Brussels, 26/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in extraordinary plenary session in Brussels on Wednesday 26 March, the European Parliament gave a mixed reception to the outcome of the European Council of 13-14 March. The EPP-ED group welcomed the decisions taken by European leaders on all the topics discussed and called for the macro-economic reforms undertaken in the EU to be continued, but the Socialist group condemned the weaknesses of Europe's social dimension. With regard to climate policy, most groups welcomed the balance achieved between the conflicting demands of the environment and the competitiveness of European industry. Most groups welcomed the clarification brought by the Council to the Union of the Mediterranean.
Slovenian Prime Minister and current Council Chairman Janez Janša recalled the three main issues on the 2008 Spring Summit agenda: economic growth and job creation, the response to climate change and stabilisation of financial markets. Among the Summit's important decision's, Janša mentioned: - the launch of a new “more modern” three-year cycle of the Lisbon Strategy; - the confirmation of the basic principles and the timeframe for the adoption of the energy and climate change package (by the end of 2008); - the definition of the further steps to be taken in order to stabilise financial markets. In the field of knowledge and innovation, the European Council therefore introduced a “fifth freedom” to remove barriers to the free movement of knowledge. Janša also highlighted the importance of a balanced approach on the EU neighbourhood Policy: “We also wish to draw attention to the eastern dimension of European Neighbourhood Policy, which must be strengthened in line with the Mediterranean dimension,” he said.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso presented the three areas in which the Commission intends to bring forward proposals before summer: - the Social Agenda; - the European Small Business Act; - the partnership for the Mediterranean. He also spoke about financial market turmoil (regulatory and control action could be taken, if necessary) and member states' desire for a code of conduct for sovereign wealth funds.
Speaking for the EPP-ED group, of which he is the leader, French MEP Joseph Daul welcomed the outcome of the Summit which, he said, had allow a new cycle (2008-2010) for the Lisbon Agenda to be launched “in a very difficult financial period”. “In Europe, however, job creation, renewed growth and reductions in budgetary deficits in 2007 are the fruits of a policy of reform and wise management by member states' governments,” he went on, calling for the temptation to suspend reforms and move more towards protectionism to be resisted. He said his group wanted responsible policy, reform and solidarity. He went on, “The reforms are often misrepresented, but we support them. We want to go further and turbo charge the European knowledge policy,” he went on, stressing in particular the importance of the free movement of researchers and of a unified patents system. Daul also expressed his group's support in the European Council for efforts to cut the European economy's carbon emissions without affecting its competitiveness. He gave his backing to the plan for a Union of the Mediterranean as amended by the European Council. “We want this project to be a turning point in our relations with the countries of the Barcelona Process, that they become more concrete, more effective and more political,” he said in conclusion.
On the macro-economic chapter of the Spring Summit, the leader of the Socialist group, German MEP Martin Schulz complained that the European Council had not defined the Community instruments for assessing the situation on the international financial markets. “The economic situation is stable but under threat, especially because of the situation in the United States which has resulted in a financial crisis in large investment banks. Mr Barroso, you said that instruments will be needed to monitor how international markets develop. We need these instruments now. The European Council should have spelt out which instruments were needed to ensure oversight of international financial markets,” he said. Schulz also slated the European Council weaknesses on Europe's social dimension. “This Council was a Council of normality, but on the social policy level, it wasn't enough,” although he acknowledged that the emphasis placed on knowledge somewhat compensated for these weaknesses. Schulz said that the balance reached by the European Council between the demands of climate change and industry had been one of its successes. Attaining the EU climate change objectives cannot be done without industry actively participating in the efforts made. The president of the Socialist group also said that national and Community administrations also have to facilitate industry's participation in energy saving initiatives and reduction of emissions by sending out the right signs and providing good information. Mr Schulz was pleased that the European Council had provided clarity about the Union Project for the Mediterranean. On this point, his Austrian colleague, Hannes Swoboda, called for efforts to continue unabated in the Black Sea. He also underlined the importance of strengthened cooperation with these countries, especially in the area of energy security. He told Mr Jansa that, “we are hoping that the June summit will provide the occasion for re-establishing this balance”.
