Toespraak van EU-voorzitter Herman van Rompuy over de prioriteiten van het Pools voorzitterschap (en)

PRIORITIES OF THE POLISH PRESIDENCY

Speech by Herman Van Rompuy

President of the European Council

to the TEPSA Conference

at the College of Europe (Natolin Campus)

It is a great pleasure to address this timely conference on the state of European Union affairs and the Polish Presidency in particular.

I am glad to have this opportunity to visit Natolin and I should like to thank for you the invitation. Last year, I spoke also at the College of Europe, but in Bruges. Having one Institute with two campuses in two countries is a great example of European cross border cooperation! And it is a pleasure to see so many students again today, from Warsaw, from Lodz and beyond!

I am aware that it is a longstanding custom of TEPSA to have biannual meetings on current EU priorities, linked in particular to the (incoming) Council Presidency. A rich tradition!

You will not be surprised, though, that my perspective on the six-month timeframe is different. As permanent President of the European Council, it could not be otherwise! Although I should nuance the word "permanent": it is for a term of 2,5 years… My job is to bring an increased sense of continuity to the Union's work at the level of Heads of State and Government.

As you know, the European Council does not exercise legislative functions, like the Council which Poland will chair. The European Council, bringing the Union’s highest executive leaders around the table, is more like a strategy body. Together we establish political priorities, we set the Union’s strategic course and we take responsibility in crisis situations.

It must be said that the latter function -- responding to crises -- has taken up quite some political energy in the past year and a half. There was no other choice. Yet we never lost sight of the long-term agenda -- promoting structural economic growth, establishing more strategic relationships with our partners in the world.

I consider the first rotating Presidency of Poland an historic event. Poland is now Member of the Union for seven years. I will not talk in terms of seven plentiful years or seven meagre years: they were surely seven fascinating and enriching years! You have experiences of what it is like to work with 26 partners, how to contribute to agreements, how we set a common course. In the Union, the position of each is respected. Diversity is our quality; unity our strength. After thorough preparations you are ready now to take on new responsibilities - for the intense period of six months starting today, and beyond.

The rotating Presidency of the Council brings a sense of ownership for all the Member States, showing visibly that the Union is a collective work, undertaken by equal partners. It is an indispensable feature of our system. My experience so far - with the previous Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian presidencies - has been very positive. While keeping the long-term European interest as our common horizon, it has been most worthwhile to feel a new impetus , the fresh desire to achieve results, a different set of qualities brought to the job every six months.

That’s why I consider it of the utmost importance to establish good cooperation between the rotating and the permanent Presidency. Without cooperation and mutual trust between key players, the Lisbon Treaty cannot work. This goes beyond the formal contacts and preparations, but requires a quasi-permanent informal exchange of information and ideas. And the relationship with Prime Minister Tusk of trust and of common European conviction makes me most confident for the period ahead!

Before getting too deep into institutional intricacies, with the risk that we have our heads “permanently rotating” and the loss of all sense of “priorities”…, let us go back to the heart of the matter.

The European Union is NOT just an institutional framework in Brussels, a political machinery producing directives and redistributing funds which only we as practitioners and experts can understand. No, the Union is a political project, it embodies the common destiny of 27 states and 500 million citizens. Together we work on concrete proposals serving our citizens' prosperity and security; together we face a common future.

In Poland you know this very well of course.

Membership of the European Union was the crowning of a long struggle for sovereignty and freedom. In this respect, the Polish history, while being one out of 27, is truly exemplary.

You experienced periods when European values were trampled, your fortune was linked to great conflicts; remember the words of Winston Churchill: "For Poland we had entered the war."

Yet in difficult moments of history, your country never lost its confidence and dignity; nor its culture, language and religion; nor its own personality. The Polish people always worked to find its place back amongst the free nations. So many uprisings for democracy and justice are witness to this, so many battles for freedom and solidarity. These moments defined your country. Ultimately, in 1989, they sealed the beginning of the end for the Cold War. They opened a new era for Europe as a whole. And since then, Poland has transformed itself into a democratic, modern and prosperous country.

Your history thus constitutes a lesson of humanism. We are a subject of history, and we make history. We are a subject of change, and we make change. This fact is also the heart of the European Union: the Union allows Europeans to keep destiny in our own hands.

