Barcelona, 17/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - At the press conference after the Barcelona European Council, the Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar was particularly upbeat about the "extraordinarily important package of liberalisation reforms", saying that the decisions taken in Barcelona about opening up the energy market for business customers would lead to de facto liberalisation of almost 70% of the market, although the figure quoted in the Summit Conclusions is a "prudent" 60%. These are significant decisions affecting all companies, whether small, medium or large that we weren't able to adopt at the previous spring Summit (March 2001, Stockholm, Ed), said Mr Aznar, stressing that before the 2003 spring Summit under the Greek Presidency, decisions concerning private consumers would be taken (the Barcelona Conclusions do not give a definition of non-business consumers, Ed). To achieve this, "everybody made an effort", explained Mr Aznar, not mentioning France's demands concerning public service requirements. He added that by the end of 2002, the European Commission would report on services of general interest, this being the "compromise" they had reached. President Prodi dotted the 'i's; explaining that the information about public service obligations was not a concession to any one particular country, since the European Commission had always coherently defended services of general interest and the Summit Conclusions weren't simply there to keep France happy. What is new in the Commission's position? Today, we made a commitment on a more general topic, he explained, while in terms of energy Mr Aznar was also at pains to stress the need to reach an agreement on energy taxation alongside liberalisation in 2004, and to get at least 10% of installed generation capacity interconnected by 2005. The issue of interconnection is particularly important for Spain, which had long been an "island" for a long time in terms of energy, he explained. Both Mr Aznar and Mr Prodi paid tribute to the Energy and Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio (who was present at Barcelona) for the work carried out.
Other areas Mr Aznar felt satisfied with include the instruction sent by the Summit to next week's Transport Council to take the necessary decisions for the launch of Galileo. Mr Prodi also welcomed this breakthrough after "months and months of work" on the project by the European Commission and also his own personal commitment. Mr Aznar was also pleased with the pledge to take a permanent decision by the end of the year to turn the Single Sky into a reality in 2004.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Aznar listed the main points from the Summit Conclusions, laying particular emphasis on the explicit commitment by Member States to respect the Stability Pact, also the European Commission being instructed to present proposals before the March 2003 spring Summit on closer co-ordination of economic policies; confirmation of the objective of full employment and the creation of 20 million jobs in ten years. Mr Aznar also mentioned a decision to gradually raise the retirement age by five years, the de facto average retirement age in Europe currently being 58; adopting the European health insurance card - Mr Aznar waved one of the new cards around, handing it to Romano Prodi who told him he already had it; progress on an integrated financial services market which, explained both Mr Aznar and Mr Prodi, had been made possible by the recent votes in the European Parliament. Romano Prodi said this would provide additional growth potential that public opinion tended to underestimate because financial markets are not very popular; and conclusions concerning education (learning at least two foreign languages) and telecommunications (target of one computer for every 15 pupils in all schools).
Of the issues not forming part of the Lisbon strategy, Mr Aznar highlighted:
The Middle East. Mr Aznar noted that the declaration adopted in Barcelona insisted on the application of the "extremely important" Security Council Resolution 1397 (which for the first time explicitly calls for the creation of a Palestinian state). The final version of the declaration (negotiated on Friday evening) insisted that both parties had to respect international principles in terms of human rights. This less explicit wording was chosen on the request of Germany and the United Kingdom, which were anxious to avoid offending Israel, in preference to the initial wording about respecting the fourth Geneva Convention. Moreover, the sentence "a policy which aims to hit the Palestinians even harder leads to violent reactions and will not guarantee security" was replaced with the phrase "excessive use of force cannot be justified". Mr Aznar said that the Europeans had not discussed a possible United States military intervention against Iraq, although Tony Blair and Gerhard Schröder did discuss the question.
