Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-10-08-Speech-3-046"
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"en.20031008.7.3-046"2
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".
Mr President, Mr President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, before I start, I really do want to apologise for the delay: I was detained by duties I had to carry out on behalf of the Italian Presidency, as a result of which I arrived later than the time scheduled for the debate on the agenda. I would also like to thank you, Mr President, and the other Members of Parliament, and the Commission too, for changing the order of business and thus giving me the chance to speak now. I can assure you, Mr President, that I will do everything in my power to avoid this happening again. We will certainly give absolute priority to the relationship between the institutions, as it is right to do.
As is customary at summits, the Brussels European Council will also deal with topical international issues. The agenda is still being finalised but I can tell you that, as things stand, the Summit will address the issue of the situation in the Middle East, following the recent, extremely disturbing developments, the situation in Iraq, with a view, not least, to the impending Donors’ Conference, and the situation in Iran, in the context of our endeavour to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
As I have already mentioned, the Italian Presidency intends discussions at the forthcoming European Council meeting to centre on the urgent need to revive the European economy. Let me say straight away, however, that the Italian Presidency does not intend there to be any overlap with the spring European Council. Indeed, in March 2004, as scheduled, we will have our yearly appointment to review the overall implementation of the Lisbon strategy on the basis of the Commission’s report and contributions from the various Council configurations.
Nonetheless, the Italian Presidency does consider that the forthcoming mid-October European Council will afford a useful opportunity for an exchange of views and a policy debate on a highly topical and urgent issue which is a source of concern to us all and on which our opinions converge. In other words, we expect the October summit to provide scope for a debate on economic growth and revival and on the instruments for increasing competitiveness in an economic climate in which Europe's economy is still struggling to seize the opportunities for recovery which are visible in other parts of the world. We also expect the European Council conclusions to provide pointers and commitments to guide the work of the various Council configurations in the months ahead. Indeed, we are convinced of the need to continue with sound macroeconomic policies while, at the same time, speeding up the necessary structural reforms, promoting investment in infrastructure and human capital and adopting economic policies oriented towards growth, job creation and genuine integration of the new Member States into the great single market. The European Council should lay the foundations for a programme supporting growth based on significantly increased investment in major infrastructure networks and in research and development projects, with more substantial private-sector input.
We welcome the recent Commission communication and the Ecofin Council decisions on the European Initiative for Growth. We call upon the European Council to give the economy a further decisive boost. Developing the trans-European transport network projects and ensuring that they actually get under way is a matter of particular urgency, not only as a response to enlargement and in the interests of integration between the old and the new Member States, but also in order to remove the obstacles and bottlenecks currently distorting the operation of the internal market.
Against this backdrop, the forthcoming European Council is to give its assessment of the Commission's proposed new plan for priority TEN projects and should be able to give a clear, powerful recommendation for the proposals to be swiftly approved. Indeed, we believe that it is essential to set a reliable timetable for implementing the projects in order to stimulate investment-based economic growth and to boost market expectations and business confidence.
Italy's recent electricity black-out has made us all more aware of the pressing need to complete the creation of a truly integrated European energy market and to strengthen the security of energy supplies, bearing in mind the Member States' heavy dependence on imported energy as well. The European Council will thus need to provide guidance, not least, on better integrating European networks and developing new forms of energy cooperation with third countries, in particular with the Mediterranean partners, with a view to the Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Energy Ministers in Rome in early December.
Enhancing competitiveness remains the key to achieving the objectives of growth and job creation. The Italian Presidency understands the need to use the right instruments, both at European and at national level, for organising a genuinely open, competitive market based on knowledge, industrial development and a steadily expanding and diversifying services sector.
Investment in research, advanced technologies and human capital is vital if we are to achieve our growth objectives. The European Council will be called upon to provide the necessary impetus, stimulating Member States to adopt coordinated measures to ensure tangible progress towards the target investment of 3% of GDP in research and urging industry and all parties concerned to contribute to creating European technological platforms in key competitive sectors of the Union's economy.
Lastly, the European Council will also address the social dimension in its work and the vital role played by social protection systems in enhancing the competitiveness of Europe's economies. However, social protection systems across Europe are now having to respond to the challenge of an ageing population, so, while it will be necessary, on the one hand, to ensure that the social dimension is strengthened and fully integrated into the Union's economic and employment policies, on the other, it is just as essential to devise policies for reforming the employment market and to address the issue of Europe's steadily ageing population by reforming benefit and pension systems to make them financially sustainable while, at the same time, maintaining a high level of social protection.
