Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-05-11-Speech-3-256"
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"en.20050511.20.3-256"2
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".
Mr President, the new arrangements in the field of foreign relations provided for in the Constitutional Treaty present an opportunity for the European Union to strengthen the efficiency and coherence of its external action. That is one good reason why the Constitutional Treaty should, hopefully, be ratified.
The next step will be a joint progress report to be submitted by the High Representative and the Commission to the European Council in June. In this context, the views of Parliament are important, and I am therefore pleased to participate in your debate today.
I conclude by repeating that we, in the Commission, share the objective of parliamentarians to safeguard and enhance the Community method, and the role of the Commission and Parliament in this process. At the same time, I believe that we share with you the aim of creating new structures that can really contribute to improving the effectiveness, coherence and influence of the Union's policies and actions in the world.
Naturally, there are still uncertainties on various sides: Parliament, the Commission, the Council Secretariat and Member States all have their concerns. But we believe that the chances and opportunities for the Union and its institutions can, in the end, overcome those concerns. We should use this opportunity to make progress towards a stronger and more effective European foreign policy.
In particular, we need to bring together as far as possible the two pillars of the Union's external action: Community external relations and the common foreign and security policy. That will increase our impact, strengthen our voice and help us to promote our European values and interests worldwide. For this reason, the Commission supports the creation of the double-hatted Union Minister for Foreign Affairs. In fact, the Commission proposed this idea to the Convention. It is a logical and necessary improvement of the structure created by the Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties.
The future minister, building on his experience as High Representative, will at the same time be a Vice-President of the Commission. As a member of the college, he will have access to Community competences and to the tools of the Community method, which will be essential for his tasks. It follows that we are strongly in favour of the creation of an effective European External Action Service to enable the Minister/Vice-President to do his job effectively in full respect of Community procedures.
The Constitution confirms the Commission's important responsibilities in foreign affairs, including its role in external representation of the Union and in the execution of the budget. It enhances its role of coordination and coherence in the different areas of external policy, and this will be the special responsibility of the Minister/Vice-President.
Under the Constitution, as under the present Treaty, the Commission will implement the budget under the scrutiny of Parliament. The rights of Parliament will have to be respected, both as budgetary authority for the operational and administrative budget and in its role in multiannual programming.
President Barroso and High Representative Solana have agreed to work closely together. As you know, the future proposal for the establishment of the services will be made by him as minister and decided by the Council after consulting Parliament and obtaining the consent of the Commission.
The Commission, including the Minister/Vice-President, will seek to preserve and promote the Community method, which has proved its capacity to work and achieve good results in external relations. More generally, the Commission will be active and vigilant in safeguarding the institutional balance.
Member States have started to discuss the issues concerning the establishment of the European External Action Service and are beginning to understand the complex issues involved. A process of reflection and comprehension is continuing in capitals, notably on the status of the future service. There is a general agreement that it should be of a
nature, but there are differing ideas as to what this could mean in practice.
Let me say a word on the question of the administrative status of the new service in relation to the Commission and Council, which is a key point in the draft resolution of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs. The various issues concerned are still under discussion, so it is too early to give a definitive answer. The various requirements imposed by the Constitution, for instance regarding the inclusion of officials from the Commission, Council and national diplomatic services, will have to be met. The responsibility of the Commission for the execution of the budget and in relation to Community policies should be preserved. At the same time, duplication should be avoided. Synergies and efficiency should guide the preparations; stronger and more coherent external action should be the guiding principle."@en1
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