Brussels, 15/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Portuguese presidency of the EU is discreetly consulting member states at the moment, with a view to setting up a “committee of the wise” to reflect on Europe to 2020-2030. A formal decision on setting up this group, which will report in 2009, will be taken by heads of state and government at the European Council on 14 December. Agreement in principle was reached during October's informal summit.
The idea of such a group was launched in August 2007 by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who openly opposes the accession of Turkey to the EU and favours simple “association”. It was Sarkozy who established a link between this group and negotiations with Ankara: if the group is set up before the end of 2007, France will not oppose continued accession talks, although only on those chapters necessary to put in place the association or “privileged partnership”, that Paris would prefer. France will refuse to allow negotiation on the five chapters which would lead directly to Turkey's accession (agriculture, economic and monetary union, regional policy and structural funds, budget and institutions) to be opened until all other 30 chapters have been dealt with.
The link established between the committee of the wise and Turkey's accession concerns the main supporters of the Turkish cause (the United Kingdom, and also Sweden, Denmark and others). They fear that the group could be used to cast doubt on the future accession of Turkey, which, according to the negotiating framework adopted in October 2005, is the “shared objective” of the 27 member states and Turkey (even though the outcome of the talks cannot be “guaranteed in advance”).
It is against this background, then, that the Portuguese presidency is consulting on the group's mandate. One thing is certain: as was decided at the informal summit in October, the group will not consider institutional issues. Although France shares the view that matters institutional should not be included, it nevertheless believes that political objectives, enlargement prospects and the geographical limits of the EU “clearly” must be discussed by the group, since these issues form “an integral part of European integration,” said a diplomat. This did not mean that France had a “preconceived plan,” the same diplomat stressed. The United Kingdom, however, with the backing of other delegations and the European Commission, states categorically that “The group must not consider the future borders of Europe”. “It is not up to 'the wise' to draw the map of Europe,” a British diplomat said. He added that the threat of having the group consider the borders of Europe had “fortunately now been removed” in the on-going preparatory work. The United Kingdom stresses, too, that the composition of the group should be “as wide as possible”, and include people who were “young, open and forward-looking”, not just politicians, but from economic, scientific and cultural backgrounds. At this point, the Portuguese presidency refuses to speculate on the mandate and make-up of the group: “consultations are continuing,” a spokesman said. (H.B.)