Strasbourg, 03/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Swedish EU Council Presidency has managed, concerning the top priority of enlargement, to keep to the roadmap proposed for negotiations, said Göran Persson on Tuesday morning as he presented the European Parliament with the report on six months' work, and also above all on the Gothenburg Summit. He said that they were successful, even if it is a difficult task to reach a common position among Fifteen, and if the work to be carried out by the candidate countries for preparing accession is complex. "Our second priority was development of CFSP in all its aspects, including defence of human rights", said the Swedish Prime Minister. He mainly welcomed the improvement in relations with Russia (although he spared no criticism about its policy in Chechnya) and with Ukraine. Regarding relations with the United States, Mr Persson welcomed the fact that, in Gothenburg, the Fifteen had been able to show a united front for the Kyoto Protocol against President Bush. Environment is the third priority of the Swedish Presidency, which is pleased with the results obtained during these six months, he noted. Another issue particularly dear to us, said Mr Persson, is that of transparency. Although they would have preferred to go further, he said, a compromise was reached which would not have been possible without the cooperation of the European Parliament. As far as the debate on the future of Europe is concerned, he believes there should be no limit to this debate, which will go further than the four areas indicated in Nice. Such are the objectives of a Union that the Fifteen would like to see stronger, more effective and closer to the citizens, said Mr Persson.
The Gothenburg Council allowed a timeframe to be established for the conclusion of enlargement negotiations. The timetable that the Commission had envisaged was therefore realistic, noted Margot Wallström, European Environment Commissioner, stressing that the social cost of enlargement for candidate countries will be high and that the Fifteen must therefore not express unreasonable demands towards these countries. Regarding the sustainable development strategy, she assumes that often contradictory interests are managed in a well thought-out manner. She considers that decisions taken in Gothenburg will make it possible to complete the Lisbon strategy by introducing the environment dimension and by inviting Member States to establish clean strategies in this field. One should not, she repeated, envisage sustainable development only from the point of view of the problems that it raises and its cost: one should see the opportunities it provides for innovation and investment. Regarding the acts of violence that troubled the European Council of Gothenburg, Ms Wallström exclaimed that stone throwing should not hide arguments that citizens have the right to express.
All MEPs taking the floor welcomed the conclusions of Gothenburg concerning participation of candidate countries in the European elections of 2004, beginning with the president of the EPP/ED Group, Mr Pöttering. He recalled that his group, followed by the whole Parliament, had made precisely that request. Results were also good concerning transparency, but Mr Pöttering did not like certain remarks made by Mr Persson on the demonstrations in Gothenburg. "You have denounced 'fascist' violence", deplored Mr Pöttering, but there were also red flags flying over Gothenburg in recent days. In politics, extremes are very close to each other, said Enrique Baron, President of the Socialist Group, who felt that the nihilistic action on the part of a small minority must not mean that the peaceful and legitimate demonstrations of other citizens should be forgotten. If they express their views, noted Mr Baron, it is because they are beginning to take an interest in what we are doing. Gothenburg has allowed us to give a political message to the candidate states, noted the president of the Liberal and Democratic Group, Mr Cox, who spoke of the hope that the Irish referendum would not serve as a pretext for lifting the foot off the accelerator concerning enlargement. Regarding CFSP, the Swedish Presidency, he said, has made it possible to go from aspiration to substance in many areas. For the Greens, Ms Schörling deplored the fact that the Union was not able to open a true debate with the citizens, and Mr Sjöstedt, speaking for the United Left/Nordic Greens Left, regretted that the Swedish Presidency had not adopted a more liberal policy concerning refugees. The ups and downs of Gothenburg, said Mr Bonde in turn, speaking on behalf of the Europe of Democracies and Diversities Group, must encourage reflection. Citizens, he said, must be able to have a peaceful influence on the decision-making process within the Union. This need for participation was clearly demonstrated by the Irish citizens during the referendum on Nice, said Ms Raschofer, elected member of Austrian FPÖ, who felt that the discussions on the future of Europe must not be held over and above the heads of citizens. Mr Le Pen (Front National, F), for his part, expressed perplexity about the "nebulous but fashionable" concept of sustainable development, and condemned the "totalitarian slide" of the European institutions …
During a press conference, Mr Persson explained that the Swedish Presidency has made it possible to increase the knowledge that citizens of Sweden have about the EU and that, "in time, the Swedish public will have a more positive attitude towards the Union". "It is good for our populations to be critical about the complexity of the EU organisation", he said, evoking the risks that would be entailed for the decision-making process without such pressure of criticism. He went on to add that "the most dangerous thing is insufficient debate". He refused to advise his successor on foreign policy but repeated that one should "be visible" and that "diplomacy means being present", especially in the Middle East, where "each official visit has a calming effect". Mr Persson mainly insisted on the need to "continue to strengthen the role of Mr Solana, who is an excellent representative", and to support the "team" that he forms with Commissioner Patten.