Strasbourg, 20/11/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, in plenary, the Italian Presidency and the European Commission made declarations requested by the European Parliament on the second plan of action on the Northern Dimension from 2004 to 2006. The Commission, the President-in-Office of the Council, Roberto Antonione, said, will keep its role of guide, but all the interested parties (regions, businesses) should be more involved in the plan, which concerns five top priority areas and meets two fundamental principles: opening up to all those who are interested, subsidiary and complementarity.
The first plan is coming to its end, and the Commission will present in coming weeks a comprehensive assessment of its results, Günter Verheugen said, being somewhat disappointed by the unenthusiastic response from most MEPs (all Finns except one, British Liberal Diane Wallis), who took part in the three ministerial meetings which preceded the adoption of the first plan and which also formulated some criticism (mainly on the failed creation of a forum for the Northern Dimension). Mr Verheugen was particularly upset by the remarks by Ilkka Suominen (EPP/ED), who maintains that the Lithuanians were not sufficiently informed about the way the Commission settled the question of Kaliningrad with Russia. Mr Verheugen said this was not at all the case as everything was decided directly with Lithuania and that he had personally covered the issue with the Lithuanian president. The criticism expressed by Finnish national Esko Olavi Seppänen (Nordic Green Left) were not addressed to the Commission but to the two last Council presidencies, of Greece and Italy, which neglected the Northern Dimension. On substance, Mr Seppänen thinks that cooperation must be between peoples rather than between businesses and that Europe should above all export its quality of life and democracy.