Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-07-01-Speech-2-008"
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Mr President, Mr President of the European Parliament, Mr President of the Commission, Commissioners, ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to have the opportunity to present the results of the Greek Presidency from this tribune today.
As regards the second issue, ladies and gentlemen, the issue of Lisbon, we know how important the issues described under this title are and that, provided we resolve them, they will help us deal with the problems of development, environmental charges and the creation of a knowledge-based economy. The most important results, briefly, are as follows: the agreement on better coordination of financial policies and the adoption of the new economic policy guidelines for the period from 2003 to 2005. We shall now have economic policy guidelines for three years and this is, I believe, important so that we can plan better.
A second point was the new employment strategy. We introduced the tripartite social conference which was informal and has now been formalised and which, of course, allows us to broaden the social dialogue. There was agreement on tax arrangements in relation to tax evasion to third countries and taxation of energy products. The agreement on tax arrangements in relation to tax evasion had been discussed for a very long time in the Council without our coming to any conclusion and I am glad that we managed to overcome the problems under the Greek Presidency, problems which also arose because certain countries felt, and still feel, that they should try to make special arrangements of their own on such basic issues. We overcame that.
Another arrangement which had been discussed for a very long time was the European patent. We completed the relevant debate and there was agreement, as there was on the action plan to increase investment in research and incorporate new technologies into European education systems.
I think that the adoption of the Small Business Charter, the decisions to improve the regulatory framework and the agreements on integrating the European stock exchanges were important.
The decisions on the liberalisation of the energy market, on the carriage of freight by rail and on the new trans-European energy network and on extending the transport network were the subject of long discussion, but we completed them.
The adoption of the new strategy for sustainable development, the introduction of environmental objectives in sectors such as renewable sources of energy, decisions to withdraw single hull tankers and the agreement on environmental liability close this brief report. I should like here to emphasise that the decision to withdraw single hull tankers, on which all the interested parties cooperated, was an important decision for environmental protection, a decision which in previous efforts years ago, after the accident of the
was not taken.
Ladies and gentlemen, that brings me to the third subject, the Convention on the Future of Europe. At the European Council in Thessaloniki, as you know, the Convention's final proposal was presented by Mr Giscard d'Estaing. Discussions were held for 18 months in the Convention and your participation was a determining factor. The draft Constitutional Treaty emerged with a high degree of support. We discussed in Thessaloniki whether this draft is a draft for starting negotiations at the Intergovernmental Conference and whether it is a good basis for discussion. And we agreed that it is a good basis, which will help to get the negotiations started, because we realised that the terminology should not create confusion with respect to reality.
The agreement in the Convention shows that the frameworks within which we can change things are frameworks which need to be based on broad acceptance. The Convention expressed broad acceptance and that is a basis for us to resolve the problem. We must not start discussing everything from square one at the Intergovernmental Conference, nor must we focus on one issue or another and fail to reach a solution which has politically predefined margins, as referred to in the decision taken in Halkidiki.
We must close the Intergovernmental Conference by 1 May and we must sign after 1 May, so that the new members can sign and the text is ready before the elections on 15 June, so that the European citizens know what they will be voting on. This is the timetable – if the matter can be closed earlier so much the better – but the final cut-off date for the presentation of the signed text must be 15 June. We also agreed that the Convention will continue for a certain period of time to examine the text in order to process the third chapter, which concerns policies, as the text states, on technical matters.
In Thessaloniki, ladies and gentlemen, we also discussed immigration policy. What was the problem? The problem is that in Seville and Tampere we had a great many decisions and that we could not complete and apply these decisions, the first and main reason being the lack of funds. The European Commission stated that it had approximately EUR 140 million at its disposal. We noted that this sum was available and we then decided to promote coordination and cooperation on guarding the borders, because it is clear that the problem of illegal immigration, as we saw a few weeks ago in Italy, for example, cannot be dealt with by one country alone, given that illegal immigrants come in, for example, by boat and try to disembark in one Mediterranean country or another and there must be overall monitoring of the area.