In a nutshell, then, at the forthcoming meeting of the European Council, the Presidency will confirm that the timing of the launch of the growth initiative is intended to give a strong signal of sound economic governance and renewed confidence in Europe's economic potential. Given current economic pressures, that signal now needs to ring out loud and clear if we are to sustain the gathering pace of structural reform under the Lisbon agenda.
I am grateful to the European Parliament for this opportunity to present to the House the main topics on the agenda for the forthcoming European Council, which will take place here in Brussels on 16 and 17 October. On the morning of 16 October, before the European Council opens, the Intergovernmental Conference will hold its second meeting, at the level of Heads of State or Government, assisted by their Foreign Ministers. The proceedings of the European Council itself will start at 4 p.m. with the customary meeting between the Heads of State or Government and the President of the European Parliament.
Before I close, I would add that – as I started out by saying – the Presidency considers that the European Council may also note some recent developments in respect of the Thessaloniki European Council guidelines on asylum and immigration policies and, more importantly, that it may pave the way for new joint initiatives at European level. The forthcoming European summit will, therefore, be called upon to confirm that controlling migration flows is a top priority and to reaffirm the Union's commitment to promoting a balance between the proper management of legal immigration and renewed efforts to combat illegal immigration. We therefore expect the European Council to call on the Commission, the Council and all Member States to do everything in their power to facilitate and speed up the conclusion of readmission agreements, in particular with the countries of origin or transit of large migration flows while, at the same time, confirming the importance of effective Community action on repatriation, in order to give credibility to Europe's policy on combating illegal immigration.
With the imminent enlargement of the Union and the need to make every effort to increase the security of Europe's citizens, the Heads of State or Government will, once again, need to stress that all Member States – old and new – have a common interest in seeing effective mechanisms put in place for the joint management of the Union's borders, particularly its sea borders. The importance of fully implementing the plan for the management of the Union's external borders should therefore be confirmed afresh and the Commission invited to submit at the earliest opportunity a proposal for setting up a border management agency.
Lastly, the European Council will call on the Council to complete its work on the proposal for a directive on asylum as soon as possible and will welcome the study launched by the Commission on setting national quotas, with the present and future Member States being urged to cooperate fully with the Commission to that end.
Before I present to you the items on the agenda for the forthcoming European Council, I would like to say a few words about the special summit of Heads of State or Government which, as you know, took place in Rome earlier this month to mark the official opening of the work of the Intergovernmental Conference.
We have thus now embarked on the second leg of the constitutional process that began with the work of the Convention and the draft Constitutional Treaty which it drew up. President Cox, let me begin by mentioning your own attendance at the inaugural session, something to which, as you well know, the Italian Presidency attached particular importance. Your fellow Members, Mr Hänsch and Mr Méndez de Vigo, went on to attend the first ministerial meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference, which was held in the afternoon of the same day.
The Rome summit basically confirmed our shared understanding of the historic nature of this stage in the process of European integration and the need to provide the enlarged Union with cohesive, mutually agreed constitutional foundations; that, we are convinced, is essential if we are to strengthen Europe's internal cohesion and increase the credibility and authority of its international role.
The atmosphere of the first meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference, which was attended by the President and Vice-Presidents of the Commission and, as I mentioned earlier, the President of the European Parliament, in addition to the Heads of State or Government of the Member States, the acceding States and the candidate countries, was constructive. There was broad consensus on the fact that the Member States were collectively accountable to Europe's public opinion for ensuring the success of the IGC in the interests of the enlarged Union and of its Member States. The very fact that the Heads of State or Government adopted the Rome Declaration without difficulty is clear confirmation that the adoption of a draft Constitutional Treaty is a shared goal and a vital step for Europe.
There were, of course, persisting national differences on specific aspects of the draft Treaty, although the collective intention to adhere to the timeframes we established at Thessaloniki was confirmed. The first ministerial meeting of the IGC resulted in further clarification of the timetable, methodology and organisation of the work which the Italian Presidency intends to carry out in order to provide the Heads of State or Government with all the elements necessary for them to reach a comprehensive agreement at their meeting on 12 and 13 December 2003.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the forthcoming European Council in Brussels will focus primarily on reviving the economy and increasing competitiveness and on certain aspects of European asylum and immigration policy, in particular the issue of the joint management of the Union's external borders and controlling migration flows.
The General Affairs Council held an initial discussion on the draft annotated agenda at its meeting on 29 September 2003 and will return to the subject at its next meeting, on 13 October, on the basis of an updated version of the agenda, which will also reflect the conclusions of the meetings of the Justice and Home Affairs and Ecofin Councils earlier this month and the meeting of the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council on 9 October."@en1
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