Bruxelles, 07/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - The EU will not be able to embark on electoral campaigns for the European elections of June 2009 unless the problem of the Irish "no" has been overcome and the Treaty of Lisbon approved by all 27 Member States, says Jean-Luc Dehaene (EPP-ED), the rapporteur of the European Parliament on the institutional implications of the new Treaty. The former Belgian Prime Minister fears that the populist and anti-European parties, which are represented in all Member States, will derive benefit from the crisis to turn the forthcoming European elections into a "referendum against Europe". "The objective must be for the Treaty of Lisbon to be ratified long enough before the European elections. Going to the vote before the Treaty is ratified would be a no-win option. On the contrary, everybody would have a lot to lose because we would risk having elections which certain parties would turn into a sort of referendum against Europe", said Mr Dehaene in an interview with EUROPE on 7 July. Technically, all ratifications- including that of Ireland- would have to be completed "two or three months" before the elections, to allow the Member States to make the necessary provisions to prepare for the elections (it is worth noting that the number of seats of the future EP will depend on which Treaty is in force at the time).
Dehaene report "on ice". After the Irish referendum of 12 June, the committee on constitutional affairs of the EP decided to put several draft Parliamentary reports related to the implication of the new Treaty on ice, including that of Jean-Luc Dehaene on "The impact of the Treaty of Lisbon on the development of the institutional balance of the EU" (EUROPE 9692). Mr Dehaene spoke in defence of the decision temporarily to suspend the work. "It would have been a mistake to continue without knowing which way we were going", he said. However, he does not rule out a return to the table for his report "in July or September". The EP must- and wants to- play a decisive role in preparing for the implementation of the Treaty and will decide "in full independence" when it will resume its work on the subject, explained Mr Dehaene.
"Advantages" of a late implementation of the Treaty. The delay of the implementation of the new Treaty also has its advantages, Mr Dehaene noted. His list starts with the appointments for the four key posts (President of the European Council, President of the European Commission, High Representative for the CFSP and President of the EP), which will probably take place "as a package" after the European elections of 2009. "It is more logical and coherent to do things this way. This is also in keeping with the spirit of the Treaty", which stresses the need for regional and democratic balance to be respected between these various posts, said Mr Dehaene, who also pleads for one of these four posts to be taken up by a woman. In his draft report for the EP, Mr Dehaene also proposes that from the European elections of 2014 onwards, the President of the EP is appointed first, then the President of the Commission, then the High Representative and finally the President of the European Council. A further advantage of the late implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon argued by Mr Dehaene is the creation of the European external action service (diplomatic service). The fact that the new European Commission will already be in place and that the High Representative will have been appointed definitively, rather than just temporarily (as would have been the case if the Treaty had entered into force on 1 January), is a " good thing" and should "facilitate" the setting in place of the European diplomatic service. For the rest, it is clear that the Treaty will enter into force "under conditions other" than those which would have existed if it had been ratified before 1 January 2009. "Not everything will be ready when the Treaty enters into force", said Mr Dehaene.
The solution to the Irish problem? Mr Dehaene did not wish to go into detail on this subject. "It is far too early to talk of solutions", he said. We must avoid making "grand declarations", but act with "a great deal of discretion", recommends a man who earned himself a reputation as a "bomb disposal expert" in Belgian politics. One thing, however, is clear: whatever the future solution, "it should not require a further ratification of the Treaty in the other Member States", insisted Mr Dehaene. "This message to the people of Ireland should be very clear", he said. The solution will, therefore, no doubt be achieved by "assurances" and "explanations" to be given by the EU in answer to various Irish concerns, possibly in the form of declarations to be annexed to the Treaty. It is up to the Irish government to identify these specific concerns and to propose ways of breaking the deadlock. The concerns of the Irish that they will, in future, no longer have a guaranteed representative in the European Commission had a part to play in the country's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty (which provides for a reduced Commission from 2014), according to a number of observers. On this question, Mr Dehaene called on the Irish to think long and hard. "The small countries which defend a large European Commission [in which all countries are represented: Ed] are making a big mistake. The small countries need a strong Commission, and a strong Commission requires a reduced College. A small Commission is more effective and more European than a large Commission", said Mr Dehaene. (H.B./trans.fl)