Brussels, 12/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - In a speech delivered on Thursday 11 January at Humboldt University in Berlin, Josep Borrell called on the German Presidency to relaunch the political dimension of Europe, setting very high standards. He called for the innovations of the constitutional treaty to be safeguarded and for a new economic and monetary pact.
“For the past one and a half years, the European Union has been going through a very critical period. The - albeit provisional - failure of the draft Constitution is not our only problem. We are also faced with social fears caused by globalisation and recent enlargements, the mixed nature of a Union that has gone from 15 to 27 members - almost double! - in less than 3 years, as well as the weak economic performance of some countries, population ageing, the diversity of our immigration policies, and growing energy independence”, noted Josep Borrell just a few days before his mandate at the head of the European Parliament comes to an end. He went on to point out that “the main treaties opening up new horizons for European integration were all bearers of great projects. The Single Act created the Single Market according to a strict timetable and, in parallel, powerful solidarity mechanisms were created. The Maastricht Treaty launched single currency in a similar way. Each enlargement has been followed by a period of consolidation. But, since Maastricht when there were just 12 Member States, the enlargement process has gathered pace and the consolidation process has slowed down”. “This gap is no longer acceptable today. We must strike a balance between the speed of these two processes. We must strengthen our institutions because, if we fail to do so, we shall see our joint enterprise diluted, unable to govern our policies”, the Parliament president continued, before adding: “Like the 18 States that have ratified the constitutional treaty (and which are meeting in a few days from now), a majority of the European Parliament is convinced that this text was the best answer to allow the enlarged Union not to become stifled under the weight of numbers”.
Pointing out that, on the eve of the last European Council, the Parliament had identified some twenty inevitable reforms to ensure the Union's ability to integrate new Member States, the Spanish Socialist said all these reforms were contained in the constitutional treaty. They are: - the extension of qualified majority voting in the Council; lengthening of the periods of Presidency; more restricted composition of the Commission; the creation of an EU Foreign Minister; the election of the Commission president by the EP; more flexible enhanced cooperation; the abolition of the “pillar” structure, etc. The EP considers all these reforms are essential and should precede any further enlargement.
Saving the constitutional treaty
“Before taking on the EU Presidency, the German government often repeated that it was not necessary to nurture exaggerated expectations. Chancellor Merkel, however, also said that giving up the “substance” of the constitutional treaty would be a monumental error. I deduct from my own personal reasoning that the Presidency will do everything it can to avoid such a mistake”, Josep Borrell said, recognising that “it will not be easy”. He went on to say: “Eighteen months after the beginning of the reflection period, the only consensus that one sees today is that of giving up the term 'Constitution'”. He considered there was no need to declare a “war of religion” over a word, and insisted at length on the need to avoid renegotiation that would only delay indispensable institutional reform. Borrell criticised the “mini-treaty theory which could very well result in practice in maxi-negotiation”. “Any renegotiation - whether partial or total - of the 2004 body of law could, I believe, lower the level of ambition and go on for ever”, the Parliament president said.
“For this reason, the roadmap to be proposed by the German Presidency should, I believe, trace a red line below which one must not descend. Keeping Part I, the Charter and the innovations of Part III would, in my view, be the minimum minimorum that we should stick to. These provisions have the advantage of having already been negotiated and approved by the 27 governments. It is a series of subtle balances that one ought not to meddle with, for fear that all might be unravelled. We cannot allow ourselves to do less well than the constitutional treaty. We must do better, as many of our citizens have not found sufficient answers in this text to their economic and social concerns. The Presidency should therefore also direct discussions to additions that should be made, mainly in the field of the Union's economic governance”, Josep Borrell said. He noted: “The Convention failed. Today, we are better able to measure the gravity of this failure”.
Reassuring citizens
Josep Borrell stresses, however, that “saving the constitutional treaty, even in its full form, would not be enough”. “French and Dutch voters did not consider the text gave them the guarantee that their social models and their national identities would be preserved, and they did not see the euro as a factor of economic growth. By abolishing internal borders and allowing social and tax competition to develop between our States, Europe does not appear as a constructive answer to globalisation but rather as a Trojan horse undermining social links”, the president of the European Parliament said. He went on to express regret that “our Europe sometimes looks more like a boxing ring where our tax and social systems confront each other, instead of a collective weapon for facing up to globalisation”. Also, “many of our citizens have the feeling that there are more and more Europeans but less and less Europe” and “in parallel to 'rescuing' the constitutional treaty, it seems to me that a strong initiative to relaunch Economic and Monetary Union is also necessary today”, Josep Borrell said, adding that it is essential to “strike an economic and monetary balance”. (oj)