Brussels, 21/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn and deputy foreign minister Nicolas Schmit presented the priorities of the upcoming Luxembourg Presidency of the EU (1 January to 30 June 2005) to reporters on Tuesday. The main priorities will be concluding the negotiations over the 2007-2013 Financial Perspectives to reach agreement in principle in June 2005 on the Commission proposal; the mid-term review of the Lisbon Process, involving re-focussing priorities; reviewing the operation of the Stability and Growth Pact; signing the Accession Treaty with Bulgaria and Romania (probably on 25/26 April) and launching accession negotiations with Croatia ('which has to cooperate 100% with the International Tribunal', noted the ministers) on 17 March 2005. Asselborn said that the Luxembourg Presidency would be organising a meeting of EU heads of state with George W. Bush, when he visits Brussels on 22 February. Europe will return to this.
Meanwhile, Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters at a combined press conference with Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt after a joint Belgian and Luxembourg finance ministers meeting on Tuesday that it was necessary to reach agreement in June 2005 on the 2007-2013 Financial Perspectives, at the end of the Luxembourg Presidency simply because agreement in June 2005 would put us in a good position to do all the legislative work that has to be done so all programmes can be properly in place on 1 January 2007 when the new multi-annual Financial Perspectives come into force. Juncker said the final compromise on the Financial Perspectives would probably be somewhere between the current suggestions by net contributors (which want to limit the EU's budget to 1% of EU GNP) and the levels desired by Member States wanting the EU to have a more ambitious budget. On amendments to be made to the Stability Pact in the first half of 2005, Juncker said that while the Stability Pact was not stupid, it would be made more intelligent.
Verhofstadt said that Belgium would help the Luxembourg Presidency in its work, providing diplomats for various technical working groups and in representations to the UN in New York, the WTO in Geneva and the OECD in Paris. Belgian diplomats would stand ready to help Luxembourg at any moment during its six months presidency.
Juncker hailed the provisional application of the bilateral agreement on cross-border police intervention, which provides guarantees for intense cooperation between the Luxembourg and Belgian police forces (including the right to track property in the other country). The agreement, commented Juncker, will also enable the future Luxembourg Presidency to make use of Belgian police, where necessary, for example to police the huge number of European events and demonstrations in Luxembourg in its six month presidency.