The EU-NATO agreement on the use of NATO means for peace-keeping operations carried out by the European Union. Mr Aznar said they wanted to reach a definitive breakthrough on this question, which was preventing them from taking decisions about an EU operation in Macedonia (to take over from NATO when Amber Fox comes to an end, Ed). He said it was not very logical for the EU not to be able to take a decision about Macedonia although various EU Member States were contributing to stabilisation operations in Afghanistan. (During the Summit, Jacque Chirac said the EU had the political legitimacy and military capabilities to take over from NATO.) He explained that the President of the Council Josep Pique and the High Representative for CFSP Javier Solana were mandated to lead high level contacts to try and settle the problem in the next few weeks, with Greece's agreement (Greece is refusing to accept the agreement made by the United Kingdom and the United States on this issue with Turkey, mainly for reasons of etiquette since the agreement was not negotiated within the framework of the EU).
Council reform. Mr Aznar said that following the presentation of the Solana report on Council reform on Friday evening, the Heads of State had decided to designate representatives to work with Javier Solana and the Presidency to put forward proposals and reach decisions at the Seville Summit. Some Heads of State have already given indications of who they are planning to appoint to this new group. Portugal and Austria, for example, are to send their current Permanent Representatives to the EU, while the Finnish Prime Minister has selected erstwhile Permanent Representative Antti Satuli, now a Secretary of State.
Jacques Chirac and Lionel Jospin's satisfaction that France's support for principle of public service has been taken into account
The French President, Jacques Chirac, said that the European Council's outcome satisfied many of France's hopes, providing balanced solutions that France was happy with.
Referring to the negotiations on the economy, Mr Chirac said that despite the first signs of recovery, their co-ordination had to be confirmed in order to react more effectively to signs of recession and to use and magnify signs of growth. He expressed his satisfaction that the Council had recognised the need to rely on the Lisbon strategy to achieve sustainable growth. Mentioning progress in the fight against exclusion and also in terms of pensions, women workers and worker mobility, he particularly welcomed the progress made by the European health insurance card when it comes to healthcare.
In terms of liberalising the energy market, Jacques Chirac said that they favoured competition and opening up the markets since it is good for dynamism, but not to the detriment of public service which is a foundation of the republican pact, guaranteeing equal access and treatment. Referring to the people who criticise France's view as holding the past in too much respect, he said that the quality of public services in France was one of the main motivations for foreign investors. We have agreed to open up the markets, he said, but it was not acceptable to go any further. He was delighted that the Council Conclusions reaffirmed the basic principle of public service and that France had managed to get the Commission to propose a framework directive on public service by the end of the year.
Satisfied that in terms of its external presence the European Union had "asserted itself" by adopting a common position with forecast figures for the Monterrey Conference (described however as a minimalist consensus) and a "long declaration on the Middle East", President Chirac welcomed the fact that European and the United States were working hand in hand in the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 1397 to simultaneously put an end to violence and launch political dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians. Asked about the dropping from the Conclusions document of any explicit reference to the Geneva Convention despite France's support for such a reference, Mr Chirac replied that is was not absolutely necessary and did not change anything in terms of the substance.
Commenting on the Council agreement for the EU to take over in Macedonia from the force that currently depends on NATO, Jacques Chirac said that an important step had been taken for a "defence Europe". In terms of whether military intervention in Iraq was appropriate, President Chirac said the matter had not been discussed since it was not an issue of the moment, asserting that it was a matter of query and speculation at this stage that would be answered by the return of the UN weapons inspectors to Iraq.
The French Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, hailed the success of the "first European summit after the euro" and the adoption of various decisions in the direction of greater European integration, but that also drew the citizen closer to Europe, such as the learning of two languages from a young age, stepping up trans-European networks and the Galileo programme, which strengthen trade and communication between Europeans. Lionel Jospin said they had consolidated their common vision of the European social model, which he saw as the vital point. Satisfied that a better balance had been struck between modernising the European economy and regulating the markets, he said that it was because progress had been decided upon in terms of regulating and strengthening public services that they had agreed to open up the energy market in 2004 for business customers.
