How to proceed together” “

“Europe has progressed towards integration in this way for over fifty years, amid successes, goals achieved and new problems. This ‘policy of small steps’ has led to great results. Perhaps there is no other way of proceeding together”. Thomas Jansen , German, with a career in the EU institutions, was until last month head of the Cabinet of the chairman of the Economic and Social Committee. Spokesman for European affairs of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZDK), he explains to Gianni Borsa, SIR correspondent in Brussels, his position on more recent developments and on the forthcoming challenges facing the Twenty-Five. The European Union has a Constitution that now waits to be ratified and enter into force. Is it a real step forward towards integration? “In terms of its contents and symbolic value, the Constitution is an important point in the history of the European Community. But it is a Treaty that has still to be ratified and then effectively implemented. I think that obstacles will arise, in response to which it will be necessary to invent something new, as in the event of one or more member state failing to ratify it. Thought should be given to a ‘second attempt’ of ratification, perhaps deferred to a slightly later date… What is sure is that the progress of the Union cannot be blocked”. What are the pros and cons of the Constitutional Treaty? “It is, first of all, a document of synthesis, clearer and more legible that the many Treaties it replaces. It is enough to think of the first part, where the fundamental values of the Community are clearly enunciated. Then there’s the whole chapter on participative democracy, aimed at bringing citizens closer to the institutions. In this sense the Constitution adopts the method of civil dialogue, gives more powers to the Parliament, inserts the right of petition, gives scope to society and begins a structured dialogue with the religious communities. Overall I see greater transparency in the functioning of the ‘Community machine’. The method itself that was used to arrive at the Constitution is also positive: I mean the work of the Convention, because it created the opportunities for a wider debate on these questions. Of course various limitations are not lacking either: no provision, for instance, is made for a clause for the amendment of the Constitution to improve it, to adjust it to the new needs that will surely emerge within the EU, other than by convening a further Intergovernmental Conference”. What do you think of the vote by unanimity in various EU sectors? “It seems to me that the majority vote has made progress, having been extended to other fields. Of course, the right of veto on questions of fundamental importance, such as foreign policy, cannot but act as a break on the integration of the Twenty-Five. In this way it will be impossible for the European Union to formulate any meaningful foreign policy. I would not consider this text definitive; it will be necessary to amend it and enrich it”. From an economic and social viewpoint, does the Constitution protect the rights of citizens? “A Constitutional Treaty is more a ‘container’ than a ‘content’. It prescribes rules and procedures, which will then permit policies to be developed, including those in the economic and social fields. In this area the text now being submitted to ratification incorporates the so-called aquis communautaire, the legacy of laws and practices sedimented in many years of the life first of the EEC and then of the EU. Policies are treated in Part III, which does not in fact present any particular novelties. As a general observation, however, I would say that the Union is increasingly moving towards citizens, and trying to solve their daily problems concerning employment, the safeguard of human rights and the real needs of people”. How is the process of including the ten new member states that joined the EU on 1st May 2004 proceeding? “The effort of including the Ten did not in fact begin on 1st May, but some ten years previously, or even longer, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The EU had created projects and funds to support these nations, consolidate democracy and help them to develop on the economic and social levels. Now the time has come to deepen this commitment. And the fact that some countries, discussing the EU’s financial prospects for 2007-2013, have declared they don’t want to add further resources to the coffers of the EU, is a mistake: those funds are needed for inclusion. When projects grow and common responsibilities and ambitions increase, we also need to persuade ourselves of the need to spend more”.