Other steps forward

On the day in which the Parliament in Strasbourg renewed its request for the European Constitution to be approved “by 2008”, the President of the Commission José Manuel Barroso and the newly elected French President Nicholas Sarkozy intervened in Brussels to call for “a simplified, shorter and more compact treaty”. The plenary session of the EP held from 21 to 24 May tackled various questions of direct interest to citizens: a regulation that “reinforces the existing financial instruments in the sector of trans-European transport networks and energy”; a report on patient mobility (“invalids and physicians fully have a right, respectively, to undergo treatment and to exercise their profession in another member state”); and a programme (Daphne III) to curb violence against women and children. YES TO EU EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER. The question of external and common security policy (PESC) was once again examined by the EP on Wednesday, following the failed EU-Russia summit on 18 May. MEPs approved by a very large majority the report signed by the German deputy ELMAR BROK calling for the adoption of the Constitution by the end of next year, including the creation of the post of single EU external affairs minister, “to give greater efficacy and coherence to the PESC”. Brok also urged “coordination with the member states that form part of the UN Security Council” and a decision on a single EU seat at the UN General Assembly in New York. “Priority needs also to be given to the sectors that respond to citizens’ expectations” and “the system of funding common external policy itself needs to be changed”. The document on PESC declares that “without the introduction of the qualified majority vote on questions of external policy”, as prescribed by the Constitution, “the coherence, efficacy and visibility of the external action of the Union will be profoundly compromised”. But the press conference held on Wednesday evening by Barroso and Sarkozy, after a face-to-face meeting to prepare for the summit on 21-22 June, poured cold water on the EP’s proposals. ROAMING: CHEAPER PHONE CALLS. One of the most eagerly questions during this week’s parliamentary session was the definition of the so-called “eurotariff” for international calls from mobile phones; the proposal was adopted by the EP and could enter into force already before the summer. The provision was considered essential at the EP to increase the competitiveness of the economic system and protect consumers. The rapporteur, Austrian deputy PAUL RÜBIG , said he was convinced that a “rapid adoption of the regulation is necessary to enable citizens to benefit from it during their next summer holidays”. JOACHIM WUERRMELING , on behalf of the German Presidency of the EU, assured the EP that “the Council would make every effort” to see that this happens. The deal reached by the EP provides that the retail tariff for roaming, VAT excluded, will be 0.49 euro per minute for outgoing calls and 0.24 euro per minute for incoming calls. The tariffs, moreover, will decrease further by 3 cents per year for the next two years. PREVENTING VIOLENCE ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN. “Contributing to the prevention of and the campaign against all forms of violence ascertained in the public or private sphere against children, youths and women”: that’s the main objective of the new EU programme Daphne III set out in the report presented by German deputy LISSY GRÖNER , and approved by the EP after a heated debate. The forms of violence that the programme is intended to curb, “by adopting measures of prevention and providing support and protection to the victims and to groups at risk”, also include “the sexual exploitation and trafficking of human beings”. The position of the rapporteur offers a compromise with that expressed by the Council. The measures proposed, valid until 2013, will receive funding of 116 million euros for seven years. Daphne III, through a programme of “awareness raising throughout the EU”, is aimed at “promoting a policy of toleration zero towards violence” and “encouraging assistance to the victims and the denunciation of episodes of violence to the competent authorities”. SUPPORTING ORGANIC FARM PRODUCE. The EP finally adopted a position in favour of biological products and systems of natural agricultural production, countering the diffusion of genetically modified organisms. It did so by voting in favour of the report presented by the French deputy MARIE-HÉLÈNE AUBERT . In particular the EP asks the Commission and Council to introduce stricter measures to regulate the cultivation of GMO crops, to prevent contamination from GMO, whose “accidental” and “unavoidable” presence ought not to exceed 0.1%. The EP also calls for greater attention to local varieties, “the specification of place of origin on labels and reinforced vigilance” to protect citizens.