[autom.vertaling] Het nastreven van het inter-parliamentary debat over de Toekomst van Europa (en)

There was a general consensus among the Members of national Parliaments and of the European Parliament at the first Joint Parliamentary meeting on the "Future of Europe", to continue meeting to further debate citizens' concerns.

"We are building a supranational democracy, which, for the European Parliament, implies working in close cooperation with national parliaments. This first meeting showed the importance and necessity for increased parliamentary dialogue " said President Borrell opening the press conference after the morning session of the meeting. He added: " I am delighted the Finnish Presidency intends to continue the collaboration begun today with the Austrian Presidency, during a second forum in December, where we will have the occasion to continue and intensify our exchanges on the subjects which really matter to our citizens."

President Khol said: " We are pleased that this conference took place, enabling us - members of national parliaments and members of the European Parliament - to better work together. This is a step in the right direction for our future relations. I am delighted that the Finnish presidency intends to carry on in this vein. I am sure that the discussions we had together during these two days, will be useful for the debates we will hold in our national parliaments on the same issues. "

Josep Borrell and Andreas Khol, who co-chaired the parliamentary meeting, agreed that national Parliaments must be more involved in the EU decision-making process, particularly when evaluating the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. President Khol said: " I also welcome the proposal by the President of the European Commission, in response to the conference on subsidiarity organised in April, to pass on directly to national parliaments all new European proposals and to invite us to react to those."

Both Presidents agreed that: "the philosopher's stone allowing us to find the perfect alternative solution to the Constitutional Treaty has not yet been discovered, but today's debates will be used to enter into the phase of refining the proposals."

Next Joint Parliamentary meeting in December

The Joint Parliamentary meeting came up with a concrete result as regards the debate on how the EU should be financed. Members of the European and national Parliaments agreed to set up a permanent working group to explore different options to finance EU policies.

During the morning, the speaker of the Finnish Parliament, Paavo Lipponen, proposed that " a similar conference be organised under the Finnish presidency, in Brussels, co-chaired by the Finnish Parliament and the EP " to pursue the debate. The idea of further inter-parliamentary discussions on the future of Europe was welcomed. Bronislaw Geremek (ALDE, PL) even suggested that " every year on 9 May we should organise such a debate ".

Yves Bur, vice-President of the French National Assembly, stressed the need for closer cooperation between the European and national Parliamentarians to ensure respect of the subsidiarity principle. The President of the Danish Folketinget, Christian Mejdahl, agreed, stressing that more citizen participation is needed. Martin Schulz (PES, DE), speaking on behalf of his group said: " The deepening of the EU always means more parliamentary democracy " and a greater role for national Parliaments. Recalling the Schuman plan, Hans Pöttering, leader of the EPP group, stressed the importance of promoting European values inside the Union and abroad and concluded: " We need to continue with passion and with patience."

Is the Constitution still alive?

Jo Leinen (PES, DE), Chairman of the committee on Constitutional Affairs, expressed his personal satisfaction on the 15th ratification of the Constitutional treaty by the Estonian Parliament today. Applauding the news, a majority of participants agreed that the draft Constitution should still be the basis for discussion of EU institutional reform, even after the 'no's' in the French and Dutch referenda. " One year after the referenda, we are divided, the budget is going down and we are going back to nationalism. We have got to take the constitutional text and see what should be saved and what should be deleted from it " said Monica Frassoni (Greens/EFA, IT). Manuel Huertas, on behalf of the Spanish national delegation, recalled that a majority of Member States (15) and the majority of European citizens supported the Treaty. Graham Watson (ALDE, UK), leader of the European liberals, said: " The European Union needs a constitution based on common values; we badly need a constitutional framework." Swedish MP Tuve Sk?nberg said that the Constitution is supported by a majority, but " there are criticisms and it is important to allow criticisms to be heard."

A few voices, including Portuguese MP Honorio Novo, said that " the Constitution is dead ". For Jens-Peter Bonde, "a new Constitution for Europe should be drawn up bottom up instead of top down. We should not vote any text which has not been approved by the majority of the national parliaments." According to the vice-President of the Polish Sejm, Jaroslaw Kalinowski, " the Treaty should be made simpler and more understandable for Europeans." Francis Wurtz (GUE/NGL, FR) justified the rejection of the Treaty by saying: " Citizens have the feeling that the EU is not a solution to globalisation, but part of the problem ".

In the afternoon, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel defended the Constitution: "The constitution treaty is the most successful attempt we've had so far to build on the achievements of the past 50 years," he said. "The way things stand, I don't see a better option." Paving the way for a June Summit which will be dominated by talks on the deadlocked Treaty, Chancellor Schüssel also came up with daring new ideas, like a EU fire brigade, to show "that Europe is acting together", as part of a "roadmap for seven or eight projects with concrete timetables".

Enlargement: before or after reforms?

French MP Pierre Lequiller said the EU cannot expand further without reforms to improve efficiency. " We cannot continue to enlarge if we want to have a political EU. " The vice-president of the Czech Senate, Jiri Liska, said: " The EU has to expand further, we cannot stop this trend. Romanian and Bulgarian accessions cannot be postponed and we have to proceed with Balkan countries' negotiations." The President of the Turkish Delegation to the Council of Europe, Murat Mercan, emphasised the advantages of accepting Turkey's membership. " I think my country has a lot to contribute to enhance the EU capacity to influence world politics," he said. " Integrating Macedonia will be the least costly enlargement " explained Slobodan Casule, from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. He concluded: " The issue of the Western Balkans is not about enlargement, it is about reunifying Europe."

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso highlighted the need to stay in touch with citizens' concerns: "Enlargement has enriched Europe hugely and brought it new strength. But we must recognize some very real public concern, and show that Europe is not enlarging by default, but through our own deliberate choice", Barroso said.

The debate held yesterday and today in the EP will contribute to the discussions of the European Council on 15 and 16 June, which will draw initial conclusions on the reflection period. The decision to hold the next Joint Parliamentary meeting at the end of the year will be made on 30 June.

09/05/2006

Co-chaired by : Josep BORRELL FONTELLES (President of the European Parliament)

Andreas KHOL (President of the Austrian Nationalrat)

Joint Parliamentary meeting on the "Future Of Europe"

Press releases in the 20 official languages will be published tomorrow on this web site in the "national angle" section (see link below)