Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-10-Speech-3-021"
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"en.20071010.16.3-021"2
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".
Mr President, President-in-Office of the Council, Madam Vice-President, fellow Members, we have here an example of good cooperation between two Council Presidencies: the German Council Presidency, which prepared a mandate that has now turned out to be extremely stable, far-reaching and radical as it has been implemented by the Portuguese Council Presidency. The fact that after work by the legal experts, we are now faced with the situation in which the subjects are clear and definable and this success will perhaps continue this coming Monday at the meeting of the Foreign Ministers, shows that there is a really good chance here that the Reform Treaty will be in the bag on Thursday of next week.
The three representatives have decided to support this mandate. Not because our dreams will come true with this mandate, but because it is the best that can be achieved as matters stand, with a view to attaining greater democracy and greater capacity to act. For an enlarged Union’s capacity to act and greater capacity to act in line with the new challenges we have in today’s world, from energy security, terrorism, foreign and security policy as a whole, globalisation, organised crime to climate change and much more.
This success is because we have improved decision-making opportunities in Council, new competences have been added in the energy security sector and in the area of legal and domestic policy, on which my colleagues will be speaking further, we have the solution of the third pillar. Here the European Parliament – and this is the second gain – becomes a co-decision-maker on these issues, in order that in future, under this Treaty, the European Parliament will have equal power of co-decision in 95 % of cases of legislation, even in the area of agricultural policy and the budget as a whole. It is often forgotten that all this is included in this package. This means the democratic deficit which the European Union has had to date is crucially being closed. That is substantial progress!
Other countries having difficulties have had opportunities to adjust imbalances within the scope of this mandate and in negotiations on the basis of an opt-out that has clear deadlines, as a result of which growth as a whole will not be constrained, but their opportunities stemming from common law and so on will be maintained. Its ‘red lines’ are consequently guaranteed, which should also facilitate the ratification process without referendum, if I have correctly understood the relevant undertakings or statements given during the negotiations.
As the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights becomes legally binding, this Union is becoming a community of values, even with the opt-out
which anyone may have. However, this does not apply to European decisions, because European legislation is made collectively. All that remains is the issue of application in individual Member States, in terms of the rights of the courts and citizens and we need to see that we are moving into new dimensions here too, with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the creation of a legal personality.
The European Union, however, needs to consider a few more items here. Item 1: Article 24 of the mandate – data protection in external relations – must in my view be re-formulated, or it must be specified by a declaration that general issues of data protection – such as passenger name records – are not affected. There must be further clarification on this. Data protection – citizens’ data should not be passed on without judicial review and parliamentary involvement. I regard this as crucial.
The second item concerns transitional arrangements. I would also like to ask the Council and the Commission for support and this is in the Commission’s interest. When the Treaty enters into force on 1 January 2009, it cannot be that in a ‘light’ procedure the Foreign Minister, whom we are now no longer allowed to call this, so the High Representative, is appointed by Council. We should like all this to be resolved in one package in 2009, having due regard to the rights of the European Parliament. The High Representative is also Vice-President of the Commission and must be subject to everything here. There was also the Commission’s interest here: a future Commission President must have a voice in selecting the High Representative, who is Vice-President at the same time. For this reason the High Representative cannot enter office until the European Parliament has elected the Commission President. We must keep to this sequential order if democratic rights are not to be undermined here and power imbalances are not to occur. We have to add a few more finishing touches here in the next few days."@en1
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