Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-11-18-Speech-2-008"
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"en.20031118.2.2-008"2
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".
Mr. President, President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, yesterday, as part of the proceedings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, we listened with great interest to the presentation by the Commission of its Legislative and Work Programme for 2004, which has been formally presented to the European Parliament today by President Prodi.
As regards enlargement, the December European Council will be called upon, first and foremost, to evaluate the progress achieved in the negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania, on the basis of the reports and strategy papers presented recently by the Commission, and thus to establish the timescale for the conclusion of the membership negotiations with these two countries. Again on the basis of the Commission report, the European Council will also be called upon to assess the progress made by the 10 accession countries in the adoption and application of the Community
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As regards the stability objective, as defined in the Commission’s programme, where internal actions are concerned, the Council will need to assess the progress made in terms of asylum, migration and external borders, especially in the light of the timetable drawn up in Thessaloniki, Seville and Tampere. As regards external issues, the European Council will be called upon to adopt the European Security Strategy drawn up by the Secretary General/High Representative, to address the question of weapons of mass destruction and to evaluate the progress made in ESDP. The Heads of State or Government will also approve a detailed work programme for the Commission and the Secretary General/High Representative on relations with the Arab world.
Lastly, on the subject of sustainable growth, the European Council will need to adopt tangible decisions on the Growth Initiative, especially where the quick-start programme is concerned, and will receive a report from the Commission containing proposals for the reinforcement of the production framework, with a view to preventing deindustrialisation.
The major institutional events in the Union’s calendar in 2004 give this programme a particular significance. Indeed, 2004 will be a year of great changes. First of all, we have the signing of the new Constitutional Treaty, which will lay the foundations for the future development of the Union. Next year will also see the European Parliament elections – which, for the first time, will also involve the citizens and candidates of the 10 new Member States. On 1 November 2004, the new Commission will take up full office. Finally, next year will see the start of the negotiations for the definition of the next Financial Perspective, which will be decisive in orienting European Union policy in the coming years.
Although the Council has not yet set out its position with respect to the Commission programme, it certainly agrees with – and is ready to subscribe to – the three main priorities identified by the Community executive: enlargement, stability and sustainable growth. The Council has taken note of the objectives established by the Commission, as well as the initiatives and proposals it intends to present during 2004 in order to implement these priorities. Taking into account the institutional events of the coming year, the legislative work will need to be as focused as possible, and the Presidency is therefore pleased to note the Commission’s undertaking to concentrate first and foremost on the initiatives considered to be most essential.
I would also like to emphasise that, even more than in the past, the cooperation between the Council and Parliament will be decisive in ensuring that the Commission’s legislative proposals are adopted within the hoped-for timescale. The Council is pleased to note that the Commission has implemented in full the new impact assessment procedure. Indeed, as the European Council stressed in October, this procedure is extremely important if we are to avoid the situation arising where European Union legislation makes the Union less competitive than other major economic areas of the world.
The Presidency is also extremely pleased to note that the Commission’s annual programming exercise has been carried out within the framework of the structured interinstitutional dialogue. The dialogue between the Commission, on the one hand, and the Council and Parliament, on the other, which was initiated on the basis of the Commission Communication on Annual Policy Strategy, makes it possible for these two institutions to ensure that their point of view on the proposals put forward by the Community executive for the following year is taken into account, before the final version of the legislative and work programme is drawn up.
I therefore feel that I must stress at this point that the sooner the Annual Policy Strategy is presented, the more fruitful this exercise is likely to be. More specifically, its timely presentation would enable the discussion of budgetary procedures to be developed on the basis of the results of the structured dialogue with Parliament and the Council.
Even though, as I have said, the Council has not yet defined its position as regards the Commission’s work programme, it will, of course, take it into account in drawing up its own work programme. In this connection, I wish to remind you that, in accordance with the reforms approved by the Seville European Council, the aim of which is to ensure greater continuity and consistency in the Council’s work, the six delegations that will be holding the Council Presidency over the coming three years are drawing up a multiannual strategic programme that will be adopted by the December European Council.
I would also like to mention here that the future – Irish and Dutch – Presidencies, which will have the task next year of steering the work of the Council on the Commission’s initiatives for 2004, are already working on drawing up the next annual programme for the Council – as, I remember, was done by the Greek and Italian Presidencies for the current year. Parliament will, of course, be informed at the earliest possible date of the results of this work so that it can put forward its own observations, as envisaged by the provisions of the interinstitutional agreement on better lawmaking.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, lastly, I would like, if I may, to take the opportunity provided by this debate on the Commission’s programme to say a few very brief words on the goals of the Italian Presidency with a view to the December European Council, a subject to which I shall, of course, return with you in more detail during the next plenary session in Brussels. The decisions adopted at the December Summit will, to a certain extent, reflect the priorities established by the Commission and will, therefore, be able to help us achieve the objectives set for 2004."@en1
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