantee transparency and legitimacy that have been lacking to date.
Romano Prodi expressed great "sadness" following the Irish "no" vote, and a majority of MEPs stressed that ratifications should move forward (without large countries trying to give lessons to the small, warned Mr Pöttering). This is the opinion of the president of the Liberal Group, Irish national Mr Cox, who welcomed his government's decision to set up a Forum on Europe allowing serious debate on the subject, with the possibility of eventually holding a second referendum, after a period of reflection. This decision, taken on Tuesday by the Irish Government, was also welcomed by Mr Collins (Fianna Fail, Union for a Europe of Nations Group) and by Ms Doyle (Fine Gale, EPP-ED), who exclaimed: "I voted 'yes', but why did 65% of the Irish stay at home?" Some MEPs are of a different opinion. "Whether we like it or not, we shall have to take the Treaty back to the drawing board", said the president of the United Left/Nordic Left, Mr Wurtz. Mr Bonde (Europe of Democracies and Diversities) felt that carrying out ratifications would constitute violation under Article 6 of the Treaty. Mr Berthu (Mouvement pour la France) confirmed that we cannot pretend nothing has happened. He asks for candidate countries to be "immediately" asked to adhere to the intergovernmental part of the current treaties.