The Netherlands assumed the revolving Presidency of the European Council on 1st July and will hold it until 31 December. It promises to be a “dynamic” semester, its agenda determined by the problems of enlargement, the Constitution, the definition of the budget and the fight against terrorism. The programme of the Dutch Presidency will be officially presented to the Parliament in Strasbourg in its plenary session at the end of July, but is already circulating in Brussels. In the meantime, close collaboration with the Commission is planned, though it in turn is awaiting a change of guard at the beginning of November. According to a statement issued in recent days, the first objective posed by the Dutch Presidency is “an effective management of enlargement”. “It will be crucial according to the Dutch government to involve the new member states in all the activities [of the EU] as soon as possible”. Another priority is to conduct the negotiations with Romania and Bulgaria and take precise decisions on the membership applications made by Croatia and Turkey. The task of “reinforcing the European economy in a sustainable manner” is also essential. To this end says the Dutch Presidency the EU “must proceed with the implementation of the measures and structural reforms on which agreement has already been reached”. The challenge of the Lisbon Strategy”, aimed at boosting the “knowledge economy”, remains in the background. The negotiations on the financial prospects of the EU will also be decisive. In this regard, Holland “supports the idea of a budget that is reasonable both for the coffers of member states and for those of the Union as a whole”. The fight against terrorism and organized crime are among the main objectives, and already there is talk of “an agenda that may clearly spell out the future stages in the field of policies on asylum, immigration and integration”.
