Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-01-20-Speech-3-023"
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"en.20100120.3.3-023"2
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"Mr President, I believe that there has been general consensus on the priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the Council, with, of course, some nuances depending on the stance of the various political groups, but there is one issue which has figured in several speeches and to which I wish to refer, namely the question of European coordination, or consistency, whether it be in our response to natural disasters outside Europe, or in our response within the framework of external relations, for example post-Copenhagen, or in relation to economic policy. And on that matter, I believe that we have a solution, which is to apply the Treaty of Lisbon. We do not have to go very far.
There is, therefore, joint monitoring. Beyond that, and this is something new in the Treaty of Lisbon, the Commission may now make concrete recommendations, especially, and I quote: ‘Where it is established that the policies of a Member State are not consistent with the broad guidelines or that they risk jeopardising the proper functioning of economic and monetary union, the Commission may address a warning to the Member State concerned’. And further on: ‘The Council, on a recommendation from the Commission, may address the necessary recommendations to the Member State concerned’.
This is very interesting, though, because Parliament, too, will have powers in this context: ‘The President of the Council and the Commission shall report to the European Parliament on the results of multilateral surveillance’. In other words, henceforth, we have the mechanisms in the Treaty of Lisbon – there is no need to invent anything new ...
No, yes, of course, I have already done it. I do not need to have your support to say it ...
And the truth is that we have, in the Treaty of Lisbon, if we truly wish to apply it, the instruments that we need to guarantee coordination and consistency, with no need for political or ideological divisions on this issue. This is my point – and this is why I must stress it here today: this is the first time that we have had a new rotating Presidency of the Council at the European Parliament.
The Spanish Presidency has a great responsibility. This is the first time since the Treaty of Lisbon came into force that we have had a rotating Presidency. Furthermore, as Mr Zapatero has said – and he has my full confidence because of his commitment to Europe – I believe that we have a responsibility to apply the treaty in both letter and spirit. Both the letter and the spirit of the Treaty of Lisbon are very clear.
A stronger Europe! A stronger Europe, not for the sake of the institutions, but so that the institutions are better able to serve the real interests of our citizens.
As for our response to humanitarian crises, we have the famous Barnier report, which has already been mentioned today. This is a report that I and the rotating Presidency at the time, the Austrian Presidency, requested from your fellow Member of Parliament and my good friend, Michel Barnier. He was not a commissioner at that time, and it was on my own initiative that I asked him to draft this report.
We received this report, which had my support and that of the then Presidency of the Council. Thereafter, it was not applied because the Council did not wish to apply it; let us be clear on that. This is why we must do more on the issue of consistency in the European Union’s external humanitarian action.
Now, I believe that the answer lies in the Treaty of Lisbon. We have a High Representative who is the Vice-President of the Commission and, at the same time, Chair of the Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers.
This is why, in the new Commission, I have created a new ‘International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response’ portfolio. This will be a commissioner, in this case, probably a female commissioner, for whom this will be the first task and who will need to work in tandem with the High Representative and with the Council so that we may, one day, I trust, have a true external service, but also competences in the area of crisis response and civil protection. That is all on the first question.
The second question concerns international negotiations, for example, in the wake of Copenhagen. Here again, I have to read out the Treaty of Lisbon, because I believe many people have not read it. Article 17: ‘With the exception of the common foreign and security policy, and other cases provided for in the treaties, it shall ensure the Union’s external representation’.
It is henceforth the Commission that represents the Union in foreign affairs, not the European Council. Without doubt, there will be Heads of State or Government who will represent their own countries. Who, though, represents the Union in foreign affairs, except for the CFSP? The Commission.
This is why I created a climate agenda portfolio and thus hope that the commissioner, in this case, a female commissioner, will, in future, have all the support required to represent the Union in the post-Copenhagen negotiations. Let us be clear on this point too.
The third question concerns economic policy. Here, too, the Treaty of Lisbon has to be read. There are those who think that economic policy is a purely national matter. That is not the case. Article 120: ‘The Member States regard their economic policies as a matter of common interest and coordinate them in the Council’. Article 121(2): ‘The Council shall, on a recommendation from the Commission, formulate a draft for the broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and of the Union, and shall report its findings to the European Council’, and, further on – you have to read the full article – ‘In order to ensure closer coordination of economic policies and sustained convergence of the economic performances of the Member States, the Council shall, on the basis of reports submitted by the Commission, monitor economic developments in each of the Member States and in the Union’."@en1
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"(Comment made off-microphone)"1
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