Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-09-24-Speech-3-012"
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"en.20030924.1.3-012"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, together with my friend and colleague Mr Antonio Vitorino, I had the privilege of taking part in all of the work of the Præsidium of the Convention, alongside Mr Klaus Hänsch and Mr Íñigo Méndez de Vigo. We have worked hard together for the last 18 months. I am sure you will allow me to thank them personally and in public, as this is my first opportunity to address Parliament since the work of the Convention was concluded. I should also like to say how grateful I am for the work of all those Members of the European Parliament who served as Conventioneers. Thanks are due too to their deputies and to others who supported them. The oversight exercised by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, under the chairmanship of Mr Giorgio Napolitano, must also be commended.
Ladies and gentlemen, as was stated a few moments ago, the Convention has now finished its work. It has fulfilled its contract. There is, however, no time for nostalgia. Furthermore, nostalgia is not a good guide in politics, in my opinion. As of today, the Commission and Parliament must again work together in approaching the very sensitive period of the imminent Intergovernmental Conference. We must work just as hard as in the past and face future challenges together. Mr President, I hope the IGC will draft a new and genuine Treaty of Rome. At the end of the Conference, Parliament and the Commission must again work shoulder to shoulder to ensure the text is ratified. This final stage represents a considerable challenge. It entails the citizens or their representatives in each Member State appropriating the text, if I may put it like that.
In this connection, I should like to reiterate my support for the idea that, when the time comes, the future European Constitution should be ratified on the same day across Europe. Ratification would of course take place in accordance with the specific procedures of each of the Member States. At the same time, a single European ratification day would generate a truly European debate, instead of 25 national debates all taking place alongside each other. This could be a first. It is with this in mind that I come amongst you in the House today, to attend the debate on the report by Mr Gil-Robles and Mr Tsatsos.
As I said just now, the latest IGC is about to start. It is not, cannot and will not be like previous IGCs. It will not be comparable to the Amsterdam or Nice Conferences. I was deeply involved in those Conferences. They resulted in a measure of progress, but also in many regrets. This IGC is different because it has the chance of building on the in-depth groundwork undertaken by the Convention. Mr Gil-Robles termed this work intelligent and I agree with him.
As a first point of agreement between Parliament and the Commission, I would like to stress that we both want to ensure that this IGC does not revisit issues on which agreement was reached in the Convention. Further, as you said a moment ago, Mr President, the important balances achieved in the draft Constitution must not be disturbed. The second point on which we agree is on what was accepted at the Convention. Briefly, this means that the values, principles, institutions and even, at the request of the Parliamentary conventioneers, the symbols of the European Union are to be enshrined in the Constitution. It also implies the integration of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, to which Parliament made a significant contribution. Further, it implies establishing the unique legal personality of the European Union and doing away with the pillar structure. There is also the hierarchy of rules. Other elements are clearer delimitation of the competences of the European Union and the extension of the application of the Community and codecision procedures. Another point of consensus is the election of the President of the Commission by the European Parliament. Genuine progress was made in the implementation of an area of freedom, security and justice. Real advances were made too in the field of defence. I hope they will be retained. In this regard, I have had the privilege of chairing the Convention group on defence. In particular, we worked on a proposal for a European Armaments Agency and on a draft Solidarity Clause that would allow for mutual assistance in response to a terrorist attack like the one on 11 September that had such tragic consequences for New York and Washington. Attacks of this nature are always a possibility. We also worked on the creation of the post of Foreign Minister of the European Union. This would make up for what the European Union currently lacks, namely a space where a common diplomatic culture can be patiently nurtured. In the event of crises, Europe would then be able to adopt common positions, based on a common geostrategic assessment. I would remind you of the crisis in Yugoslavia and, more recently, the one in Iraq. These are some of the main achievements enshrined in the Constitution.
Nevertheless, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, we also agree on what is lacking in this Constitution. To quote Professor Tsatsos, we agree on the progress we still need to make and that we must work together to that end. For instance, this draft Constitution does not really reduce the fields where the requirement for unanimity paralyses and will in future continue to paralyse common action. It does not equip the European Union with the instruments and procedures it needs in the key field of economic governance, as is evident at present. The Constitution does not provide for the less crucial of its provisions to be revised in a more flexible way.
Furthermore, as you are aware, the Commission has considered those provisions of the draft Constitution with implications for its own composition. It wished to propose a better composition than that which currently appears in the text of the Convention. Your two rapporteurs, Mr Gil-Robles and Mr Tsatsos, spoke along these lines on the issue of the composition of the Commission a few moments ago.
Ladies and gentlemen, very many of us here today experienced a sort of enthusiasm throughout these last 18 months of work. I would go as far as to say we were, in a sense, uplifted by being involved in the success of this Convention, thanks to the open and transparent procedure implemented for the first time. Not all the citizens of Europe may actually have felt engaged. Nonetheless, it is at least the first time a great European venture has been prepared outside a secret diplomatic conference. Nevertheless, it is important simply to note today that a new and different stage is about to begin, namely the Intergovernmental Conference. I trust it is clear that the Commission is tackling this new stage in the same spirit with which it tackled the Convention. We are tackling it with the same will to work with you to achieve our common priorities. If we so wish, we do have the opportunity to improve a limited number of the points of the draft Constitution without upsetting the overall balance. We can clarify all the provisions of this draft, especially the scope of their application. This would prevent certain misunderstandings or confusion when the text is ratified. Lastly, we can ensure that this IGC accomplishes the legal revision work entrusted to it by the Convention.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my sincere belief that, setting aside semantic differences, there is broad agreement between our two institutions on the substance of the matter. The Commission indicated recently in the opinion adopted on 17 September that it is essential this IGC does not call into question the major balances achieved in the draft Constitution as a whole. Allow me to emphasise once again how vital this is. I would also like to reiterate that the College of Commissioners, and in particular the President, Antonio Vitorino and I, are determined to lend our support to the Italian Presidency in achieving this common aim."@en1
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