Many of you are daily observers of EU affairs. So you surely have noticed that it is recently being written and said that the European Union is in mediocre shape. Let me share some of my own observations.

It may be politically incorrect to say so, but in my view, the state of the Union is not so bad, even if the mood is not so good. I fully understand, especially in difficult times for some countries in the Eurozone, that this requires an explanation. The positive votes in the Greek parliament this week have changed the mood for the better. Political courage still exists.

Nevertheless, after a year and a half in this business, I observe that when it comes to Europe and the Union, all problems -- and I do not say there are none -- are as it were transformed into some kind of drama.

When Germany abstains in a vote in the UN Security Council on Libya, we were all of a sudden without foreign policy, and this notwithstanding the fact that, just days later, all key European countries were together in the Elysée to decide and agree upon military action. This absolutely cannot be compared with the divisions at the time of the Iraq war!

When a country is hiring a few customs officers, then suddenly the life of the Schengen area is in danger.

These incidents are added to the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone -- which is real but also solvable --, whereas the Euro itself is very strong. So whoever wants to judge the state of our Union has to maintain a certain distance, a certain serenity and above all: a sense of proportions. Pessimism paralyses action, or at least risks to do so.

My entire career has been under the sign of a "step by step" approach. The European Union is an historically unique achievement. It has always been built gradually and it has emerged stronger from every crisis. There is no reason that this time would be different.

Today's Union is a powerful political and economic bloc of 27 members encompassing the European continent. Of course more can be done and needs to be done. Yet unique achievements like 60 years of peace, the Euro, the Internal Market, or the Schengen passport union have already made a dream come true.

People from other continents envy our countries for their political stability, democracy and peace, for their social system and environmental standards, for the quality of European life. We are living, to quote French author Alain Minc, in "a coin du paradis", in a little corner of paradise! We are living in a Union of values.

The European dream has always been about three basic aspirations: peace, prosperity and power. This was the case back in 1950 and it still is today. Different aspects dominate at different times -- obviously peace was more important right after the war, and the power of a common presence in the world is a stronger motif today -- but all three have been present from the start.

Let me first mention peace. People sometimes say it is outdated to claim that Europe is about peace. Yes and no. "Yes", because of course, the two world wars, after which the European Community was founded, have receded into memory.

But "no" also, because Europe is still there as a work of peace. Just one week ago, the Union's 27 Heads of State or Government paved the way for Croatia to become our 28th Member State; yesterday, the negotiations were formally concluded. It is a milestone. In the European Council we also saluted the step forward which Serbia took last month with the arrest of Ratko Mladic. It was a victory for European diplomacy and for the Union's tenacity in upholding our values. I know that the Polish Presidency wants to uphold the European perspective for all the countries of the Western Balkans - the Prime Minister just confirmed this to me -- , and I fully share that objective. Perhaps some important decisions can be taken by the European Council in December, provided that these countries continue vigorously their reforms.

Let us not forget that only fifteen years ago, the countries in question were involved in a horrible civil war, at the borders of our Union. In that respect, the entry of the Western-Balkans into the Union is the last great work of peace on our continent. And by the way: as long as a club attracts new members it is in good shape!

Linked to peace between European states, and to the growing mutual trust among them, is the free movement for European citizens, in the Schengen area. All Heads of State and Government agreed last week in the European Council that "the free movement of persons, as established in the Treaty, is one of the most tangible and successful achievements of European integration" and "a fundamental freedom".

Europe’s external borders must be effectively managed. There always is the possibility of heavy pressure at our external borders. In order to respond to exceptional circumstances, we felt the need to strengthen our common border agency, Frontex -- based here in Warsaw. A safeguard mechanism, only to be used in the last resort, will allow the exceptional and temporary reintroduction of internal border controls, when a Member State is no longer able to comply with its obligations under the Schengen rules. But importantly, it "will not affect the rights of persons entitled to the freedom of movement under the Treaties".

After Peace, Prosperity. If the European dream were a musical piece, then Prosperity would be the basso continuo. Prosperity -- welfare for the citizens -- has always played an essential role in the Union's work, from the very start. We are still developing the common market further. It is a work in progress. I very much welcome that the Polish Presidency wishes to take up this challenge, further exploiting its untapped potential. It is a daily task.

