Brussels, 20/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - At a special meeting of the European Parliament's Conference of Presidents of political groups (which all MEPs were able to attend, on an exceptional basis) on Thursday afternoon, the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, presented MEPs with an outline of a report the European Commission will be submitting to EU heads of state at the special Hampton Court Summit (near London) on 27 October for their discussions on the economic and social impact of globalisation that have helped people lose confidence in the European Union and its institutions (see other article). The main message of the Commission's report on 'European values in the globalised world', intended by Jose Manuel Barroso to be a wake-up call for Member States and European institutions: 'Modernisation is essential to continue keep Europe's historically high levels of prosperity, social cohesion, environmental protection and quality of life… unless we are able to change, the forces of global competition, the impact of new technologies and our ageing population will call our economic success and the financial viability of our social systems - pensions, welfare, health -into question. There is an urgent need to move ahead with economic reforms and the modernisation of our social systems.' Barroso said that to regain people's confidence, they had to be shown that the EU and its institutions could play a key role in a globalised world, leading and shaping the debate on globalisation. 'Europe must reform and modernise its policies to preserve its values,' he stressed.
Barroso said the Commission had tried to avoid two traps in its Communication - firstly, saying that there is a 'one size fits all' solution or magic wand, which there isn't; and secondly, the trap of wanting to compare different social models. Rather than pitting different social models against one another, the EU should focus on a series of common values on which there is consensus throughout Europe, to be kept and preserved despite globalisation. Barroso said the fundamental issue was whether the EU wanted to escape from globalisation and hide behind it or whether it would try to shape it with Europe's own values. The answer, he said, is obvious - Europe has to act to defend its principles and values because it is well-placed to address the challenges of globalisation as long as it updates its policies.
Against this backdrop, he said the European Commission wanted to send four political messages to the Hampton Court Summit. Firstly: the “status quo is not an option”. Despite progress in some areas, the current economic and social values have not been able to solve the problems of unemployment, low growth, poverty and social injustice in Europe; the EU, Member States, European institutions and social patterns (employers and trade unions) must work together to find 'common solutions to common challenges'; the application of decisions that have already been taken at both national and European level must be enhanced to improve growth and promote job creation: 'we have to deliver' commented Barroso with reference to the revised Lisbon Strategy; the Commission is prepared to explore new options like setting up a Globalisation Adjustment Fund to absorb the shocks that are part and parcel of globalisation (see below) or developing a 'common approach' to energy policy.
Commission unveils five new ideas to facilitate the British Presidency's task in reaching
agreement on the Financial Perspectives by the end of the year,
a 'highly urgent task' in Barroso's view
The European Union's 2007-2013 Financial Perspectives play a vital role in the EU's efforts to modernise its policies and adapt to globalisation, said Barrroso. In a letter to Tony Blair, President of the EU Council, and Josep Borrell Fontelles, Barroso stressed that “a deal, by the end of this year, on Financial Perspectives is central to the credibility and effectiveness of our enlarged Europe. The cost of no agreement will be huge in terms of delayed convergence, poor growth and lost jobs. And this cost will be borne by the poorest areas of the Union.” While the Financial Perspectives are not officially on the agenda of the Hampton Court Summit, Barroso said the British Presidency could not avoid a debate on this vital issue. Barroso highlighted that this would be an open exchange of views rather than negotiations per se. In order to 'facilitate' the British Presidency's work on the Financial Perspectives, the Commission unveiled five proposals on Thursday.
No financial figures are suggested (that would have been a mistake, said Barroso). The ideas aim to modernise the EU's budget by shifting expenditure to future-oriented policies like research, education and innovation, to promote growth and job creation, giving new impetus to competitiveness, rather than increasing the overall budget. Absorb the shocks that are part and parcel of globalisation.
Barroso said the Commission's five proposals were:
EU cohesion policy and spending should contribute more to the creation of jobs and boost growth. The Commission therefore recommends that, in future, each Member State devote an average minimum of 60% of total cohesion spending to support “new policies” that have a direct impact on competitiveness: research, education, enterprise services, major European infrastructures, etc. (before the press, Mr Barroso spoke of the “Lisbonisation” of EU spending). The minimum threshold for the most developed beneficiary countries should even be around 75%, he told the press. A similar provision could be set in place with regards rural development. This approach, Mr Barroso went on, would have the effect of increasing spending linked to the new Lisbon strategy to at least one third of the Union's budget.
The creation of a Globalisation Adjustment Fund which would offer a European response to help those adjusting to the consequences of globalisation by absorbing the social “shock” of major restructuring. This mechanism would not involve more bureaucracy, as the existing instruments and networks of the Structural Fund could be used. Nonetheless, access to extra resources to fuel this fund would be necessary, Mr Barroso said. The Fund would cover the training and the relocation of workers, as well as outplacement: the costs of action to help them find new jobs. It would not come within the financial framework (as is already the case for the Solidarity Fund) and would only be used as a crisis mechanism. The decision to use the Fund would be up to the Parliament and Council, of course, Mr Barroso pointed out. The mechanism, he stressed, will not be a support or a reward for companies that have not adjusted in time for globalisation, but would be used as a crisis mechanism to address significant economic and social shocks related to globalisation, he said.
