Estoril, 18/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - As the Congress of the European People's Party opened on Thursday, in Estoril, EPP President Wilfried Martens recalled the success of the EPP member parties in various European countries since the beginning of the year and mainly welcomed the victories of the RPR in France and PSD in Portugal. He also stressed the new challenge facing Mr Schüssel and Mr Balkenende in Austria and the Netherlands respectively, before speaking of the fight against terrorism, illegal immigration, the trade in human beings, organised crime, drugs and corruption. With regard to the second referendum on the Treaty of Nice in Ireland, he received a message from representatives of candidate countries signed above all by Messrs Michnik, Wajda, Zanussi and Mazowiecki, calling on the Irish people to say "yes". Mr Martens also stressed the importance of the position that the Congress should take when it adopts, on Friday afternoon, a document on the elaboration of a European Constitution (see EUROPE of 23/24 September, p.6). After having recalled the various stages in the drafting of this document (proposal by Mr Schäuble, his own contribution and those of other eminent persons, like Mr Lamassoure), Mr Martens insisted on the need to strengthen the effectiveness of the EU, mainly on the international scene, to clarify the sharing of powers, guarantee respect of the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, and strengthen the Community method by respecting the balance between the institutions.
The president of the EPP Group at the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering (CDU), insisted on the Christian identity of the group which "gathers Christians of every creeds". He added that what unites them is the "Christian vision of Man", adding that it is from this that the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity spring. Mr Pöttering reaffirmed that the candidate countries must fulfil existing criteria but that one must not set new accession conditions. He recalled the roles played by Solidarnosc and Jean-Paul II for political change in Central and Eastern Europe. He also urged for the Community method, stating that, in the intergovernmental system, it is the large countries that decide and the small that are kept down. He hoped the future treaty could be signed in Rome in 2003 to give the EU a Constitution. While giving his support to enlargement, the Portuguese Prime Minister José Manuel Durao Barroso expressed concern about the fact that the EU's nature could change to become less "Community" in future. "The EU is not and will never be an intergovernmental union or a super federal State", he said, insisting on the need to safeguard the distinctive character of European construction, to define powers while guaranteeing a certain amount of flexibility, and to respect the principle of solidarity. "It is not possible to build such an important venture without the notion of Community", said Mr Durao Barroso before taking a stance in favour of including the Charter in the future Treaty. The PSD and Portugal will never be able to accept a solution that would create a "directorate", he added, urging for a union that respects equality between States. He went on to affirm that the future Treaty should weaken neither the Commission nor the Parliament. "Europe must structure its defence", said French Prime Minister Jean-Claude Raffarin, who also affirmed that "the world lacks Europe", and who promised that his government and the new majority will be more present in Europe. While pressing for "reinforcement of the institutional triangle and balance of powers", he said that what is proposed by the Convention and by Mr Lamassoure "is along the right lines". "My dear Silvio, we have the prospect of a new Treaty of Rome", he added, addressing Mr Berlusconi. Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar, who also spoke of the prospects of enlargement and the fight against terrorism, said it is necessary to respect the original nature of the European institutions which can be neither intergovernmental nor federal. "The true debate is not between small and big States but between small ideas and big ambitions", the Luxembourg Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, said. Mr Juncker felt that, today, it is necessary to "conceive an architecture for 2050". "Europe does not need another President, Congress or Senate", he said, considering it is better to open the road to gradual reduction of the governmental method to the benefit of greater Community coherence. "One day, Europe should also extend to the Russian Federation", declared Silvio Berlusconi, evoking the Christian traditions and roots of this country. He went on to explain that Russia's membership would give Europe the dimension required in its relations with the United States. After single currency, he said, we must move towards a common foreign policy and common Army.
On Friday afternoon, the EPP adopted its platform to support a strong Europe. EUROPE will come back to this.
The text adopted by the Congress was finally to speak of a Constitution for a strong "and federal" Europe