Brussels, 23/03/2006 (Agence Europe) - In his speech before the EU Heads of State and Government at the opening of the Spring Summit, the president of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, tackled the topical key issues on Thursday evening: - the revised Lisbon Strategy, youth employment, European energy strategy, EU financing, the “services” directive and freedom of movement for workers.
Mr Borrell thus welcomed the fact the beginning of “national appropriation” of the Lisbon Strategy but regretted the lack of quantitative objectives in the reform plans presented by Member States. Only eleven of them are willing to appoint a “national representative” for this strategy, he also regretted. He raised the matter of the contradiction between the priorities set out by the European Commission in its revised strategy (research and development, innovation, education and training, SMEs) and the financial perspectives 2007-2013 as envisaged by the Council. There will be a further meeting of the trilogue on this subject but there is still divergence on the matter of flexibility and resources needed for certain expenditure policies of particular European importance, Mr Borrell noted, warning yet again that there is a problem of credibility. The EU is constantly putting new objectives forward without giving itself the means to achieve them. He told the Heads of State and Government to avoid any further disillusionment with the European project, saying: “Let us reach an agreement which will enable us to fulfil those expectations which we have already created”.
On the subject of the internal market, Mr Borrell hoped that the countries that have not yet waived the transition period for free movement of workers from the new Member States will do so as soon as possible (see related article). Regarding services, he said: “Parliament has succeeded in calming down the passions which surrounded the services directive”. Many of the misunderstanding around the project have been cleared up and the Parliament has managed to find “middle ground”. Hence his appeal to the Heads of State and Government “not to upset what is now a highly detailed agreement which will make it possible to operate a single market in services while respecting the social systems of the Member States”.
Mr Borrell also tackled the problem of poverty, which still affects 15% of the EU population. The objective to combat poverty “has all but disappeared from the Commission's proposals”, he deplored. Low-skilled workers should be the priority beneficiaries of actions to improve job security by means of training programmes, he commented, although the Commission's report “shows that this is not happening”. Only 45% (and in some countries only 20%) of those taking part in these programmes are low-skilled workers. Regarding the objective that, in 2007, every young person should be offered a job, an apprenticeship or a training programme, Mr Borrell exclaimed: “If there is any one objective to be highlighted in your conclusions - which are sometimes too long to be easily understood - let it be this one”.
Other concerns expressed by President Borrell include fiscal competition between Member States that could undermine the bases of social cohesion, and population ageing. In this context, he recalls, the Parliament stresses the importance of immigration policy. Seven years after Tampere and four years after Seville, Europe still does not have an immigration policy. He said they cannot “leave the southern Mediterranean countries, the transit countries or the countries of first arrival to handle the matter on their own”. He recalls that, in 45 days, between 1,000 and 1,200 “'boat people' from Mauritania, on their way to the Canary Islands and seeking the European Eldorado, have been drowned in the waters of the Atlantic”.
On the subject of the European energy strategy, which is to become a “basic component of the Union's external policy”, Mr Borrell recognises that the “energy mix” is a “highly sensitive issue that is also at the nerve-centre of national sovereignty”, saying that, for the European Parliament, long term energy supply security will not be possible without renewable energies. The Parliament, however, also recognises the role of nuclear energy in ensuring a secure electricity supply. Mr Borrell posed the problem of the former monopolies that still dominate the markets and said that, under such conditions, “it is thus not surprising to find Europe's single market turning into a nationalistic dogfight between countries who see energy as a strategic problem of a national nature alone”. He recalled that the EP has already expressed its concern about this (EUROPE 9153).