Consolidation of current agricultural reforms. The 2002 agreement on agricultural spending until 2013 should be “fully respected”, Mr Barroso stressed, saying: “This is a matter of credibility”. It means that solutions must be reached within the budget earmarked for CAP, and the Commission suggests introducing more “dynamism” into agricultural spending by gradually shifting funds from direct aids for farmers to rural development. Increasing the pace of these shifts by 1% a year from 2009 would release extra funds to have a direct impact on growth and jobs in rural communities, Mr Barroso explained. It would also boost the funding for the Union's innovative conservation network, NATURA 2000, the president said.
Roadmap for review. There is a broad consensus within Council on the need for fundamental review of the EU budget. “This will take time, but it also needs to be carefully planned. Do you want an agreement on financial perspectives now or in several years' time?. An agreement is needed now, while ensuring the possibility of discussing the budget's future direction from a precise date on”. Hence the Commission's proposal to include a review clause that will allow fundamental review of the budget as of 2014. The review would be launched by the publication early 2009 of a Commission White Paper on modernisation of spending and revenue. Mr Barroso stressed there should be no taboos during the review.
Strengthening the EP's democratic control over EU external spending.
Speaking before the press after his presentation before the MEPs, Mr Barroso said he was pleased with the warm welcome that his proposals received at the EP (see below). He concluded by saying he trusted they would be able to leave the informal European Council at Hampton Court with the feeling of urgency and “common purpose” between Member States on the need to act in order to manage the consequences of globalisation.
Broadly favourable welcome from the MEPs
After President Barroso's address, Margot Wallström, vice-president in charge of Communication, set out to defend the "Plan D" of the Commission for the reflection period opened after the interruption of the ratification process of the Constitution, a plan which has met with a certain amount of reluctance on their part (see EUROPE 9041). This plan, I can assure you, "is more serious than just a public relations exercise", it is not the solution, but it is one element among many, and "democracy entails consulting the citizens", she said, saying that she failed to understand the criticism which had been levelled at the proposals of the Commission. Clearly, it is mostly up to the Member States to break this deadlock, but we have "much to do, and we must do it together", she added. We must "seek a new consensus, structure the debate", and the Commission has pledged to help the Member States to hold their own national debate and to launch initiatives at European level, Ms Wallström pointed out, calling upon the European Parliament to cooperate with these efforts. Furthermore, in answer to a question put by Jens-Peter Bonde, the Danish co-president of the Independence and Democracy group (who said that attempts were being made to "bring the Constitution back in through the back door "), she stressed that the Commission was in no way in favour of the idea of pre-empting and "cherry picking" certain aspects of the Constitution.
The MEPs' initial reactions to the ideas of the Commission well, for the most part, largely positive, save for the odd shade of reluctance and hints of scepticism, which were summed up by the leader of the Socialist group, Martin Schulz, who told President Barroso: it was a great pleasure to hear you, there are a great many good things in your speech, you are "on the right track", but are you going to "express things quite like that when you're speaking to the representatives of governments?". Speaking for the EPP-ED group, Marianne Thyssen hammered home the need to preserve the system of European values, and pleaded in favour of a new "Social Pact" between the Union and the Member States. Speaking for the ALDE group, Bernard Lehideux welcomed the proposal to create a buffer fund, calling for economic progress not to be made at the cost of "the protection of our social contract" (the French member also confirmed that his group was prepared to take an active part in efforts towards reaching agreement on the financial perspectives). The idea of the new fund did not please others of the MEPs, such as Gunnar Hökmark (EPP-ED, Sweden), who feels that it contains a logic of "subsidy" rather than one of reform. Speaking on behalf of the Greens/EFA, Jean Lambert gave an overall positive assessment of the proposals of the Commission (particularly as it relates to taking the impact of the energy crisis into account), but criticises the fact that the EU is not doing enough to fight poverty and exclusion (a concern which is shared by Belgian Socialist Anne Van Lancker and the Slovakian Independent member Irina Belohorska). Kartika Liotard, speaking for the GUE/NGL, was considerably harsher in tone, calling upon President Barroso not to "always align himself with the stronger side", and the President of the UEN group, Brian Crowley, said: let us take all the best things from each of our systems to have the best possible result at European level. Luxembourg Socialist Robert Goebbels sent out this warning: "a policy without resources is no more than empty words, we need financial perspectives which are more generous than the last compromise" (that of the Luxembourg Presidency). On the subject of the ageing of the European population, he noted that in 2020, "China's age pyramid will be even worse than ours", and the Americans, for their part, rely heavily on immigrant labour; therefore, let us to have a "more generous immigration policy".
The Spanish Socialist Alejandro Cercas complained that "page 13 of your document" comes across to me as Europe's "opt-out" from social matters, leaving it all up to the States, he told Mr Barroso, who replied: read page 14, where it talks of a partnership between the EU and the Member States, of a new approach to job security... Yacek Saryusz-Wolski, did not greatly care for the terms "costs of enlargement" used by the Commission, and Mr Barroso told him: "in my view, enlargement is a gain (...). We need a greater policy for greater Europe (...). We need the, shall we say, not the stingy countries but the more careful ones to be able to justify the need to spend a bit more to their general public, and to have a solution" (on the financial perspectives). As for the commitments taken by the European Council on the future funding of agricultural expenditure, Mr Barroso pointed out that he had attended the summit as the Prime Minister of Portugal, adding: "commitments must be respected, we cannot change what was agreed to, unless there is unanimity to do so".