Last January, when we held the first debate here on our priorities, I stressed that what we had to strive for was to support a strong Europe, which participates and acts in a multi-centre global system and works for peace, development and cooperation. Six months of important events and developments have intervened. I believe that, because of these events, Europe has grown up over these six months. Events have allowed it to see its weaknesses, such as the crisis in Iraq, but they have also allowed it to see its strong points. Despite the crisis, there has been a feeling of unity, a feeling of cohesion, a feeling of a common mission. Events have made it politically more mature and more determined to proceed with new actions and have highlighted the need to meet the challenges relating to its future.
The second point we emphasised was the undertaking to repatriate illegal immigrants. We called on the Commission to examine the possibility of new ways of safeguarding repatriation. However, because there are already numerous treaties and agreements on repatriation, which essentially do not operate, we said that the Commission would need to evaluate cooperation with third countries on all issues relating both to immigration and cooperation with the European Union on the basis of specific criteria and take this into account when making agreements or policies with these countries, because it is not possible – this is not stated in the text but it is generally accepted – for us to make a policy of active help and cooperation while, at the same time, the countries we trade with are indifferent to the obligations which they have to combat the phenomena of illegal immigration. We decided to proceed to create a common information technology system for issuing visas to third country nationals, which will allow illegal immigrants to be controlled, and we took certain decisions on the integration of immigrants into our societies.
Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, following the Thessaloniki Summit, an agreement was reached on the reform of the common agricultural policy. Here again, the Presidency played an important part and we believe that this agreement is particularly useful because it sends out three central messages.
What does the agreement mean to farmers? It means that they will have a multiannual, guaranteed, predictable framework of income support similar to that which they enjoy today, as well as large margins as regards their production and business options. For European citizens, the agreement means a better quality of life, because farmers' income support will depend on compliance with European legislation on the environment, public health, food safety, hygiene and animal welfare. Thirdly, shifting a very large part of common agricultural policy subsidies from products to income support to farmers will seriously strengthen the position of the European Union at the forthcoming WTO negotiations. With this agreement, the Union will speak with one clear voice.
Ladies and gentlemen, as far as foreign relations are concerned, I can report that there was agreement between the Member States of the Union, followed by agreement with the countries of the Western Balkans, confirming the accession prospects of the countries in the region, adopting a new procedure for regular political dialogue and promoting the harmonisation of their legislation with the Community
and an important increase in financial support.
Iraq, as we know, was the most difficult chapter of our Presidency. Many people expected it to take up all our time. It did not, of course, and what the Presidency aspired to was to overcome the differences, not by discussing if certain people were or were not right to support one position or another, but to overcome the differences by pointing out what would need to be done in the future. And following the United Nations Security Council resolution, there is now a framework for cooperation and we are in constant contact with the United Nations so that we can help with the reconstruction of Iraq within the framework of its resolutions.
As far as the Middle East is concerned, you know that the timetable for peace in the region, the so-called road map of the Quartet, was published and that the European Union is participating in this Quartet. The Presidency had repeated contacts with the countries in the area and with the other countries and I believe that the truce achieved is the result both of the actions of the Quartet and of the European Union.
As far as trans-Atlantic relations are concerned, the Greek Presidency made every possible effort to defuse the tension which had arisen in trans-Atlantic relations and I believe that the visit to Washington demonstrated that we have good cooperation. A principle was accepted which I believe to be self-evident; in other words, that we must cooperate for the necessary reasons, for economic, political and security reasons, with the United States. We can agree, we can disagree, when we disagree we can agree to disagree and continue our cooperation on this basis.
The Greek Presidency promoted a substantial improvement in relations between the European Union and Russia at the summit held in St Petersburg.
Finally, I should like to move from political issues to defence and security policy. Our aim was for the European Union to have full operational capability. And it acquired it during this period. It acquired it by settling outstanding issues, such as the contribution of forces on the part of the partners, the application of the programme of manoeuvres and the development of crisis management procedures. As a result, a European Union force is now in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, there is a policing mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina and we are also discussing the military mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina to take over the current activities of the ΝΑΤΟ force there.
