Stresa, 15/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - During the informal meeting of Finance Ministers in Stresa over the weekend, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Finland confirmed that they prefer not to amend the draft Constitution presented by the Convention. Ministers held a detailed discussion on the base for a document presented by the Economic and Financial Committee for preparing the Intergovernmental Conference, Council President Giulio Tremonti said after the meeting. The aim of Italy is for the text to be approved as such, he said. Nonetheless, "in the event of" changes being envisaged in the budgetary and financial chapters of the draft Constitution, the Finance Ministers specified their stance before the Intergovernmental Conference on reform of the Treaty is opened, on 4 October in Rome. "On Thursday, the Commission will present its point of view which does not always correspond to that of the economic and financial committee, but we do agree on most subjects", Commissioner Pedro Solbes assured.
In keeping with the document (see EUROPE of 12 September, p.10), Finance Ministers will mainly look at the budgetary deficit procedure proposed by the Commission, providing for it to make "recommendations" rather and "proposals" concerning excessive deficit, which would allow ministers to amend these recommendations by majority and not by unanimity. Commissioner Pedro Solbes recalled that the Commission is expected to express opposition to this change. Some of the Finance Ministers also hope to return to the budgetary procedures proposed. The Netherlands mainly urged for the budget to be adopted by unanimity. The United Kingdom pointed out that it would prefer a unanimous vote but that, if the annual Community budget were adopted by qualified majority, then the financial perspectives should be adopted only by the Council without intervention from the European Parliament. Ministers also discussed procedures for appointing the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, during discussions with its President, Wim Duisenberg, who reserved his stance pending the publication of the ECB opinion for the IGS, next Thursday.