Brussels, 18/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Union acted with speed an determination to the attacks of 11 September, "under the leadership of the Belgian Presidency and the Commission", European Commission President Romano Prodi told a press conference on Thursday, just before the European Council of Ghent, stressing: "a coalition against terrorism must be complemented by a coalition for development with the Union playing a leading role in setting this in motion". "It will not be a Summit on Terrorism", said Prodi, in answer to questions, and referring among the other subjects of discussion in Ghent: enlargement (the Commission "will not even alter a comma" to the timetable for accession negotiations, whereas the attacks had led to hesitations in some quarters on the subject, he said) and the introduction of the euro (74 days from the arrival of the single currency, Heads of State and Government must themselves "be fully committed to its success", he said). Having said that, Mr. Prodi especially turned to the implications of the crisis, when speaking to the press:
- its "far-reaching implications for the Union's foreign policy priorities". Mr. Prodi referred to the dialogue with the Arab and Islamic worlds, the peace process in the Middle East (regretting that peace "should have been distanced", following the "back-step" that constituted the murder of outgoing Israeli Minister of Tourism), the Barcelona process, which needs "renewing" (especially by encouraging regional co-operation, so as to create "strong economic units", he added in answer to questions), co-operation with Pakistan, India, and Iran, as well as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States.
- the "marked effects on the economic outlook". Mr. Prodi, who has written a letter to the participants in the Summit, accompanied by a report on these effects (see below), said that, over and above the uncertainties as to the future, there were also some positive elements, like the fact that, unlike the economy of the United States, the European economy "is free of trade imbalances and has a higher propensity to save", that inflation is on a downward trend, that significant, although incomplete, structural reforms had been undertaken, and that significant fiscal consolidation had also been achieved giving some room for manoeuvre during the slow down (but not recession). As to what was meant by the time having come for the ECB to reduce interest rates, Prodi replied: we have no intention of interfering with the decisions of the Central Bank, and our task is simply to create the conditions in which it may "feel at ease regarding inflation and macroeconomic balances". In reply to another question, Mr. Prodi also stressed that the European Investment Bank would be called on to play a greater role in favour of investment (even if, he noted, in the immediate future the most significant variable is consumption). Economically-speaking, the message that Mr. Prodi intends addressing to the Summit is a message on the "resistance" of the European economy, and on the need to closely follow developments in this economy and be ready to act should it change. What matters, is that consumers and producers see that there is someone in control of the situation, who has the will to use all possible instruments, and that these instruments are sound, he concluded.
Franco-German-British Summit in Ghent - Aid to Afghanistan - Role of the Commission
Answering question, Mr. Prodi also turned to:
- CFSP, defence policy, the Chirac-Schroeder-Blair Summit to be held in Ghent on Friday, one hour before the European Council, and which will be on the international situation, especially Afghanistan. It is a question of a meeting of a "purely voluntary" nature, Prodi observed. "I deeply regret that some countries, and not others" should have been invited to participate, he replied to a question on Italy. Do such initiatives mean a failure of CFSP? Here Prodi got angry: CFSP is not my competence, and "there where the tasks are ours, we have acted in harmony (…) that's Europe". Would it be desirable for in the long-term the Commission to have powers in security and defence matters too? I believe that in the long-term there will have to be a "unification of powers", Prodi replied, stressing that he took seriously the precision "long-term", as, he said, "I know that it will be a lengthy process".
- the "almost no" role the Commission is said to have in preparing European Councils. Prodi got angry a second time. Those who make such remarks should know from "when" the Commission weakened, he pointed out, adding: it's certainly not in the last three years, it's not from that period that "the fragmentation of European action" dates. Over the past few years, no Commissioner "has played a centrifugal role".
- the dropping of aid in Afghanistan. This is not the Commission's method, and our experts, while recognising that it can be useful in extreme cases of emergency, have stressed its inconveniences to me, said Prodi, observing that this form of aid could not be "targeted" on those in need, as those who get hold of it the most easily are the "young, the fit, who run, and especially soldiers…".