London, 03/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - As we mentioned (EUROPE of 1 March, p.6), in a joint Statement on Friday last on "The Union's Institutions", British and Spanish Prime Ministers, Tony Blair and Jose Maria Aznar confirmed their will to bolster the work of the Council, notably by correcting the system of the half-yearly rotation of the Presidency. Messrs. Blair and Aznar place emphasis on maintaining the balance of the institutional triangle and the "preservation of the essential characteristics" of the present Community method, stating that:
(1) the European Commission must be "strong and independent". Especially: - its right of initiative must be extended, particularly, in the area of justice and home affairs, "and in proposing the multi-annual strategic agenda to be adopted by the European Council"; - its role as guardian of the treaty needs strengthening; - the possibility of introducing a category of "delegated acts" for the Commission to implement framework laws needs exploring (see EUROPE of 1 March, p.3 for the proposals of the Convention's presidium); - the open method of co-ordination should also be included in the Treaty whilst preserving its flexibility; - the President should be appointed by a qualified majority in the European Council and subsequently approved by the European Parliament. "We are ready to consider other methods of appointment, but they must respect the key principles of democratic accountability and independence from political interference", say Blair and Aznar.
(2) the powers of the European Parliament must be developed further by: - application of the co-decision procedure and qualified majority voting in the Council into "some new areas"; - introduction of a "call-back" mechanism for "delegated acts"; - assessing the impact of new EU legislation; - holding the Commission to account; - "involvement in planning and implementing the European Council's strategic agenda". Spain and the United Kingdom also say they are "open to improving the way the EU's budget is set", as "it is right that the European Parliament's voice should be heard in all annual decisions on EU spending".
(3) the European Council: - must have a full-time "Chair" (rather than "Presidency", term also preferred by the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in his address in Natolin last week: see EUROPE of 1 March, p.5) for a much longer period than the current six months ("for four years"); - his/her system of appointment should ensure the respect of the principle of equality amongst Member States; - the essential functions of the Chair would be to prepare and preside over European Council meetings (this person could also chair General Affair Councils), give added profile to the external representation of the EU ("without prejudice to the High Representative's work or the Commission's competencies) and inform the European Parliament about the European Council's work. Messrs. Blair and Aznar do not stipulate whether this full time Chair should be a head of government in office or not.
(4) the Council of Ministers must: - "preserve its role", "be the Community institution where Member States express their opinion and reach common positions; - the system of six-month rotating presidencies must nevertheless be modified, replaced, for example, by a team of Member States holding a collective presidency during a two-year period, with a share out of posts or "portfolios" which could be fixed in advance (for example, each member of a four member team chairs two Council formations for six months. The idea would be "for each presidential period to coincide with the duration of one of the multi-annual strategic programmes agreed at the Seville European Council".
(5) the High Representative: would become a real Minister of Foreign Affairs/External Representative of the Union who, among other things, should chair the meetings of the Council of Ministers for external Affairs and participate at the Commission's meetings where proposals concerning the Union's external action are to be discussed"; - would have a formal right of initiative for common foreign and security matters.
(6) national parliaments: - should participate actively in the European Union's work, mainly and above all via an effective control of their national government's actions; - should receive new powers concerning the respect of subsidiarity in Commission proposals. The proposal (made by Valery Giscard d'Estaing: Ed.) of setting up a European Congress bringing together European and national MPs "is worth considering, if a useful role for it is agreed". According to Blair and Azenar, it could meet once a year and debate the European Council's guidelines and the Commission's work programme. In any case, it should be an informal political body.
(7) in the Court of justice, in particular: - there should be a better division of labour with the Court of First Instance and "judicial panels foreseen in the Treaty of Nice"; - the Courts names could be changed to reflect these roles; - clearer criteria should be envisaged for the appointment of judges and "some system to ensure the suitability of nominees, while fully respecting the sovereign rights of Member States to present their candidates".
Praesidium this week examines draft articles on EU finances and the area
of freedom, security and justice
After the informal session of 5 March, the Praesidium of the Convention is to meet for a day and a half, on 6 and 7 March, to discuss proposals of articles on Union finances and the area of freedom, security and justice. Furthermore, it is to examine an interim report by legal experts on the second part of the Treaty, on EU policies. The draft articles on JHA and on finance will be discussed, as will a "basic document" to be prepared by the Praesidium on the second part of the Treaty, during the plenary on 17 and 18 March. Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, Convention spokesperson, specified that the discussion on the European area of freedom, security and justice will not only cover the first part of the future constitutional treaty (as was the case for the articles dealt with so far) but also the second, concerning policies. He recalled that, with the report by the working group chaired by John Bruton, the Convention has already worked on the substance of JHA issues.
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in The Hague and at the EP
The spokesperson for Meyer-Landrut also announced that Chairman Valéry Giscard d'Estaing will be in The Hague on visit on 5 March, when he will meet the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister as well as Convention Members from the Netherlands (the informal session of 5 March will be chaired by Giuliano Amato).
On 6 March, VGE is to meet the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament.