Brussels, 14/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - Spanish prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Monday, after a mini-summit in Madrid (the first of its kind) with French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, that old Europe was as good as new. There was a general meeting of minds in Madrid on the EU Constitution, building a European area of freedom and justice, the common defence policy and future enlargements of the EU.
Turning the page on the Aznar era, the new Spanish prime minister's first big political act was to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq, thereby joining the camp of the countries opposing the coalition-led war. Speaking of Iraq at a press conference at the end of the mini-summit, Jacques Chirac regretted that a Pandora's box had been opened that can't be shut. On institutional issues, Chirac, Schroder and Zapatero underlined their agreement on the importance of smoothly ratifying the European Constitution, which would enable the EU to work more effectively and better meet the concerns of citizens, along with having greater say in the world. He hoped there would be a massive Yes vote in the Spanish referendum on the Constitution (probably to be held on 27 February 2005). The German Chancellor said he would be working to ensure speedy ratification of the constitution by the German parliament. Jacques Chirac was given implicit support by Schroder and Zapatero in the difficult situation due to the position taken by former French prime minister Laurent Fabius. The French president said he would do his utmost to ensure the ratification campaign did not turn into a party-political affair. Schroder and Zapatero said that the constitution took good account of the European social identity.
In addition to the EU's Financial Perspectives for 2007-2013 (see other article), the three politicians discussed their July 2004 decision to launch a police records network, which other Member States have also been invited to join. On a common defence policy, they said Spain might take a full role in the Franco-German grouping to strengthen European capacity to respond to international crises. The three leaders agreed that the requests by Romania and Bulgaria to join the EU should be supported, but said Turkey had to step up its 'substantial efforts' in the implementation of reforms to meet the Copenhagen criteria. They said that the European Commission's report on Turkey, due to be unveiled on 6 October, would form the basis of the decision by the European Council in December on whether or not to open accession negotiations with Turkey.