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The word “terrorism”, declined in the 20 official languages, is undoubtedly the most recurrent in the EU’s institutional seats in recent times. There is no official meeting, no informal get-together, or working document, at which a worrying reference is not made to the “mortal fury”, to adopt the expression used by the president of the European Parliament in his first speech to the Assembly convened in Strasbourg from 13 to 16 September. Combating terrorism, removing its causes. After calling for a minute’s silence to commemorate the victims of Beslan, New York and Madrid on Tuesday at midday, the president of the EP, the Spaniard Josep Borrell, appealed for “the immediate release of the two young Italian girl volunteers and their aides taken hostage in Iraq”. “We do not wish to remain silent – said Borrell -, because so many human beings have died as a result of this mortal fury in Iraq, in Russia, in the Middle East, in Indonesia and in Afghanistan. We condemn every deliberate act of violence that causes suffering and that generates insecurity among citizens. To combat terrorism, international cooperation between the police forces, in the judicial field and among the intelligence services is needed. But that in itself is not enough: efforts also need to be made to remove the deep-seated causes that lie at the origin of terrorism” and that are social and cultural in nature. There was a wide-ranging debate in the assembly on terrorism, in which Bernard Bot, Dutch foreign minister (Holland holds the revolving Presidency of the EU), and EU Comissioner for external relations, the Englishman Chris Patten, also participated. Citizens and the process for the ratification of the Constitutions. The priorities on the agenda of the EP in the next few months include the investiture of the new Commission, the evaluation of the decisions taken by Executive and Council with regard to the possible membership of Turkey (very different positions on the question are emerging at the Community level), the definition of the financial prospects for the period 2007/2013, the reform of the Stability Pact and the re-launch of the “Lisbon strategy”, aimed at making the EU the most competitive economy in the world “based on knowledge” and “social cohesion”: in this regard, however, Borrell complained of the inaction of member states. An essential point in Borrell’s speech was the question of the ratification of the Constitution, which is due to be signed in Rome on 29 October, after which it will have to obtain the endorsement of the 25 member states. “We must convert the Parliament said Borrell into a great forum that sets an example of an open, pluralistic and democratic exchange. The debate will be complex due to ideological reasons and questions of identity; it must help those citizens who are called to express their views in referendums, so that they may understand the reasons and consequences of their decisions and pronounce on the content of the constitutional treaty independent of the political context that prevails in each country”. Reform of the Stability Pact and first 25-member budget. During the plenary session MEPs also debated the reform of the Stability Pact and the EU budget for 2005. The Executive presented a communication on the “reinforcement of economic governance”. Without placing in discussion the fundamental principles that defend the stability of the European currency, the Commission’s proposals intend to introduce “a more economic logic in the application of the Pact, reinforcing both its control and implementation”. The objective, according to Spanish Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquìn Almunia, is to “support macroeconomic stability and guarantee sustainable public finances”. To this end, the intention is to reinforce the coordination of the economic policies of the 25; “place the emphasis on the sustainability of the debt in monitoring budgetary trends”; and “take into account, to a greater degree, the specific situation of each country in defining financial objectives”. For his part the Dutch Presidency of the Council presented the draft Community budget for 2005, the first with effect on the 25 countries of the Union. The draft budget makes provision for 116 billion euros in “commitment appropriations” and 105 billion in “payment appropriations”. As usual, most of the resources will be allocated to agriculture (approximately 50 billion euros), followed by structural funds (32 billion) and internal policies: a quota of these funds will be invested in the 10 new member states. The other sectors of intervention of the EU budget concern research, education and culture, energy and transport, the protection of health and consumers, security, and frontier controls. The process for the adoption of the budget is rather complex and entails further adjustments by the Commission and final approval by the Council and by Parliament itself.
