Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-05-05-Speech-2-203"
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"Mr President, I very much welcome this opportunity to appear before you well in advance of the next meeting of the European Council, which I will not personally attend. Of course, this time the circumstances are a bit unusual, as a new Czech Government is about to be appointed. I will say a few more words about this at the very end of my statement.
More generally, the June European Council will take stock of the situation on the financial markets and assess the effectiveness of measures taken so far. It will also take stock of measures taken to support the ‘real’ economy, and, in this connection, look at the employment situation.
On Thursday, the day after tomorrow, we will be holding a special employment summit with the social partners in Prague that should address these important issues. You will be informed in detail about the agenda of this summit later today during a special debate.
Aside from the outcome of Thursday’s summit in Prague, as well as the very interesting seminars and workshops organised in recent weeks in the Czech Republic, in Sweden and in Spain, the Commission will also issue a communication very soon, in the run-up to the June European Council, so that by the time of the European Council we will have a number of interesting ideas and recommendations on the table for our consideration.
However, let me underline that this is not about launching a grand new strategy for employment. We already have one – the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Employment. We have recently reaffirmed the existing employment guidelines and adopted country-specific recommendations. More generally, let me recall that the stimulus packages that the Union and the Member States have adopted since the end of last year constitute major contributions to supporting employment.
On climate change, the June European Council will revert to the preparations of the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change. It will take stock of progress achieved, both at international level and as regards our own internal preparations.
This is a complex issue, especially since negotiations with our international partners run in parallel to our own internal discussions. There was a summit yesterday between the EU and Japan in Prague. It is clear that significant amounts of financing will be required in order to underpin an ambitious agreement in Copenhagen. The EU is committed to shouldering its fair share of that, which of course also requires a fair internal burden-sharing agreement.
How far we go at the June European Council as regards the EU’s own internal arrangements will very much depend on how far our international partners, including the US, have gone and on the status of negotiations in the multilateral framework. Let me emphasise the EU’s continued will to demonstrate leadership, with the objective of reaching an ambitious outcome in Copenhagen.
It is rather premature at this stage to speak in detail about the agenda of the European Council as far as external relations are concerned. However, two important summits with third countries will be held in Prague at the end of this week: the Eastern Partnership Summit on 7 May and the ‘Southern Corridor – New Silk Road’ Summit the day after. It is very likely that the European Council will discuss follow-ups to these events which are crucial for the Union’s interests in the long-term perspective.
Likewise, we can expect some debates on the Troika summits with Japan and Canada and other important summits and meetings already planned for May, Russia included. The external relations agenda will in any case be updated on the grounds of current developments, namely the General Affairs and External Relations Council meetings in May and June which will be dealing with defence and development issues on top of the usual agenda.
I would like to express my thanks for your interest in the upcoming European Council agenda and I will certainly be glad to hear your inspiring comments and views in the following discussion.
Let me first run through the main issues on the agenda of the June European Council as we the Presidency are preparing it. I shall start with the institutional issues. In December 2008, the European Council agreed on a path designed to enable the Lisbon Treaty to enter into force by the end of 2009. In essence, this involves giving legal guarantees and assurances on a number of issues of concern to the Irish people, in return for which the Irish Government is committed to seeking ratification of the Treaty before the end of October.
Work on implementing this agreement is still ongoing, and I am not at this stage in a condition to go into details. I am confident that the forthcoming European Council will be able to fulfil its side of the bargain.
As you all probably know, tomorrow there will be a vote on the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in the Czech Senate. I am going home in the middle of the night to be there from early morning. I believe that the result of this vote will send a positive message to the other Member States and that it will calm down some unfounded apprehensions. I am working hard! Nevertheless, the Czech senators must in any case be granted unconditional independence in this democratic decision-making. It is obvious that any attempt to put pressure on them might prove counterproductive.
Last December, it was also agreed that the process of appointment of the future Commission, in particular the designation of its president, will be initiated without delay after the European Parliament elections of June 2009.
I am fully aware of the views expressed here on the desirability of involving the European Parliament in this process in an adequate manner. The Presidency will of course work closely not only with the Member States, but also with this Parliament.
I shall now say a few things on the economic and financial crisis, which will certainly dominate an important part of the agenda, and on the need to respond further to the economic and financial crisis.
The crisis demonstrated the acute need to strengthen the effectiveness of the supervision and regulation of financial institutions and to enhance crisis management mechanisms. We have already begun doing so, both at EU level and more globally. In that context, the group chaired by Mr de Larosière has produced very interesting ideas, and the Commission tabled a first set of proposals last week. Further proposals are expected in the coming weeks.
These are being, and will be, discussed by Ecofin – and we have the Ecofin meeting today – and our objective will be to reach first decisions by the European Council. This is an ambitious objective and, clearly, work will need to continue beyond June, so it is of fundamental importance that the June European Council is able to give a strong signal for the rapid adoption of the proposals to be presented by the Commission."@en1
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