Speaking on behalf of the ALDE group, Adina-Ioana Valean from Romania welcomed the EU's confirmed commitment on climate change. She said that, “without collective pressure, member states will not make individual commitments as they do for fighting climate change”. However, Ms Valean did regret the fact that the European Council is not putting enough stress on energy efficiency as the best way for the EU to reach its climate change and energy security objectives. She also highlighted the need for national administration to play an exemplary role in energy savings and underlined the importance of “green taxes” such as reduced VAT for ecological and energy efficient products. Valean said that in respect of macro-economic aspects, if the fundamentals of the European economy are stable, “it isn't how citizens see it and who particularly see their fuel bills increase and their purchasing power stagnate”. In the chapter on European competitiveness, the Romanian Liberal regretted that the EU, “has so far not respected its commitments on R&D spending and is talking about the 5th freedom of movement for researchers, while the 4th freedom, that of the free movement of services, is still not being respected”. Finally, Ms Valean said that the European Council could do more to settle the question on the European patent.
Speaking for the Greens, Rebecca Harms from Germany said that the European Council, “has not promoted strong climate policy…if the document on risks of global warming on international security prepared by the High Representative Javier Solana and approved by the European Council had not been published, we might have heard it said that the Greens have gone mad”. Harms also criticised Chancellor Angela Merkel for having gone back on climate change, “Ms Merkel, who I was so proud of last year, fought for extending implementation and exception phases. How will we in this way bring our partners along with us at Copenhagen? We, the Greens, prefer to support development of a sustainable energy industry rather than give in to pressure from certain industries, like the car and high energy consuming industries. Harms also condemned the selfishness of some member states. “On energy security, Germany, Italy and Hungary are galloping off on their own by signing bilateral contracts with Gazprom. While France is promoting its concept of the Mediterranean Union, the country wants to above all guarantee its cheap uranium supplies”.
Dimitrios Papadimoulis from Greece spoke on behalf of the GUE/NGL group and denounced the “weaknesses” of the European Council on social matters. “At the macroeconomic level, the Council and the Commission put their trust only in the European Central Bank which focuses only on inflation”; he bemoaned. The ECB's limited role was also criticised by his Portuguese colleague, Ilda Figueiredo, who spoke disparagingly of the “worsening in the social situation given the liberal strategies of the Lisbon Strategy”.
Giles Chichester (EPP-ED, UK) was personally in favour of using nuclear energy. He called on European leaders not to focus all their efforts on renewable energy sources as they are not the only solution. Why not fix targets for emissions reduction for each member state and call on member states to do what they can to reach them, Mr Chichester asked, with a thinly veiled reference to the aim of having low carbon content energies in the EU energy mix. He went on to conclude by congratulating the United Kingdom for having viewed a return to nuclear energy in a favourable light.
After speeches by MEPs, Mr Jansa affirmed that social policy has never been evoked as much as today, and not only in the conclusions of the March European Council. “We need true economic growth to reach results in the Lisbon Strategy and a good social policy”, he explained, adding that he hoped agreement would be reached swiftly on the proposal for a directive on improving the portability of complementary pension rights.
MEPs expressed support in favour of the European Council's conclusions, although views did differ over the degree of ambition in the text, President Barroso analysed. One should not “underestimate” the ambition confirmed by the European Council on energy and climate matters, he said. Concerning the MEPs' questions about intensive energy consuming industries, Mr Barroso pointed out that the “aim remains that of reaching an international agreement as the problem of climate change is a global problem”. “It is impossible to say today what concrete mechanisms will be applied to these sectors”, he said. In parallel, our aim is to give legal certainty to these companies, telling them that the proposal for a directive to be presented in the event of no international agreement will comprise elements intended to “safeguard our competitive market position”. (L.C./E.H.)