At the same time, we Europeans want to develop prosperity "our way". There is no sound prosperity without a sense of social justice and of fairness, of solidarity. Solidarity should not just be a word, but a living reality.

Let me also say a few words about the economic situation in the Eurozone. It is important to remember that the euro is not in a deep crisis. As a currency, it has strengthened in value on international monetary markets. It has, throughout its existence, maintained a low and stable inflation rate. The balance of trade of the Eurozone is in broad equilibrium. Public debt levels are lower (yes, lower!) than the USA or Japan. Economic growth has returned to the Eurozone as a whole and new jobs are being created.

Yes, there are difficulties in three Member States which have high levels of deficits and debt, and in particular Greece. Let me stress that we are dealing this problem with a combination of responsibility and solidarity: responsibility of the governments and parliaments concerned with getting their house in order, and solidarity of fellow Member States in providing them with loans to help gain the time needed to do so. With sustained effort over time we will turn things around and reap the benefits. It is necessary, and it is possible.

When the sovereign debt crisis erupted in Greece more than a year ago, there was a complete absence of appropriate instruments to deal with it. Politically it was difficult to act, both in the debtor countries, which had to accept reform programs with strict conditionality, and in the creditor countries, who guarantee the loans. Nevertheless, since May 2010, we established a complete new economic governance framework.

We have developed a crisis mechanism, which can potentially issue hundreds of billions of euros in financial guarantees.

We have increased budgetary surveillance (Stability Pact) and developed a system of macro economic surveillance so as to improve our ability to detect "bubbles" and other imbalances - something which did not exist before.

We are stepping up the coordination of national policies under the Euro Plus Pact: the 17 euro countries and 6 others (Poland amongst them) are all working in the same direction in their structural reforms.

We strengthened the supervision of the banking sector

Of course we did not solve all structural handicaps we have. The euro remains "a currency without a state". Yet a lot of what we lack in formal structures, can be compensated for with informal coordination between key actors. I consider this one of my main tasks.

One element in this comprehensive package, the so-called "six-pack", has not yet been completed. Council and Parliament have reached agreement on more than 95 percent of the text. I call on the legislators to make a last effort, and to use the upcoming days to reach, if possible before the summer holidays, a comprehensive agreement on the economic governance.

This brings me to the third aspect of the European dream, after peace and prosperity: Power.

The 27 countries in our Union are ALSO grouping together to better defend our interests and values in the world.

I am most pleased that the Polish Presidency takes up this challenge, in collaboration with the High Representative (who also chairs the Foreign Affairs Council).

On the global scene, the Union is proposing a partnership with the countries in North Africa and the Middle East. We support the movements towards economic progress and toward democracy and political rights. We have an historical task in the Mediterranean. These countries count on Europe. Without us there will be a Spring, but not a Summer. Polish politicians rightly maintain that your own political experience could be a real asset. An example that can shine beyond Europe’s borders.

The importance of regional cooperation and good neighbourly relations will also be emphasised during the Polish Presidency of the Council. One example is the Eastern Partnership Summit that will be held in Warsaw at the end of September. This will be an excellent opportunity to confirm the importance of the EU's relations with its eastern neighbours, and to inject momentum for our future cooperation.

Much has been achieved already in the Eastern partnership. It helped to encourage political reforms in partner countries, although much more needs to be done. There is more trade and economic interaction. We want to consolidate these positive trends at the Summit, to which I am looking forward.

The European Union is much more active in foreign policy than most people think. We are in the lead in climate policy, having played a central role in the climate conference in Cancun. We took initiatives to break the deadlock in the Doha Round for liberalising world trade. The Union is trying, both via the Quartet and via the Paris donor conference, to relaunch the Middle East Peace Process. France, as chair of the G20, is with the EU’s support making progress in correcting global imbalances - at the very root of the fragility of the world economy. Even if the international agenda is blocked in many fields, we Europeans are doing our utmost to move it forward.

Voilà -- these are some of reflections, seen from the perspective of the European Council Presidency, on the challenges for the European Union in the six months ahead -- domestically and internationally.

I am very confident that the Polish Presidency will be able to give a powerful impetus to our common European work!