Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-11-Speech-3-270"
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"en.20050511.20.3-270"2
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".
Mr President, I thank the few of us who are usually here at the night sitting of the European Parliament. It can sometimes be somewhat of a challenge to follow the time planning of the European Parliament. I was under the impression that this would start at 10 p.m. That is why I was here ten minutes earlier – happily together with Mr Leinen – and I thank you for welcoming me to the debate.
I shall conclude by repeating that we in the Commission are conscious of the concerns of parliamentarians to safeguard and enhance the Community method and the role of the Commission and Parliament in this process. I know this is something that Mr Brok is concerned about. We share with you the aim of creating new structures which can really contribute to improving the effectiveness, coherence and influence of the Union’s policies and actions in the world.
I have listened with great interest to what parliamentarians have said tonight in this debate because the European External Action Service is a subject that arouses passions. It touches on institutional and constitutional issues of fundamental importance; the creation of a Union Minister of Foreign Affairs, who will at the same time be a Vice-President of the Commission, is a key innovation in the institutional architecture of this European Union. It brings close together the two pillars in the field of foreign affairs – the Community method and the intergovernmental method. This two-hatted Minister will have tasks of different kinds. That is why the creation of this service is such an important and difficult challenge.
I shall comment briefly on a few issues that were raised. To Mr van den Berg, I would say that development policy is and will remain a key component of European Union policies and an important asset for Europe in the world and in the context of the Constitution. Development policy is not subordinate to other policies. It retains its special status in the frame of the Community method, but all the policies need to be better integrated in a coherent foreign policy concept. This will strengthen, not weaken, the effectiveness of the Union’s development policy.
I can assure Mr Duff that the Commission is not going to be emasculated by the Constitution as regards Community competences. The Minister and his services will be bound by Commission procedures and the principles of collegiality, under the guidance of the Commission’s President.
I entirely agree with Mr Brok that we should not be defensive. For the Commission, the new arrangements under the Constitution offer more opportunities than risks. It is also important to underline that nothing can be decided against the Commission in this field.
To Mr Allister and others, I would say that we are not prejudging the ratification of the Constitution. We are simply preparing the decision, which can only be taken after the Constitution is ratified and comes into force, and after Parliament has given its opinion.
On the implications for the budget and for personnel, no plans or estimates or calculations have been made because we are not yet at that detailed stage of planning. Parliament, as budgetary authority, will decide on all these figures later on.
I think those are the principal issues raised, and I can assure you that Parliament’s views will be taken into account as this dossier develops in the coming months. In particular, the resolution which the Committee on Constitutional Affairs adopted on Tuesday – which I understand will go to the plenary session in two weeks’ time – is a contribution which must be taken into account, not only by the Commission but by Member States and the Council as well.
We expect further technical work to continue in the second half of this year, so that decisions of principle can be taken in the course of next year when the ratification of the Constitution is completed. Parliament will be formally consulted on the proposal regarding the Minister at an appropriate stage, so tonight’s debate will be followed by others in which Parliament can amplify its views in the light of progress on which the House will be kept informed."@en1
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