Verklaring Voorzitter Europese Raad Van Rompuy na ontmoeting met Poolse premier Donald Tusk (en)

EUROPEAN COUNCIL Warsaw, 15 March 2011 PCE 070/11 SN

THE PRESIDENT Statement by Herman Van Rompuy i, President of the European Council, following his meeting with Prime Minister Donald Tusk i

Allow me first to add to the tributes to the people of Japan in this hour of need. An earthquake powerful enough to make the world wobble on its axis, a massive tsunami, an emergency in nuclear power stations. Any one of these would be a tragedy. Thousands of people have died. This has turned this tragedy into a catastrophe. The European Union stands ready to help Japan in whatever way we can. President Barroso and myself have conveyed this message to Prime Minister Kan. As things stand now, 20 Member States have offered personnel or material through the so-called "European Civil Protection Mechanism". I am happy to say that Poland is one of the contributors. This assistance covers, among others, field hospitals, water purification units, search and rescue expertise. We are also ready to assist in the case the situation in nuclear power plants deteriorates further. Today Prime Minister Tusk and I prepared the next European Council i on 24 and 25 March. The 27 leaders will adopt a full "economic package", to finalise the work on the Union's economic governance.

We will also deal with the "European Semester", in which we will set the priorities for our fiscal, macro-economic, and thematic policies, especially related to the EU 2020 strategy i. The Spring European Council will provide horizontal policy guidance for the European Union. This is the first exercise for a stronger economic governance since the beginning of the sovereign debt crisis. Even if we reached an important deal last Friday on the Pact for the Euro, there is still quite some work to do on the European Council of next week.

There will be important decisions to be taken. One of them is the finalisation of the legislative proposals on economic governance. Another one concerns the participation of non euro area countries in the Pact for the Euro.

I take the European semester and the Pact very seriously. It cannot be a burocratic procedure. Otherwise we will fail to draw lessons from the crisis. And we will evaluate the progress made in implementing the Pact. When I say "we", that means the members of the Eurozone, but also those participating in the coordination. So, the next summits will be "Euro-plus" summits. I would like today to express my strongest hope that Poland will join the Pact for the Euro.

I would also like to discuss at our next European Council how to deepen the single market, on the basis of Commission proposals. The Single Market Act is an important theme of the Polish Presidency i. Indeed, during your Presidency, a lot of legislative work will have to be done to reap all the Market's potential benefits. Finally, we talked this afternoon about international relations, in particular the situation in Libya. The European Council said it was ready to examine "all necessary options" to protect the civilian population, provided that there is a demonstrable need, a clear legal basis, and support from the region. Negotiations on this are going on.

In the months ahead, the European Union will be in a process of rethinking our approach to the Southern Neighbourhood. Some of that work will no doubt continue under the Polish Presidency. This new partnership for democracy and shared prosperity is absolutely necessary: to support young democracies, and to foster political and social reforms all over the region.

As regards the Eastern Partnership i, I look forward to the summit that will be held here in Poland. I welcome particularly the personal engagement of Prime Minister Tusk as host for this event. No doubt, this will be one of the main issues during the Polish presidency.