Brussels, 14/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - It is only at the first session on Thursday evening that EU Heads of State and of Government, attending the European Council in Brussels on 15-16 June, will be given the first draft of the conclusions prepared by the Austrian Presidency on the European Constitution and which - unsurprisingly - will propose the “period of reflection” on the institutional future of the European Union be extended. That, at least, is what comes out of the letter of invitation which the President of the European Council, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, has sent to his counterparts in the 24 other countries. The Summit will begin at 5.45 pm, with the traditional exchange of views with the President of the European Parliament Josep Borrell (who could use the opportunity to raise the issue of the seat of the EP: see below). “We will then hold our first working session, during which we will discuss practical responses by the Union to current challenges, which we will approach in two parallel ways: on the one hand we will have before us draft conclusions on the subject of the Constitution, substantially based on the outcome of the informal meeting of Foreign Ministers in Klosterneuburg (on 27-28 May, see EUROPE 9200) and assuming an extension of the discussion period; secondly we will discuss the implementation of concrete projects,” writes Mr Schüssel in his letter of invitation. In the draft conclusions discussed by Foreign Ministers at the General Affairs Council on Monday, the section on the Constitution was still missing.
The draft conclusions on the other points remained unchanged (there has been no further involvement by the Coreper since the ministerial meeting in Luxemburg on 12 June), since the Austrian Presidency decided to come back to the Heads of State and of Government with a new version of the text only on Friday morning. On Thursday, the Heads of State and of Government will debate not only the Constitution but also the “implementation of concrete proposals” which, prior to a solution to the institutional problems, will lead to a “Europe of results,” Mr Schüssel goes on in his letter. These “concrete fields of action” include in particular sustainable development and climate change, external energy policy and a Union mechanism for managing crises and disasters (the Barnier report), says the Austrian Chancellor.
The second major topic of Thursday's first working session will be enlargement: “we are due to discuss the issue of the Union's absorption capacity,” writes Mr Schüssel (see outcome of Monday's General Affairs Council on this issue in EUROPE 9209)), but the European Council will also express its views on Bulgaria and Romania (even though no formal decision on the accession date is expected, since this decision will only be taken after the Commission presents its decisive report in October), Turkey, Croatia and the countries of the Western Balkans.
Thursday's dinner will be given over to an exchange of views on the issues linked to migration and integration, “matters which affect all our countries and which will occupy us increasingly in the next few years,” says Mr Schüssel. At the same time, Foreign Ministers will have a separate dinner during which they will discuss Serbia and its future relations with the EU ion the light of developments in Montenegro and Kosovo. They will also talk about migration, “with special emphasis on possible foreign policy responses, in particular in relation to Africa”, the letter continues.
On Friday Morning from 10 until 10.30, the EU Council will meet at Heads of State and of Government level to discuss the enlargement of the euro area to Slovenia. The European Commission and the European Central Bank will present the convergence reports on Slovenia and Lithuania. The Lithuanian President is likely to use this opportunity to raise the issue of interpretation of the price stability criterion for entry into the euro zone (see EUROPE 9206 on the discussions at the last Ecofin Council).
The remainder of the morning will be devoted to discussion and adoption of the European Council's conclusions, followed immediately by the usual press conferences (there are no plans for lunch). The Austrian Presidency will inform the candidate countries of the outcome of the Summit.
For Mr Schüssel, the issue of the seat of the EP is not a topic for debate at the Summit
The issue of the seat of the European Parliament will probably not be discussed at the Summit.
On Wednesday, the president-in-office of the European Council, Wolfgang Schüssel, answered EP President Josep Borrell, who, in a letter addressed to him on 22 May, had announced that he hoped to raise the matter on Thursday evening to verify whether the Heads of State and Government intend - or do not intend - to amend the current provisions of the Treaty on the seat of the EP (see EUROPE 9210). In his letter of response, seen by EUROPE, Mr Schüssel is very clear, stating that, at this stage, the question is not on the agenda and will therefore not be tackled at the European Summit. Mr Schüssel tells Mr Borrell that the Austrian Presidency is naturally aware of the fact that, according to many MEPs, the question of the seat of the EP should be discussed in depth. However, consultation with Member Sates - and especially with France as the host country of the Parliament - has clearly shown that the matter is at this stage not a subject that should be on the agenda of the European Council. He goes on to write that unanimity is required when deciding any changes to be made to the seat of the European Parliament but that, at present, this is certainly not the case.
The Conference of the Presidents of EP political groups was to meet late Wednesday afternoon to decide, on the basis of the letter from Mr Schüssel, whether the mandate given to Mr Borrell for raising the issue of his own initiative is maintained or not. At the time of going to press, the result of the meeting was still not yet known. In the meantime, during his “pre-summit” press conference, Commission President José Manuel Barroso clearly stated his stance on the dossier: - he is of the view that the European Parliament must decide where it wants to have its seat. Mr Barroso said he held Montesquieu and the separation of powers in great respect. As president of the European Executive, however, he does not wish to enter this debate but feels that, in principle, it is up to the European Parliament to decide before the matter is taken before the Member States. He says the Parliament must not let others tell it where it must have its seat and that, if there is any real change regarding the question of the seat, then the initiative must come from Parliament. Reliable sources state that the Dutch prime minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, intends to raise the problem of the EP's seat during the summit.
Barroso expects European Council to adopt at least some of the Commission's proposals
During his press conference (after the debate with the EP on the future of Europe - see related article), Mr Barroso set out his personal expectations regarding the European Summit. He expected the European Council to give its open support to the Heads of State and Government in favour of “most of the Commission's proposals” in its communication on the future of Europe on 10 May (EUROPE 9189). “Honestly”, he said, “I do not expect the Summit to approve them all now, as some items take some time” but it would be important for it to take ”some of them” on board. Mr Barroso mainly cited the Commission's proposal to conduct an “overall review” of the internal market in order to put concrete proposals to the Council and to the EP aimed at completing the internal market and ensuring that it operates effectively (the Commission suggests an interim report should be presented to the European Council in March 2007). Mr Barroso also cited the Commission's proposal on a “more integrated approach in terms of security”, migration and judicial cooperation. On the subject of enlargement, the Commission expects the European Council to “honour its existing commitments” towards candidate countries, while beginning reflection on the EU's absorption capacity.