Brussels, 30/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - "Today's tragic situations imply a political and moral commitment for a united and democratic Europe. You have an important role to play", said European Commission President Romano Prodi speaking before the European Economic and Social Committee plenary session on 28 November in Brussels. Welcoming the signing of the Commission-Committee Cooperation Protocol, President Prodi noted that this Protocol was "extremely bound to European governance. The distrust of citizens towards European institutions is growing. So one must rethink good governance, (…), government that is mainly your affair because the Committee aims to be a mediator between the various components of society and is a bridge towards the EU's organised civil society". The publication of the White Paper on this subject "is a first step", recalled the President stressing four directions for renewal: 1) strengthened participation: "for the Committee in particular, the consultation activities must be both up- and downstream, and it must use all the means at its disposal"; 2) improvement of Community policies and regulations and their results; 3) the EU's contribution to world governance: "It is important for the Committee to make contacts with the organised civil society in the candidate countries. There is a growing presence of civil society during the main international summits like those in Seattle, Gothenburg and Genoa. We cannot ignore the fact that these protests are the result of true and widespread malaise. One must understand that we have an ethical and social content in our activities", explained Mr Prodi; 4) redefinition of policies and institutions: "The EU must guarantee effective reform of economic policies and the Committee has an indispensable role to play in this reform", commented the President. Regarding the thorny issue of comitology, Mr Prodi noted that "the points of view of the Commission and the Committee are coming closer, for greater transparency". Stressing the not inconsiderable influence that the Committee has on European legislation, Romano Prodi noted that "about 2/3 of the proposals contained in the Committee's opinions were taken on board, sometimes in the Commission proposals and sometimes in the final texts adopted by the Council. This is a de facto tribute to the relevance and quality of our daily work", concluded the President, who assured the Committee members of the "Commission's total support in the role that it is to play in revitalising Community methods".
During the President's debate, Anne-Marie Sigmund (President of the Various Interests Group, Austria) recalled the importance of subsidiarity and gave her assurance that "we want a strong Commission". British national John Little (Employers Group) remarked that the Committee did not represent the whole of civil society but had an intermediary role to play in contributing to the democratic process. The president of the Workers Group, French Roger Briesch, said the Committee should have "a place in the future Convention, a specific post, a post quite simply, and not just the role of active observer. We do not wish to be a substitute for the decision-makers". "On 31 December, we shall enter a new phase of the EU with the euro", noted Dario Mengozzi (Various Interests, Italy). The counsellors drew President Prod's attention to the dangers of generalised violence (Steicher Navarre, Employers, Spain), the intermediary role of the Committee (Gianni Vinay, Vice-President of the Committee, Italy), the anarchical development of EC legislation (Robert Pelletier, Employers, France), and the role of the Commission, which must be stronger and more energetic (Ursula Konitzer, Workers, Germany) as well as the involvement of candidate countries in the future of the EU (Filip Hamro-Drotz, Employers, Finland). Italian national Giacomo Regaldo (Employers Group and Chair of the Eco/Fin section of the Committee) asked Mr Prodi whether he was optimistic in the short, medium or long term. He answered saying he did not know as there are strong falls in economic forecasts but that consumer spending is increasing, which makes one feel confident about the future.