Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-06-15-Speech-4-018"
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"en.20000615.2.4-018"2
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"Feira European Council will indicate a renewed commitment not to slacken the negotiating pace, given the agreed principles, and to continue with enlargement as the main historic challenge of the European Union. To this end I must stress that we inherited 16 chapters from the Luxembourg group. We have closed 10 and opened 6. With the Helsinki group, we have opened 10 chapters and closed 8. We have also recognised full applicant status for Turkey, approved the framework regulation and accession partnership, and also a unique financial framework, and we have held the first Association Council with a view to adequately preparing for assessment.
As for the state of enlargement negotiations, given that yesterday and the day before we held 12 consecutive Intergovernmental Accession Conferences with the 12 applicants, the following negotiating chapters are now closed: 16 with Cyprus, 13 with Estonia and the Czech Republic, 12 with Slovenia, 11 with Hungary and Poland, 7 with Malta, 6 with Slovakia, 5 with Romania, Latvia and Lithuania and 4 with Bulgaria. This is interesting not only in terms of the rate of development of these dossiers but also as an indication of the way in which the applicant countries are reacting to the negotiating process. This is very important.
During yesterday’s Intergovernmental Conferences, the future Presidency also announced its working timetables in this respect so that this historic challenge can very clearly be met, based on the agreed principles, and so that there is no frustration among the applicants with regard to our intentions.
Another item for the Feira European Council will be the follow-up to the Lisbon Special European Council. In this respect documents will be presented on the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines for the Member States, the
Europe 2002 Action Plan, or the Information Society for All, the progress in applying the Financial Services Action Plan and also the approval of the European Charter for Small Enterprises. Clearly, the whole area of social policy and employment continues to be a subject for analysis by the Heads of State and Government.
On economic and financial affairs, I must highlight the formalisation of Greece’s entry into the euro. Greece will now join the other 11 Member States which have already moved into the third phase of economic and monetary union. A report will be presented on the progress made on the tax issue. As you know, an intense series of contacts is occurring in this area. The Portuguese Finance Minister has established this information network and there will be a meeting of Ecofin on 18 and 19 June, separate from the European Council, at which it is hoped that positive work can be achieved to find a much sought-after solution to this issue and the credibility of Europe as a financial market.
Briefly on external relations, it must be emphasised that the Portuguese Presidency has been significant for having managed to administer the new institutions created by the Treaty of Amsterdam which has only just entered into force. I must thank the High Representative and Secretary-General, Xavier Solana, and also the Commissioner with responsibility in this area, Christopher Patten, for their open, careful and dedicated cooperation. The potential of this new model of external representation of the Union is considerable and it is fair to say that the next few months will demonstrate this.
A very important step forward at Feira would be the adoption of the Common Strategy on the Mediterranean. This strategy will allow not only the whole chapter on the traditional area of the Barcelona process to be harmonised but will also allow an open methodology to be defined which will ensure, at the due time, the transition to a situation of peace, with the Middle East also being fully incorporated within this strategy. I must also highlight the report by the Secretary-General of the Council and by the Commission on the Western Balkans. This is an area in which our joint commitment is producing encouraging results. The approval of the Action Plan for the Northern Dimension and the report on applying the Common Strategy for Russia should also be emphasised. We therefore have a series of important items on our external policy agenda.
I have tried in this presentation to give you a fairly comprehensive preview of the Feira European Council. I am, of course, prepared to continue this exchange of ideas through any questions or comments which you might have. I have highlighted the fact that this European Council has a fairly full agenda. This is because we have a variety of objectives which are both fundamental and decisive in the context of the European priorities. These objectives include institutional reform, enlargement, the extraction of appropriate conclusions from the Lisbon Special European Council, now with a more rigorous and considered action plan, and also, of course, the various external policy issues which are of concern to us.
We will have the opportunity at the Feira European Council to take some important decisions in the economic and financial area and to approve a series of discussions on external security and defence policy, involving both the military and civilian components. These discussions will be very significant not so much for the future of the European Union but more for the present as this is an area where progress has been made, is starting to be visible and will surely be significant not only within Europe but also internationally."@en1
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