Strasbourg, 05/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - During Wednesday's discussion on the Danish Presidency of the Council of Europe, MEPs largely came out in favour of the priorities, although the debate was used by a number of Danish MEPs to attack their government and for German MEPs to extend their domestic election campaign to a European level. (See the interventions made by Mr Rasmussen and Mr Prodi in EUROPE 4 July p 11).
The Chairman of the EPP/DE group, Hans-Gert Pöttering said that if the Danish Presidency wanted to succeed with enlargement, it had to strongly resist all attempts to impose new conditions (a reference to Chancellor Schröder's position on direct aid to farmers). The CDU MEP also confirmed that a date for negotiations with Turkey was not expected to be fixed under the Danish Presidency. The President of the Socialist group, Enrique Baron wanted to know why the Danish Presidency when discussing immigration, only spoke of Seville and appeared to be forgetting Tampere. He also regretted that Mr Rasmussen has not uttered a word about the Convention and asked him whether he was in favour of the Community method or a directorate. The Danish Prime Minister assured him that he was in favour of the Community method. The President of the Liberal group, Graham Watson, asserted that people's fears on enlargement needed to be addressed but without imposing new conditions. Mr Watson also called on the Danish Presidency to go further than the "timid" measures of Seville to achieve greater transparency. Danish MEP (GUE/NGL), Pernille Frahm handled criticism of her country in the field of immigration, aid and development, and relations with the USA, rather diplomatically. She told Belgian, Nell Maes (Green/ALE), "You come from a small country like me" and asked Mr Rasmussen how he saw the role of the regions inside an enlarged Europe, with far more small countries. Mogens Camre (Union for a Europe of Nations) asked a similar question regarding agriculture and wanted to know why this reform was not a preliminary condition and that if it was postponed until after enlargement, it would be impossible. His compatriot Jens-Peter Bond, President of the Europe of Democracies and Diversities, stressed the need for supporting farmers' income rather than agricultural products and called for flexible transitional periods to take into account of candidates' difficulties. Olivier Dupuis (Lista Bonino) asked the Danish Presidency whether it would be willing to include Israel and Georgia as candidates, which are both at the gateway of the Caucasus. Danish Social Democrat, Torben Lund wanted to know whether enlargement would just benefit an educated elite. Social Democrat, John Hume, called on the Danish Presidency to not forget the principles that are at the heart of European construction (and at the heart of the peace process in his native Northern Ireland) and work together to defend collective interests. Bruno Gollnisch of the Front National complimented Denmark on its European policy, that it consulted its people and took into account what it said. He pointed to the existence of the Crown and the Danish economy and how they were doing rather well outside the Euro-zone. He claimed that Denmark had proved that it was possible to participate in the EU without sacrificing everything to the Brussels system and that "firmness pays off".