Luxembourg, 02/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - The seven countries (Benelux, Finland, Portugal, Austria and Ireland) that generally share the same idea of Europe, confirmed during their summit on Tuesday evening in Luxembourg that they are opposed to abolition of the Council's rotating presidency. They did not, however, give details of their position.
During this informal meeting intended for preparing the exchange of views on the future of the institutions to be held on 16 April in Athens, on the sidelines of the Accession Treaty signing ceremony, the seven wished to explain to Europeans how European democracy works and that there are positions which are not necessarily the same as the positions of the most visible, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker commented. A meeting of the seven candidate countries, less Poland and Turkey, is to be organised on the morning of 16 April, he announced.
It came as no surprise when, during their meeting in Luxembourg, the seven restated their agreement on the broad principles: maintaining Community method, balanced institutions, equality of all Member States, "notable" extension of the qualified majority vote and of codecision. They are not hostile to the idea of a "foreign minister" who would wear the same hat as the current CFSP Permanent Representative, Javier Solana, and External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten. They consider that the Commission should always be composed of one representative per Member State up to 27 Member States, after which there could be a reduction in the numbers, as the Treaty of Nice provides, albeit respecting the principle of equality between Member States, commented Jean-Claude Juncker. They also hope that the Convention timetable will be kept, that is: consensus this summer if possible and, after a pause for reflection, beginning the Intergovernmental Conference in the autumn.
They are opposed, on the other hand, to the Franco-German proposals on the Council Presidency as, as Jean-Claude Juncker summarised: "we believe that the enlarged EU does not need new institutions" and that "certain proposals could make the EU slide towards the intergovernmental method". A Council President elected outside the Council "could create a second Commission and make the president of the Commission a secretary or an assistant of the Council president". "We want the Commission to keep all its rights and all its potential", he specified.
The Heads of Government of the seven nonetheless remained very evasive about the possible alternatives and adjustments of a presidency for certain Council formations, a subject that still divides them. Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, said, for example, that he was pleased with the fact that the "group had remained on a single track" and specified that, although the seven worked on areas where there is consensus, they did not enter into details. The Memorandum adopted by the Benelux, on 4 December, affirms that status quo is no longer a viable option for ensuring the effectiveness of the Council's work in an enlarged Europe but that the proposal of designating a long-term president of the European Council from outside the members of the European Council does not fulfil the conditions of equality between Member States. The Memorandum leaves the door open to certain adjustments for external relations and the General Affairs Council, but "I do not say that there is agreement on these differences", Jean-Claude Juncker said. In his view, however, the opposition of the seven closes the debate, which should not be taken to the IGC, since there is no consensus between Member States on this solution.
No new participants for defence summit?
Belgium, moreover, does not seem to have managed to rally new States to its draft summit on European defence on 29 April with France, Germany and Luxembourg. The subject is not on the agenda, Jean-Claude Juncker insisted. "This is an idea of open and not closed ad hoc cooperation", the Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt stressed. Refusing to give a clear indication as to his participation, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende declared that he had not received an invitation. He nonetheless told a group of journalists that discussions on European defence should take place within the Convention. European defence "without the United Kingdom is unthinkable" and beginning work between certain Member States without the British would only strengthen the image of European Union division, he remarked. Portuguese Prime Minister José Manuel Durao Barroso simply said for his part that "we want to get to know the project better in order to take a definitive position. Everything to do with Europe interests us". Whatever, Portugal is "in favour of a European defence identity that does not go against our Euro-Atlantic alliance".