Cork, 25/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - Why do we need the Treaty of Nice? (…) The main aim of Nice is to make us capable of welcoming, within a few years, all the twelve countries that are presently negotiating their accession to the EU, and to allow the institutions of the Union with 15 Member States to continue to function effectively in an enlarged Union, which could cover 27 countries. This is what was said on Friday, in a speech made at University College Cork, before a mainly Irish audience, by the European Commission President Romano Prodi, when implicitly returning to his remarks made through the pages of The Irish Times according to which enlargement is possible even without the ratification of the Treaty of Nice (which is technically correct: see EUROPE of 23 June, p.4).
In an article published in Le Figaro on 25 June, Mr Prodi asserts: The simple fact that I raised this issue gave rise to controversy over recent days (…). The Commission's position in favour of the ratification of the Treaty of Nice is well known (…). Though it does not exonerate us from the obligation of envisioning all the possibilities, notably in the knowledge that the ratification by Ireland cannot be considered as a certainty. There are lawyers - whose opinions I have referred to - who say that the enlargement is possible without the Treaty of Nice. However, the true issue is political and, as a political figure, I must warn against any temptation to believe that enlargement could unfold as foreseen in case of a failure in Nice. This would be a grave error.
When regretting the rejection of the Treaty by the Irish, Mr Prodi asserted that Nice does not cover issues such as abortion or divorce, new military alliances or the obligatory military services, or the opposition of interests between large and smaller Member States. Will the reforms introduced by the Treaty reduce the role of the smaller Member States? The answer is NO (…) The smaller Member States will continue to have a relatively larger voice on issues of the Union than would be justified by their population, stated Mr Prodi, while assuring in particular that Ireland will be treated exactly like another Member State in the process of nominating a European Commissioner. As for the creation of the EU's rapid reaction force, we have wanted it because we want, in the future, to be able to react rapidly when we are confronted with wrenching scenes such as those in the Balkans a few years ago. For too long we have relied upon the aid and good will of the Americans, felt Mr Prodi. He also added: I know that the Irish have a long tradition of neutrality. Though this has not prevented your country playing a full role in its peacekeeping missions under the UN flag. It is difficult to see why it would be different to play the same role under the EU flag (…) There is no intention to transform the rapid reaction force into an EU army (…) The deployment of Irish troops will be the result of sovereign decisions taken on a case by case basis, here in Ireland, asserted the Commission President.