In an address on Friday afternoon, the French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin not only mentioned the conditions that France argues have to be met for liberalising energy markets, but also conditions for the internal transport market. He laid particular emphasis on France's priority being implementing the measures in the rail package adopted in December 2000 and then assessing the impact of the measures in terms of safety, quality of service and its social impact. He tersely commented that a second round would be premature at the moment. On the Single European Sky, he said they were keen for the Commission to continue its work to create the Single Sky, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity and the prerogatives of state public service in terms of air navigation, information and alerts (alluding to military surveillance, Ed).
Gerhard Schröder stresses maintenance of Germany's industrial structure
At the final press conference, Chancellor Schröder said that Germany has to be able to maintain its "production structure", specifically mentioning vehicles and chemicals, adding that "Prodi has understood". Gerhard Schröder announced that the European Commissioners concerned with industrial policy would soon be taking part in a meeting in Berlin on the issue. He noted that some candidate countries had similar countries that one had to be aware of and take into account.
Silvio Berlusconi stresses labour market flexibility
The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he was extremely satisfied with the Summit Conclusions concerning the flexibility of labour market flexibility and the mandate for the European Commission to adopt as soon as possible the measures needed to guarantee the freedom of circulation in the face of problems posed by restrictions on heavy goods vehicles using various trans-European routes. Mr Berlusconi (who suffered from food poisoning and therefore missed half of Friday's Summit, doubly absent in the sense that he is also Italy's Foreign Minister) said he had strongly raised the question of Alpine connections with France.
Paavo Liiponen satisfied with Conclusions on northern dimension
The European Union is like a train that sometimes stops at a station, but we're now moving and can head for new challenges, commented the Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen, noting that in a family like ours, we have to take account of the political realities of each member, referring to the French position. But he pointed out that Finland had managed to get the Conclusions on public services to stipulate that even public services must abide by competition rules. He said he was pleased that the Summit Conclusions called on the council, Member States and EIB to combine their efforts to solve the financial and technical problems that were currently holding back the full implementation of the Gothenburg European Council Conclusions in terms of the Partnership for the Environment in the framework of the North.
Bertie Ahern announces second referendum on Nice Treaty in September or October
The Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern announced to his colleagues for the first time on Friday evening that a second referendum on the Nice Treaty would be held in Ireland in September or October 2002, following the rejection of the Treaty in the referendum in June 2001 (when only 34.7% of the population turned out to vote and with a gap of only 16,000 votes between the Yes and No votes). The Taoiseach said that Ireland had no intention of re-opening negotiations over the Treaty and said he would be presenting the 21/22 June Seville European Council with a declaration confirming that the Nice Treaty in no way jeopardised Ireland's traditional neutrality. General elections will be taking place in Ireland at the beginning of May.
Asked about this question at the press conference, José Maria Aznar recognised that the ratification of the Nice Treaty was necessary for progress in enlarging the European Union and that the European Council would support all the Irish government's initiatives in this connection.
Guy Verhofstadt: Social Summit with social partners to be held before each spring European Council in future
The Lisbon process is progressing well, the European social agenda has been strengthened, Belgium will have liberalised its gas and electricity market before the date set by the Summit (1/1/2007) and the 6th Framework Programme for Research and Development will be approved by the end of 2002 by all the European bodies - results highlighted by Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. He was particularly pleased that the Barcelona Conclusions clearly mentioned strengthening the social agenda and that the Social Summit with the European social partners would now be held every year before the spring Summit. Another area of satisfaction for Mr Verhofstadt - modernising and liberalising the market. The issue that was discussed here in Barcelona, he said, was the question of liberalising the gas and electricity markets. For the first time, a great step forward has been taken because we agreed on liberalising the markets in 2004 for businesses and on taking a decision by the end of 2003 for households. There is the political will to liberalise as fast as possible in Belgium because it will cut costs for business and consumers, said the Prime Ministers, adding that a regulator has been set up, the network manager will be up and running in the very near future and there were specific guarantee measures for consumers on a low income. He explained that 30% of the gas and electricity market in Belgium would be liberalised at the beginning of 2003, 80% on 1 July 2003, 87% on 1 January 2005 and 100% on 1 January 2007 and if all goes to plan total liberalisation would be achieved in 2005!