At the European Council in Thessaloniki, the report on the strategy to gradually formulate a European defence and security doctrine was presented and discussed. The informal Council of Foreign Ministers had asked for this report from Mr Solana. Mr Solana will continue work in connection with this report and we believe that the report and the relevant debate will be an important step towards clarifying our common objectives in relation to defence and security and the means with which we shall achieve the common objectives. The report helped to overcome the opposition which had appeared – and which I do not believe really existed – between certain countries cooperating to promote defence and security issues and other countries which did not want any such particular cooperation. We are now sitting at the same table and the discussion will show how we can address these issues.
It is highly illustrative that the Convention completed its work on the draft constitution and that this draft constitution was accepted by the Convention by a large majority. It is likewise highly illustrative that the Council of Ministers started a debate on European defence and security, a debate which continued at the summit in Thessaloniki. The problems resulted in an awareness of what has to be done and done quickly.
To close, I should like to refer to two issues relating to Community institutions. The first is the review of the status of Community staff. This is the first radical reform of the salary and pension system and the career system since the European Community was founded. Finally, two issues of immediate interest to the European Parliament were the Interinstitutional Agreement to improve the regulatory environment and, secondly, the regulation on the status of European political parties. With these two arrangements, we put an end to discussions which started a long time ago.
Ladies and gentlemen, this was the brief presentation of what was done during the Presidency and I should like to close by thanking, first of all, the President of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox, for his cooperation, and all of you in the European Parliament. We consider that you are pivotal to promoting European integration and defending the Union's interests, which is why we aspire to close cooperation with you. And we had your direct support and cooperation in our work. I thank you warmly for your contribution, and I wish you all every success during the forthcoming Italian Presidency.
Greece had the good fortune to assume the Presidency in an exceptionally important six-month period. A six-month period, as I said, of unexpected events. Events which presented huge difficulties, but which were also a huge challenge, to which I believe we all responded, by which I also mean both the Member States and the Commission as well as the Presidency. Today, the debate on foreign policy, defence, security, the global strategic perception of Europe which has come about over these months and the draft Constitutional Treaty, bears witness to the fact that work has now begun, work which will result in a different form of cooperation. And it will, I trust, be positive for Europe and it will be work which will give us new momentum. We have realised that we must take decisions as quickly as possible.
Ladies and gentlemen, in December 2002, the Greek Presidency presented its priorities and specific objectives. We said then that we had five main priorities. First of all, to complete the enlargement of the European Union. Secondly, to speed up the implementation of the Lisbon strategy. Thirdly, to complete the work of the Convention on the future of Europe. Fourthly, to deal with the phenomenon of illegal immigration and immigration in general and, fifthly, to promote specific priorities in the field of foreign relations. I can state today, at the end of these six months, that we worked hard towards these objectives and that we achieved very satisfactory results, which I should like to set out for you briefly.
The ceremony for the signing of the Accession Treaty by the 10 candidate countries, which set the seal on enlargement, was a ceremony which marked one of the most important events in the development of Europe. It confirmed the regeneration of Europe; we celebrated it on the foothills of the Acropolis, our wish being to provide a particular symbolism for the continuation of European civilisation. Immediately before that, the Greek Presidency dealt with a series of difficulties that had arisen, such as new requests from the new Member States for existing agreements to be adapted and for new funding and such as the debate we had with you, here in the European Parliament, on issues of enlargement and funding or funding of the enlarged Union. Now the new Member States have integrated smoothly into the work of the Council of Ministers, at which they will participate as active observers pending the ratification of the Treaties by the national parliaments.
I should like to comment on the integration of Cyprus, which joined together with the other nine countries and constitutes the justification of the fight for political restoration, for the restoration of the principles of international law. We were very close to having a united Cyprus in the Union, to overcoming the political problem, but unfortunately, the Turkish-Cypriot leadership did not want to complete the procedure started on the basis of the Annan plan.
In April, the Council adopted revised partnership texts with the three candidate countries. As far as Bulgaria and Romania are concerned, the objective is to complete their accession negotiations by the end of 2004. We advanced numerous chapters in the negotiations with these countries.
The new partnership with Turkey includes specific terms on numerous issues, including the good neighbours policy, property belonging to minorities, religious freedom and limiting the role of the army."@en1
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