27 June 2007

EP Debate on the EU summit and Germany presidency

In a debate on the EU summit of 21-23 June and the achievements of the German presidency, most speakers broadly welcomed the summit's success in agreeing at last on the content of a reformed EU treaty, even if the result was not ideal.

Council President-in-Office Angela Merkel told the House that following the summit 'Europe can once again look forward to a period of strength and confidence'. She believed the 'fears of a European super-state and a dilution of national sovereignty' had been met, partly by dropping the reference to EU symbols, while real success had been achieved on several fronts.

The EU's internal rules and policies had been overhauled. She listed all the key changes, including a 'European political quantum leap' on foreign policy: the High Representative will be a Commission vice-president, with a European diplomatic service. Majority voting in Council will make it easier to tackle cross-border crime. And the transfer of powers is 'no longer a one-way street', since some powers may be returned to Member States.

Lastly, the European Parliament would have more rights under the new treaty. For example, as a rule the EP will be 'on an equal footing in legislation' with the Council and will now elect the President of the Commission.

Commission President José Manuel Barroso noted that the reformed treaty 'will probably not be an example of the finest poetry, but I have no doubt that it will be a very good example of excellent prose if it is concentrated precisely on the capacity to act of the European institutions'.

He concluded by warning against 'a perverse alliance between those who resist a political Europe and those who oppose the single market', adding that we cannot defend the European project by attacking the single market and trying to fragment what has been one of the greatest achievements of our integration in Europe'.

Political group speakers

For some months, the German Presidency has been 'the tiger in Europe's motor' said EPP-ED group leader Joseph Daul (FR), paying tribute to Chancellor Merkel.

For the Socialist group, Martin Schulz (DE) stated that 'some governments of the EU...didn't play the game', in particular 'the Polish government.' He added that 'we will not permit the few to...destroy the idea of Europe.'

Speaking for the ALDE group, Graham Watson (UK) remarked on the Charter of Fundamental Rights that 'for liberals and democrats it beggars belief that a British Prime Minister is depriving UK citizens of the rights which made his country respected – and which are now guaranteed to other citizens – to pander to the popular press.'

Daniel Cohn-Bendit (DE) criticised former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for signing up to the Charter and then apparently moving away from it.

Replying to the debate, Chancellor Merkel addressed the question of whether competition was an 'objective' of the EU. Her answer was No, it was simply 'a means to an end' or 'an instrument', which is why it was removed from the preamble. However, she stressed that since it was included in a protocol to the treaty, this shows that 'the instrument must be unalloyed'.

On the question of weighted voting, one could argue about the details but she believed a way had been found to solve the problem - and it was a fair one too.

Commission President Barroso also spoke about the question of free competition. He said the key point was that competition was 'one of the essential components' of the internal market and a way of achieving prosperity.

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