Brussels, 24/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - The first reactions to the outcome of the European Council of Seville range from a certain amount of satisfaction by some for the compromise found on relations with third countries regarding immigration and discontent among others for the same reasons, to fairly generalised concern for the risk of delay in accession negotiations.
Thus, the President of the EPP-Ed Group in the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, concerning the problem of direct aid to farmers in candidate countries, was concerned at the "postponement, secured by Chancellor Schroeder, for a clarification on this important issue". He does, however, consider that the reforms agreed by the European Council and Council are "a step forward", even though he would have preferred that the role of the General Affairs Council should have been made more explicit, along the lines of a "Council of ministers for European Affairs, responsible for legislative work". The creation of a "ministry for European Affairs" is essential, especially for Germany, said Hartmut Nassauer, also MEP on the CDU list, who, moreover, regretted that, at Seville, they did not manage to reach agreement on sanctions, including a "reduction in aid to development" to uncooperative countries. The Green/EFA Group precisely welcomed this last result: "we have not to wage war on illegal immigration, impression that was given in the past few weeks, but devise a reasonable policy", exclaimed Monica Frassoni, the Group's co-chair, ad her colleague Nelly Maes also laced emphasis on a "more balanced policy" and an increase in aid to development.
Concerning immigration and asylum, relief dominates within Amnesty International, whose EU director, Dick Oosting, hoped that the decisions taken in Seville in this debate offered a "human rights perspective" that is very necessary. The declared war against illegal immigration had become so "incandescent that almost everyone saw that the EU was going too far in the unilateral tendency of keeping people outside and sending them back at any cost", he comments, speaking in favour of "constructive pressure to secure changes in favour of human rights in countries where people flee persecution, conflicts and privation, and guarantees for the safety of those who are repatriated".
As for Greenpeace, its spokesperson at the European Council of Seville, Emilio Rull, welcomed the plan for sustainable development that the Heads of State and Government decided upon to defend at the Johannesburg Summit, stating: "Europe must now launch a diplomatic campaign to achieve its objectives (…), otherwise the Seville Agreement will remain a paper tiger". And, noting that Spain was the EU country the most behind in respecting the Kyoto Protocol (greenhouse gas emissions increased by 33.7% despite Kyoto's authorisation to increase them by 15%, he said), he thought that "without the lack of political will of the Spanish Government, in Seville, the EU would have called on Russia and Canada to urgently ratify the Kyoto Protocol".
John Palmer, Director of The European Policy Centre, for his part, considers that the European Council "displayed encouraging common sense by throwing out wild suggestions by some Member states that poor countries deemed to be uncooperative over illegal immigration might be subject to EU economic sanctions". As for enlargement, he notes that the Danish Presidency is "extremely aware of the fact that the final and most delicate issues will have to be closed during an all too brief window of opportunity". Regarding the reform of the Council and European Council, he said that Seville had produced "reasonable measures" and that an attempt to anticipate the Convention on the future of Europe had been squashed. Mr. Palmer also turned to the Council's conclusions on the economic situation, and considered as "very significant" the allusion to economic uncertainty. As, he said, whereas the EU's economic perspectives were becoming increasingly positive, "some fear that the economy of the United States could (…) even follow Japan on the dangerous road to deflation". According to him, it is for that reason that EU experts are drawing attention to the margins that potentially exist in the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact to counter any new threat of recession stemming from world developments.