No endless debate

The summit of the heads of state and of government of the EU, convened in Brussels on 15-16 June, is called to express its view on the future of the EU Constitution, hitherto ratified by 15 countries and rejected by referendum both by France and Holland. After a “pause for reflection” lasting a year, the European Council considers that the time is not yet ripe to take concrete decisions on the matter. “The timetable of the debate needs to be prolonged”. THE COUNCIL PROLONGS THE PAUSE FOR REFLECTION. It was the Austrian Chancellor WOLFGANG SCHÜSSEL , current President of the European Council, who explained, on the eve of the summit, that “the reflection in course on the Constitutional Treaty” and on ways to render it operational, “require an extension of the period of discussion”. In fact, as admitted by various political leaders present at the summit, all prefer to await three events of extreme relevance before coming to a decision: the assumption by Germany of the revolving Presidency of the Council, in the first half of 2007 (a lot of trust is placed in Chancellor Angela Merkel); the French Presidential elections of next year; and the revolving Presidency assigned to Paris in the second half of 2008. It is no accident that Schüssel explained that “Austria has inaugurated a phase of proposals that ought to be concluded, in the best of hypotheses, by the end of 2008”. “NEED TO ACT IN A HURRY”. But the two most “community-minded” institutions of the EU, the Parliament and the Commission are not resigned to the impasse. The President of the EP, JOSEP BORRELL , invited as usual to speak at the start of the Council, presented the heads of state and of government with the position defined at Strasbourg on Wednesday 14 June. “The EU has a need for a clear legal framework – explained Borrell – and there’s a need to act in a hurry. MEPs confirm their support for the Constitutional Treaty” and ask that “a solution be found before the forthcoming European elections of 2009”. The Parliament maintains that the European Council ought to require precise commitments to be made by each member state “on the ways and means with which to create and conduct an open and structured public debate, at the national and Community level, on the “fundamental questions of the future of Europe” during the “extended” period of reflection, in such a way as to involve citizens. Equally the EP insists on the need for the member states that have not yet ratified the Charter to fix a timetable for doing so. NO TO EUROPESSIMIISM. The President of the Commission, JOSÉ MANUEL BARROSO , was even more resolute. He arrived at the summit, reaffirming his “decided no to europessimism”. The head of the Executive calls for “an enlarged, open, prosperous, dynamic and confident Europe, rooted in the values we share, such as solidarity, which does not passively suffer globalization but that is, on the contrary, able to come to terms with it”. Barroso warns the 25: “From the period of reflection we need to pass to the period of commitment”. “2007 – he points out – will mark the 50th anniversary of the birth of the European Community. We can limit ourselves to a commemoration turned to the past, or we can grasp the opportunity to look to the future”. Barroso therefore calls for a “road map” for the final adoption of the EU Constitution: “A year ago I had pointed out the danger of a paralysis of Europe. Today I think we have averted this risk; an agreement has been reached on the budget; we have re-launched the Lisbon Strategy, and adopted key legislation in the chemicals and services sectors. We are working on issues of research [on Thursday 15 June the Parliament approved the Seventh Programme for Research, which among other things authorises EU funding for experiments on embryonal stem cells] and energy. We won’t stop, although the eurosceptical sentiment is ever present. BARROSO’S STRATEGY. Barroso does not limit himself to “good intentions”. He indicates – in accord with Schüssel – an operational strategy. “We envisage a two-pronged action: on the one hand, we need to insist on the EU of results, to respond to the hopes of citizens; on the other, we need the will to reform our common institutions and make them more democratic”. In describing the “obligatory roads” to resume the forward march of the EU, the President of the Commission asks the European Council for “support on some, if not most, of the proposals advanced by the Executive”: “in the first place we need to furnish results in the fields of internal market, social issues and work, training, security, enlargement and the role of Europe in the world”. “Second, we need to act on the institutional level: we need a better decision-making system in which decisions are taken by majority vote, transparency, and a cohesive action on the world scene”. For all this, “the Treaty of Nice is no longer enough: we need to ratify and achieve the entry into force of the Constitution”.