At the invitation of German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle and his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel García-Margallo, 16 European foreign ministers, a Vice-President of the European Commission and four members of the EP came together to discuss how the EU can meet its challenges.
Translated from the German
Concluding the conference, participants submitted a joint "Declaration of Mallorca" in which they call for a strong, competitive and committed Europe. The people of Europe are encouraged to vote for a reform and jobs agenda in the upcoming European Parliament elections in May 2014.
The meeting carried on from discussions of the EU Future Group of 11 European foreign ministers who had submitted a joint final report of their discussions in September 2012 and now extended participation to all European decision-making institutions.
The declaration identifies two main challenges: to overcome the economic and financial crisis and to enable Europe to assert itself on the world stage.
The following actions are proposed to tacke these challenges:
-
to create growth and jobs in Europe, especially for young people. "We need to pursue our efforts for fiscal solidity, tackle structural reforms in Member States and implement all measures to boost employment and help finance the real economy, in particular SMEs."
-
to stabilise the euro in the long term. "To do so, we need to further deepen the Economic and Monetary Union to boost competitiveness, fully respecting the Single Market."
-
to become a strong player on the world stage, speaking with one voice. "We need efficient institutions, effective decision-making and democratic legitimacy."
-
to make the European instituions more efficient institutions.
-
to assure greater participation and increased democratic legitimacy and accountability.
Full declaration (in English)
Full press release (in German)
© Federal Foreign Office
Key
Hover over the blue highlighted
text to view the acronym meaning
Hover
over these icons for more information
Comments:
No Comments for this Article