Brussels, 17/05/2004 (Agence Europe) - The main progress made at the end of the first morning of the Intergovernmental Conference, in Brussels on Monday, will doubtless be the broad consensus on the formula combining bi-annual rotation and collegiality for the Presidency of the Council configurations. Much simpler than the system of Presidency teams rotating at the head of each configuration, the new system would keep six-monthly rotations, allowing one Member State to preside all configurations, but straddled by the former and previous State in the role. These two "vice-presidencies", as they are referred to by various Ministers, will help to guarantee better continuity of the action of the Presidency, which would, de facto, become collegial by nature. Several Ministers also stressed that the Treaty should mention the principle, but leave the organisation up to the Council, in order to allow a certain flexibility.
In other fields, difficulties subsist and this is most particularly the case on all things to with money. There is a huge gulf between those which, like Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, want an automatic crossover to qualified majority for decisions on pluri-annual financial programming (after the next financial framework) and the Netherlands, which insists on keeping unanimity. The French Minister Michel Barnier reminded the meeting, and then the press conference, how difficult it will be to reach an agreement by unanimity, with twenty-five countries today and tomorrow twenty-seven, or more. Although on budgetary procedure, France, with a majority of other Member States, declared a willingness to accept the co-decision formula proposed by the Irish Presidency, others, such as Belgium, with the support of the Commission, indicated that they would not accept this proposal unless it had the approval of the European Parliament.
The Ministers also discussed the request by Finland and Sweden, supported by Denmark, Estonia and Slovenia, on keeping unanimity in the field of trade for issues related to services, especially in the fields of culture, education, health and social protection. On these aspects, and on others, the definitive solution could come from a declaration recognising the sovereignty of the Member States in these areas.
On Court of Justice controls on excessive deficit procedures, France, Belgium and Luxembourg came out in favour of review of legality, but opposed to controls of opportunity.
The subjects the Irish Presidency considered acquired after the "focal points" meeting in Dublin on 4 May still do not have unanimity. Several Ministers raised objections on certain issues. Taking the known positions of the European Commission, the Belgian Louis Michel explained to his colleagues that the procedure for the revision of part III of the Constitutional Treaty on the Union's policies "remain too rigid", and that the possibility for a single national parliament to block the passage to ordinary legislative procedure is "excessive". Michel Barnier and Louis Michel also criticised steps backwards on Eurojust and the freezing of assets limited to the fight against terrorism (see EUROPE of 15 May, p.5).
The Intergovernmental Conference will take up its work again this Tuesday morning, with two other delicate subjects: qualified majority voting and the composition of the European Commission.
Elmar Brok and Klaus Hänsch generally pleased, but concerned about budgetary procedure
and explanations on Charter of Fundamental Rights
Parliament representatives at the IGC, Elmar Brok (CDU) and Klaus Hänsch (SPD), state in a press release that they are generally pleased with the way the meeting has unfolded but consider that ideas discussed in relation to budgetary procedure and "explanations" on the Charter of Fundamental Rights "still present serious problems" at the European Parliament. The budgetary issue will be "decisive for the European Parliament when it is called upon to express its opinion on the draft Treaty", they warn, saying it is unacceptable to reduce the budgetary paowers that Parliament already has. Also, MEPs are opposed to including an "explanatory declaration" on the Charter of Fundamental Rights (Ed.: as the British request). They say that, in coming days, it will be necessary to work hard to "avoid a drawback on the matter". On the subject of the Council Presidency, they are said to agree that only the major principles be set out in the Constitution, whereas the detailed functioning of the rotating system would be the subject of an annex adopted by the Euroepan Council by qualified majority.