Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-06-15-Speech-4-020"
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"en.20000615.2.4-020"2
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".
Madam President, after the President-in-Office of the Council, Mr Gama, and having listened to Mr Napolitano, chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, who had questions for the Commission in particular, I, in turn, would like to share with you the Commission’s thoughts on the eve of this important European Council in Feira, but first I must present President Prodi’s apologies. I am speaking on his behalf.
The importance of the Feira Summit has been rightly highlighted at this delicate stage in the process of European integration and I want to start by saying that the Commission expects this European Council to provide the political impetus for adapting the Union before the great enlargement.
This Council has important decisions to take in several areas, which I would like to review with you, if I may, in particular to ensure follow-up to the Special European Council of Lisbon.
I would like to mention three of the priorities the Commission is seeking to highlight at the European Council. Both Mr Napolitano and Mr Gama mentioned the first: genuine institutional reform right now. Next, of course, is the foreign policy we need to develop and, finally, the third priority is a real European security and defence policy. The Commission is committed to effective and rapid follow-up to the Lisbon European Council – that is the least that might be expected of it.
So the first priority is genuine institutional reform right now, driven forward by the Portuguese Presidency. There is now a dynamic to the IGC negotiations and the group of representatives led by Francesco Seixas da Costa has worked well. I would also like to testify here, if I may, Madam President – because I participate conscientiously in the work of the group – to the very active part taken in that work, under your authority, by your two representatives, Elmar Brok and Professor Tsatsos.
Ladies and gentlemen, with the Presidency report now available, the Feira European Council should give us a snapshot of the progress accomplished so far and I hope that snapshot will be ‘proactive’ – as we can expect after listening to Mr Gama. I am especially thinking of the progress on what I consider the most important item in the negotiations: the extension of qualified majority voting and, consequently, the extension of codecision. Of all the issues not dealt with in Amsterdam, for lack of courage or political will at the time, this is undoubtedly the key point, and it is indeed the only thing that can prevent and reduce the real risk of deadlock in the enlarged Union’s decision-making process."@en1
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