Brussels, 19/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - The General Affairs Council came to an end on Wednesday in agitation and uncertainty regarding the possibility that the European Council on Thursday and Friday could simply be cancelled, depending on the latest developments in the Iraq crisis (President Bush's deadline which would cast doubt about whether all EU Heads of State and Government -mainly Tony Blair if British forces are deployed in military action) would be present. At the time of going to press today, the Summit was still on but with a reduced agenda, since the debate on the European Convention foreseen for Thursday evening with Valéry Giscard d'Estaing has been postponed.
During the Summit, "we shall be concerned of course by the international situation", Georges Papandreou told the press. He explained the fact that the debate on the Convention had been deferred due to the "possibility of war" in Iraq, specifying that such a debate could be organised "around the signing of the Accession Treaty by the future EU Member States" (scheduled for 16 April in Athens). In answer to questions on the consequences of postponing the debate on the Convention regarding the general timetable for work by the Convention, Mr Papandreou replied that the "Council's decisions do not affect either the work or the timetable of the Convention".
The Lisbon strategy naturally remains on the agenda. Greek Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis gave a list of the EU's priorities for respecting the Lisbon strategy, as well as a catalogue of measures to be taken over the next twelve months in order to achieve this.
Organisation of the European Summit: The Summit will begin on Thursday at 19h00 with a meeting between the Heads of Government and the President of the European Parliament, Pat Cox. At 20h00, the Heads of State and Government will have a discussion on the Iraq crisis, a discussion that will be prolonged during the dinner with the Foreign Ministers. The dinner will also provide an opportunity to discuss the Middle East and the Balkans. During a separate dinner, the Finance Ministers will discuss the international economic situation.
On Friday, the Heads of State and Government will discuss with the Foreign and Finance Ministers on the Lisbon strategy. The Summit is expected to end during the afternoon.
Lisbon strategy: The top EU priorities concerning the reform programme finalised in Lisbon must, according to the Presidency, be to:
1) increase the number of jobs and social cohesion and make employment possibilities accessible to all;
2) give priority to innovation and to the entrepreneurial spirit with emphasis on research and development;
3) strengthen the internal market;
4) protect the environment, in the interest of growth and employment.
In order to implement these priorities, the Council proposes a catalogue of measures to be taken in the next twelve months, namely:
- creation of a European Task Force on Employment;
- strengthened EU support for knowledge and innovation;
- deadlines for finally reaching agreement on several "key" issues (energy market, takeover, etc.);
- adopting conclusions on maritime safety especially after the Prestige oil tanker disaster, by calling among other things for the implementation of the Erika I and Erika II packages and for the adoption of the European Commission's proposal on criminal penalties in the case of marine pollution;
- reaffirming the determination to strengthen cohesion within the EU and ensure that the EU plays a leading role in promoting sustainable development.
Furthermore, as Costas Simitis points out in his letter to his colleagues, "we shall convene as the Council at the level of Heads of State or Government in order to adopt the amendment to Article 10(2) of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, concerning the voting procedure at the ECB".
At the same time, over lunch the EU's foreign ministers will discuss with their counterparts from the 13 acceding and candidate countries developments in the Middle East, North Korea and Cyprus. At a separate working lunch with acceding and candidate countries finance ministers, the EU's finance ministers will discuss "structural changes and better integration of the Lisbon objectives in the policies of the acceding and candidate countries". (See also Europe of 15 March, p.5.)