Another positive outcome for Guy Verhofstadt was the fact that before the middle of 2002, the 6th Framework Research Programme will be finally approved by all bodies. The Prime Minister said it was important for the Belgian Commissioner, Philippe Busquin, who had invested a great deal in the issue. Spending on R&D should rise by 3% of GDP by 2010, he added.
In terms of the Monterrey Conference on the funding of development aid, Guy Verhofstadt said that the Summit Conclusions document incorporated a Belgian declaration (supported by various other delegations such as the Netherlands and Sweden) to increase official development aid to 0.7% by the deadline of 2010, as laid down at Laeken. Moreover, on a proposal from Belgium, the Council agreed that the ECOFIN Council should proceed to reduce or defer debt repayments of the 49 poorest countries in the world.
Concerning the Solana report on how the Council operates, Guy Verhofstadt said that the problem of how the spring Summit was made up would be discussed at the Seville European Council. The Belgian Prime Minister feels it is important for Employment Ministers to take part in the spring Summit along with Foreign Ministers.
Blair: Energy market liberalisation plan changes gear
The British Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed the change of gear in the plan to liberalise gas and electricity markets, which all delegations (including the French) had agreed to, representing a change in economic philosophy in Europe. The success of Barcelona was a sign of the United Kingdom's wisdom, concluded Tony Blair.
Kok: Lisbon process is well underway
The Lisbon ship has reached cruising speed and a balance between the economic and social aspects has been struck in the Barcelona Conclusions, explained the Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok, adding that he was very satisfied with the results of the day, particularly the importance given to the knowledge-based society and new technology and the fact that candidate countries had attended a European Council for the first time (Wim Kok described it as a "symbolic meeting"), not forgetting the Solana report on the composition of the Council.
Jean-Claude Juncker sees EIB EuroMediterranean Bank facility as good sense
Commenting on the agreement to liberalise the energy market, the Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said that French sentimentality about public service was not exclusive to Paris. He confirmed with pleasure that the joint Luxembourg-Austria initiative to step up the monitoring of lorry drivers had been accepted.
On Javier Solana's report setting out reform suggestions for both the European Council and the General Affairs Council, Mr Juncker said that he opposed making the Council's work transparent on the grounds that the European Union does not operate like a country, and this means that discussions should be held behind closed doors. He said it was important, however, for the decisions taken to be explained to citizens, which would prevent any nonsense from big countries, he added.
On the agreement on the EIB facility for the EuroMediterranean Bank, Jean-Claude Juncker said it was a choice that made good sense since the EIB is present and active in the region and it was not necessary to look further.
In terms of whether Christian Noyer should be appointed Vice-President of the European Central Bank, Mr Juncker said that Luxembourg was prepared and willing to present a candidate who could win consensus in the event of deadlock but added that they were modest, implying that others who were less modest would be brought down a peg in the near future.
Antonio Guterres says EU has taken necessary step for energy market liberalisation
On behalf of Portugal, Antonio Guterres said that the European Council Conclusions struck a fair balance between the desires of the countries pursuing economic reform most strongly and those motivated by more social concerns. The consensus agreed upon for liberalising the energy market was satisfactory, in his view, since liberalising the household market was very complex technically.
The Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson highlighted the setting up of an integrated financial service market, the Single European Sky and the liberalisation of the energy markets. He called for demographic changes in the EU to be taken into account to a greater extent in pensions systems.
The Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel again spoke up for "little countries" in the EU, categorically rejecting various ideas promoted by Javier Solana in terms of reforming the European Council and the Council of Ministers. He argued in particular for Foreign Ministers to retain their horizontal co-ordination role of Council work.
The Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis welcomed the fact that the social strand had been fully incorporated in the Summit Conclusions and the fact that the Social Summit had been "institutionalised", with the next spring European Council taking place under the Greek Presidency of the European Union.
In the next issue, EUROPE will report on the candidate countries' press conferences.
Below we publish the full Conclusions and the Declaration on the Middle East that were adopted by the European Union's Heads of State at the Barcelona European Council