First 25-member session” “

The EU faces a busy week, with a meeting of the leaders of the EU institutions in Strasbourg from Tuesday 20 to Friday 23 July. The meeting was prepared by the session for the installation of the new Parliament that will represent the hopes and interests of the 450 million citizens of the Twenty-Five for the next five years. EU LEADERS IN THE “grande toUR” AT StrasbOurg. The plenary session of the EP has a packed calendar before it, an essential ceremonial and a series of particular procedures, including the official launch of the legislature, the election of the President of the EP and the 14 vice-presidents, the vote on the President designate of the Commission, the nomination of the parliamentary commissions, and the presentation of and debate on the programme of the revolving Presidency of the European Council, assumed by the Netherlands on 1st July. “The world will knock at the doors of Europe”: that’s why the Union must be united and strong internally and open to the world. It must also devote attention to the situation in the Middle East. The first official statement of Josep Borrell, Spanish Socialist, elected to the post of President of the European Parliament in Strasbourg by 388 votes on 20 July, is in large part devoted to the role of the EU on the international stage. Present in the “grande tour” that forms the headquarters of the EP in Strasbourg are the 732 newly elected MEPs, the European Commission in full array under its President Romano Prodi, and the President designate of the Executive, the Portuguese José Manuel Durao Barroso, chosen by the heads of state and of government, who now awaits endorsement by the Parliament, before proceeding to the nomination of the other Commissioners and then presenting himself for a final vote (of promotion or rejection) in the parliamentary session at the end of October. The Dutch Presidency of the European Council, led by Premier Jan Peter Balkenende, is naturally present in Strasbourg too. Nor should we forget several thousand EU bureaucrats, accredited journalists from five continents, and service and security personnel. This variegated and distinctive “continental” army has the responsibility to direct the complex activity of the Union, by seeking a basic accord between the various EU institutions. POSITIVE CLIMATE BUT CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON. The climate that reigns in Community circles at the present time is positive: the tension that surrounded the elections to the European Parliament has been dissolved; the new MEPs show a great eagerness to revive the legislative machine (even though the battalion of eurosceptics and downright anti-Europeans in the EP is sizable!); and especially a feeling of euphoria has been created by the recent successes of enlargement and approval of the Constitutional Treaty. Yet reasons for anxiety are not lacking either: there are doubts whether a serene relationship of collaboration, that will respond to a genuine “European spirit” rather than the safeguard of national interests, will be established between the political forces; the degree of cooperation between Parliament, Commission and Council will also have to be tested, without forgetting the contribution that must be made to the Union by the Court of Justice, the Audit Court, the Central Bank and the two advisory committees, the one for the economy and the other for the regions. Harmony between the EU institutions is the essential premise to give effectiveness and farsightedness to EU provisions and policies. The more problematic questions also include the approval of the financial prospects for the period 2007/2013, the definition of a common strategy for the growth both of the economy and employment, and the capacity to act on the international stage with a common foreign policy (Iraq and the Holy Land are the two main test beds for the 25). Lastly, it should be pointed out that the recent ruling of the Court of Justice – ruling in favour of the appeal made by the Commission against the Council on the need to respect the parameters of the Stability Pact – has reaffirmed that Community rules cannot be ignored and that each institution has definite rules: “invasions of territory” are therefore prohibited. MANY PARTIES, MANY EUROSCEPTICS, FEW WOMEN. Such are the prospects in which the new European Parliament has begun its work in Strasbourg, in a “Babel” of 20 official languages. The newly elected MEPs (half of them serving their first term of office) are charged with giving substance to the “European citizenship” sanctioned by the Constitution. The MEPs were chosen by citizens on 10-13 June, with electoral systems that vary from state to state. They represent 160 national parties. Just over 200 women are sitting in the new EP, equivalent to 30% of the total, with the laudable exception of some countries such as Sweden (57% of women MEPs), Holland (44%), and France (43%). There are seven political groups: People’s Party – the most numerous -, Socialists, Liberal-Democrats, Greens, Unified Left, Independence and Democracy (Eurosceptics), and Europe of the Nations. The group of non-aligned, i.e. MEPs that do not belong to any political group, is also numerous. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1315 N.ro relativo : 55 Data pubblicazione : 21/07/2004