Brussels, 16/07/2003 (Agence Europe) - Pascal Lamy, European Commission responsible for trade policy, said that the provisions on trade policy (and above all on the aspect of this policy relating to cultural issues), included in the draft European constitutional treaty, are a battle won. In a stance published in Le Figaro of 15 July, he states that the current text allows trade policy to make a real qualitative jump forward compared to the Nice Treaty, for two reasons:
a) by giving the European Parliament the power of codecision equal to that of the Council, the constitutional treaty "guarantees the legitimacy and transparency of the system";
b) by almost completely generalising the qualified majority voting practice, this treaty gives the EU the means to have more influence for better world governance because in the "logic of veto and retreat, we are able to substitute a logic of initiative and movement". It will be possible to no longer limit trade policy to market opening, but it could be completed and framed by general application rules.
Concerning the culture and audiovisual fields in particular, Mr Lamy states that the Convention has reached a good compromise. First of all, the principle of cultural diversity is recalled as a common value and aim of trade policy. The vote by unanimity will come into play if there is damage to cultural diversity and "will therefore be a safeguard". Furthermore, the European Parliament (736 MEPs from 25 Member States) would never, through its new powers, allow a fundamental Union value to be brought into question by a trade agreement. At the same time, qualified majority will be "the rule and cruising speed" and will allow the Union to insist on its offensive interests in cultural matters and protect its interests against third countries.
By way of conclusion, Pascal Lamy says that, within ten years, they have gone from a defensive vision of culture to an offensive project for the promotion of European values in the world.