A plan and two promises” “

Good intentions, some deals on specific points and, altogether, a political climate favourable to reaching an agreement within a reasonable time. The European Council in Brussels on 25-26 March ended with a plan to tackle terrorism and with two promises: to finalise the text of the Constitution in time for the summit in mid-June and to revive, by joint action, the “Lisbon strategy” to make the European economy more competitive. The will to resume the process of continental integration, after the failure of the intergovernmental Conference in December, owes a lot to the present terrorist threat after the bomb blasts in Madrid, but also to the consciousness of two fast-approaching “appointments with history”: enlargement to 25 (1st May) and elections for the renewal of the Parliament in Strasbourg (10-13 June). CONCRETE MEASURES AGAINST TERRORISM. The current President of the European Council, Irish premier BERTIE AHERN, ascertained, during the summit, a unanimous willingness for an offensive against terrorism: “There will be no surrender or compromise of any type in relation to terrorism – says a document signed by the leaders of the Union -. No country in the world can consider itself immune from the threat. Terrorism can only be defeated by solidarity and collective action”. GIJS DE VRIES, former Dutch under-secretary of the Interior, will coordinate the efforts of the EU in this field, which entail (among other measures): a “solidarity clause” for the joint response to violent acts; the improvement of judicial cooperation; the sharing of intelligence; the reinforcement of frontier controls; and the consolidation of Europol and Eurojust. For his part, Commission President ROMANO PRODI insisted that, “alongside these necessary counter-measures, the causes that lie at the origin of so much economic and social injustice, and often at the roots of terrorism, must be tackled with determination”. EU CONSTITUTION AND COMMON FOREIGN POLICY. A renewed willingness to achieve the approval of the Constitution was registered during the summit in Brussels. “It cannot be excluded that we shall be able to come to the next Council in mid-June with a definitive text”, explained Ahern. His fellow-Irishman and President of the European Parliament PAT COX echoed his hopes on this score. “Parliament – explained Cox – would prefer the approval [of the Constitution] by 1st May, or in time for the Festival of Europe on 9 May. But if a result were to be achieved by June that would be equally positive”. Foreign policy, on the other hand, remains a weak point of the Union: the war in Iraq had revealed the lack of a common policy. The EU now hopes for the greater involvement of the UNO to give peace and development to the country after the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Closely linked to this problem is that of the Middle East: the Union insists that the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians must be resumed. In its “own home”, the EU “confirms its clear preference for the membership of a unified Cyprus”. A “BABEL” IN WHICH DIALOGUE IS PURSUED. The problem of the impulse to be given to the “Lisbon strategy” remains open. In this context the Council has appointed former Dutch premier WIM KOK to head a commission that will control the state of advancement of the Lisbon Agenda. Respect for the Stability Pact, rigour of public accounts, and investments in research and infrastructures will be at the top of the list of objectives of the 25 to make the European economy more competitive on world markets: a knowledge-based economy, able to create jobs and social cohesion. By 1st November 2004 Kok will have to identify coherent policy options. Finally, the Council marked some significant changes taking place in the Union. The representatives of the ten new “members” of the EU were sitting round the Council table, and the various heads of government and foreign ministers making their debut on the continental scene. A “tribute to Europeanism” was paid to outgoing Spanish premier JOSÉ MARIA AZNAR, at his last summit. In a “Babel” of almost twenty official languages, the European Council inaugurated the age of a Europe with a half a billion citizens who need to be brought together and integrated in the Union. The challenge of the consolidation of the EU (in which the Constitution and the “Lisbon Strategy” play an essential role) needs to go hand in hand with the effort to welcome the new members, extending Community policies beyond the Iron Curtain, in such a way that West and East – as JOHN PAUL II declared – may once again become “the two lungs that Europe cannot do without if she wants to breathe”. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1284 N.ro relativo : 24 Data pubblicazione : 31/03/2004