Strasbourg, 02/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - During Tuesday's debate on the results of the Spanish term of Presidency and the European Council of Seville, not only José Maria Aznar but also Romano Prodi welcomed the spirit of collaboration that existed between the institutions over the past months and which resulted, in Seville, in the decision to set up a "High Level Technical Group" for Interinstitutional Cooperation and to adopt an interinstitutional agreement by the end of the year to improve, as the Commission President said, "the quality of Community legislation and its transposition into national law".
In his speech, Romano Prodi noted, in particular, that "the new rules approved at Seville concerning the European Council and the other Council configurations and my ideas on revamping the College of Commissioners have much in common". Both initiatives "invoke organising the activities of each institution in a more flexible and simpler way, identifying a set of core areas and tasks and assigning them for coordination with clearly determined responsibilities". "The time is ripe. Creative solutions must be found right away with the instruments to hand - with the Treaties as they stand", he added, noting that "a coordinated and concerted approach is vital in efforts at streamlining under way in all the institutions" and that this is already "happening and practically on its own", with not only the Solana report and his own ideas "on reforming the way the Commission works all point in the same direction", but also the Corbett report adopted by the European Parliament. Mr Prodi reaffirmed that the impact of enlargement "must be assessed immediately, so the necessary measures can be put in place by the beginning of 2004 at the latest". But this must not encroach on work by the Convention as "the Convention is sacred", Mr Prodi again assured. Enlargement "is generating a ferment of reform throughout the EU", he stressed, saying he was optimistic about the results of the European Council of Copenhagen as, he said, "step by step we are overcoming the potential obstacles to a definitive decision on enlargement".
During the debate, the president of the EPP-ED Group, Hans-Gert Pöttering, welcomed the success of the Spanish Presidency with regard to terrorism, while saying that terrorism should not be assimilated with the Arab world but rather, in North Africa, that conditions should be created so that young people do not see emigration as the only solution. There was also praise from the CDU elected member for progress made on enlargement, but vehement criticism against Chancellor Schröder who now sets conditions in the agricultural area (Speaking before the press, Mr Pöttering also said that "in our view, the time has not come for fixing, under Danish Presidency, a date for the beginning of accession negotiations with Turkey". The report given by Enrique Baron, president of the Socialist Group, is harsher: in his view, the Presidency has systematically avoided all "hot" issues. Mr Baron is also opposed to the idea of a president of the European Council during five years. We do not want a return to the Romano-Germanic Empire but would prefer the Community method, he exclaimed. The Spanish Presidency has "outperformed my expectations", said the president of the Liberal Group, Graham Watson. The key criterion of the success of Seville was, for the Liberals, the acceptable conclusions on immigration and asylum: the debate went right to the heart of the problem, says Mr Watson, who regrets, however, the fact that José Maria Aznar "ran to play Don José to Tony Blair's Carmen". You have shown tremendous ability for adjustment, exclaimed Salvador Jové Peres, not without irony, speaking on behalf of the United Left/Nordic Greens Left Group. He remarked that "you have integrated the priority of immigration, but in a repressive view". Monica Frassoni, co-president of the Greens/EFA Group, was also ironical. She told Mr Aznar that the Presidency had pleased him so much that he had developed a vision where governments "remain the masters of the Union.". Irish national Gerard Collins (Union for a Europe of Nations) mainly welcomed the declarations adopted in Seville on Irish neutrality. Jens-Peter Bonde, president of the Europe of Democracies and Diversities, admits progress made with regards transparency, although he considers they do not go far enough. He criticises saying they were blocked by France and Luxembourg. In response to MEPs, José Maria Aznar defended himself against criticism concerning immigration and asylum. It is demagogy to think that the Union can have a real immigration policy without making a distinction between legal and illegal immigration, he exclaimed, while affirming that the Union's policy will be "positive". Regarding enlargement, he affirmed that decisions will be taken in November, and that he "hopes and wishes" the timetable will be respected.
President Prodi announced a Community initiative for Africa based on conclusions of the G8 Summit in Canada, and, in response to Ms Frassoni, he assured: the Directorate General on Development at the Commission would be maintained and even strengthened. There is no "plan B" or "side door" for the eventuality of a "no" to the Irish referendum on the Nice Treaty, he finally told Irish national April Doyle.