The "triangle" holds” “

The sixth months’ Irish Presidency of the European Council ended with a succession of summits, appointments and projects for the future: the helm of the Union passed to the Netherlands on 1st July. The “institutional triangle” (Parliament, Council, Commission) has been subjected to a number of far-reaching changes in recent days, and these are set to continue in July, given the various deadlines ahead. A portUghese AT THE HEAD OF THE Commission. The final success of Irish premier Bertie Ahern was the nomination of Portughese prime minister José Manuel Durao Barroso as President of the Commission. “I accept this demanding post – said Barroso – confident of the support of the Council and conscious of a great responsibility”. During the extraordinary summit in Brussels on 29 June, the heads of state and of government of the EU ratified a decision that had been in the air for days and that could now be formalized after the acceptance of Barroso’s candidature, though he leaves the leadership of the national government weakened by the results of the latest European elections. Barroso, aged 48, married with three children, and with a long political career that has led him from the left as protagonist of the “carnation revolution” in 1974 to the moderate liberal Social-Democratic party, affiliated with the EPP, is a man of great diplomatic experience. He knows how the European Community works. He speaks fluent English and French. He now awaits the vote of approval of the Parliament in Strasbourg (22 July), the choice of the 24 Commissioners who will form the next EU Executive, and the final vote of the Assembly at the end of October. He will enter into office on 1st November and will have immediately to take in hand the dossiers relating to the entry into the Union of Bulgaria and Romania, establish a timetable for the process leading to possible EU membership for Croatia and Turkey, and define the long-term budget for the period 2007-2013. In particular it will be his task to guide the lengthy phase of achieving the full integration of the ten latest member countries into the Community. Solana confIRMED; Ahern RETURNS TO Dublin. The same summit in Brussels on Tuesday 29 June also confirmed the Spanish Javier Solana as high representative of EU foreign policy and common security. Solana is thus set to assume the post of EU “Foreign Minister” once the Constitutional Treaty comes into force. He will also be vice-president of the Commission. At the end of the summit, Bertie Ahern said he was satisfied by the results achieved and called Barroso “an expert and competent person”, who “will undoubtedly be able to make the Commission work properly”. Equally satisfied was outgoing Commission President Romano Prodi, who declared that this decision “is a recognition of the capacities of Portugal’s leadership, its people, institutions, and economic and social realities”. TOWARDS A REFORM OF THE STABILITY PACT. Other important events for the future of the Twenty-Five took place in recent days: the meeting between EU leaders and the Japanese government, focusing especially on economic questions; and the EU-USA summit in Ireland, during which the rift between the two sides of the Atlantic was healed after the divisions caused by the war in Iraq. Europe and the USA expressed full support for the sovereign Iraqi government that has just been installed; called for a greater presence of the UNO; made a commitment to reduce the public debt of Iraq; and promised support for reorganizing the country’s domestic armed forces. For its part, the European Parliament is preparing for its first plenary session in Strasbourg on 20-23 July, when the newly elected MEPs will take their seats, the political groups will be formed and the President of the EP chosen. The Commission meanwhile is continuing its ordinary work: the programme of economic convergence for the ten new accession counties was presented in Brussels this week, “tangible proof – said the Commissioner for economic and monetary affairs Joaquin Almunia – that these nations are preparing for the adoption of the euro”. The Executive, which is evaluating the position of member states on the Stability Pact (an opinion on the question is expected next week) has meanwhile made a “recommendation” for excessive deficit to Greece and is working at the same time on a far-reaching reform of the Pact to make it more flexible and more responsive to the economic cycle.