Press release
French Presidency presents its priorities to Parliament's committees
Institutions - 17-07-2008 - 18:52
Committees
Committees
Ministers from the French Presidency of the Council, in office for the second half of 2008, took part in meetings with almost all of Parliament's committees from 14-17 July to present their priorities. Here we present a summary of the main points of interest from a week of debates.
Constitutional affairs
"We must listen to the Irish, as well as to others, and, without telling them what to do, give them enough reasons to join us", Bernard Kouchner, French Foreign Minister and President of the Council told the Constitutional Affairs Committee on Tuesday. Mr Kouchner also reaffirmed that "We should continue with the ratification process".
During the debate, MEPs expressed concern about the gap between the EU institutions and citizens, calling for better communication.
Brian Crowley (UEN, IE) said the EU needs to provide "information to people on regular basis", and not only when something important is happening. Enrique Baron Crespo (PES, ES) also criticised the lack of communication from the Union, particularly on the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Hanne Dahl (IND/DEM, DK), referring to the need to hold referendums on institutional reforms, said: "We should just give people a real say instead of a communication strategy".
Jean-Pierre Jouyet, French Minister of State for European affairs, said: "You can have a good communication policy only if you have a good product to sell. If we aren't doing a good job as politicians, we won't have a good product". Mr Jouyet added that the EU institutions should adopt, in the near future, common guidelines for communicating with the public.
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Justice Minister Rachida Dati said “the French Presidency has set itself the objective of responding to citizens’ concerns. We want to see the introduction at European level of the French kidnap alert system.” In response, Martine Roure (PES, FR) argued for the speedy adoption by the Council of the proposed framework decision on tackling racism and xenophobia. She also attacked the “minimal” agreement reached by Ministers on data protection.
Turning to the Lisbon Treaty, Brice Hortefeux, Minister for Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Development Cooperation said that he saw “the Irish ‘no’ as an expression of concern on questions of identity.”
Manfred Weber (EPP-ED, DE) questioned the Minister about plans to give the European external border agency, FRONTEX, a “Southern” team and an “Eastern” team. Mr Hortefeux replied that the agency’s headquarters would stay in Warsaw, but departments could be set up to deal with the diversity of situations on the ground.
Ignasi Guardans (ALDE, ES) said “the French President has spoken positively about immigration. On the other hand, the public perception is that Europe is trying to limit it.” He said he said he was in favour of the measures in the pact proposed by the Presidency, while regretting that there was nothing in it on integration
The Interior Minister, Michèle Alliot-Marie, said she wanted “to bring in specific, visible measures which have an effect on the everyday lives” of European citizens. According to Ms Alliot-Marie, the French Presidency would demonstrate “great ambition, great modesty and great pragmatism.”
Environment
The French Presidency, represented by Ecology and Sustainable Development Minister Jean-Louis Borloo and State Secretary Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, stressed the need for urgency in EP-Council negotiations on the EU's climate change package.
Mr Borloo hoped that his Czech successors in the Presidency “will begin international negotiations armed with the [concluded] climate change package”. Failing a political agreement by the time of Poznan conference, he warned, “the Copenhagen deadline” - for an international agreement by the end of 2009 - “will be a failure”.
Getting a first-reading agreement on the climate package by the end of the year “is a heck of a challenge”, but I think we're up to it", said John Bowis (EPP-ED, UK).
Such an agreement will require "constant communication between the co-legislators", remarked Guido Sacconi (PES, IT), noting that the Presidency had failed to address the car emissions issue – on which he is rapporteur – in its opening statement.
Mr Borloo also outlined the Presidency's priorities in meetings with the Industry and Climate Change committees on Thursday. It was during the meeting with Climate Change MEPs that Avril Doyle (EPP-ED, IE) urged the French minister to press the Commission to deliver on a long-anticipated legislative proposal on forestry. "If you want us even to think of a first-reading agreement on ETS", she warned, you must "get your act together" on the forestry dossier whose presentation - claimed Mrs Doyle - has been delayed by the Commission till December.
Public Health
"We start our work in a context full of hope and difficult questions," said French Minister of Health, Youth Affairs, Sport and Associations Roselyn Bachelot in the Environment Committee on Tuesday 15 July. One priority during the French Presidency would be meeting citizen's expectations concerning patient's rights and cross border healthcare, but she thinks that it is too late for a first reading agreement on the proposed directive under the French Presidency.
Responding to MEP's questions, Ms Bachelot stressed that tackling counterfeit medicines would also be a big task, because Europe was lagging behind here. Fighting HIV/AIDS and cancer had been priorities of former presidencies. This work would be continued and new priorities added, i.e. tackling the Alzheimer's disease. Also the strategy to combat alcohol abuse has to change: much more general and preventive work is needed and not only alcoholism should be tackled, she said.
Economics
Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee she wanted of the Solvency II supervisory framework for the insurance industry to be in place by December, and progress made on banking and credit rating agency supervision. On the wider economy, she said “we are living through a great deal of instability on what I have called the ‘triple F’: finance, fuel and food.” The Council would look pragmatically at how to help those hardest hit.
Asked if President Sarkozy had been questioning the independence of the European Central Bank, she said: “I don’t think he has ever wanted to put in doubt the independence of the ECB in any way. I think he understands and respects its independence. But it is also legitimate for Member States to express themselves and have a dialogue with the ECB on economic policy.”
Internal market
"More than ever, Europe needs practical action vis-à-vis citizens", observed State Secretary for Industry and Consumer Protection Luc Chatel. Presenting the Presidency's priorities, he mentioned revisions under way for the directives on toys, cosmetics and time-sharing, the acquis communautaire in the consumer protection field and the telecoms package, roaming in particular.
Former MEP Hervé Novelli, who will chair the Competitiveness Council for the Presidency, listed among its priorities the legislative package on trade in defence-related products, action in support of SMEs but also "intermediate-sized firms", the introduction of the European private company statute and improvements in the patent system, with a view to the future Community patent.
MEPs welcomed what Malcolm Harbour (EPP-ED, UK) called an "impressive list of projects", but drew the Presidency's attention to other priorities, notably the transposition into national law of the directive on services, universal service in the telecoms package (including broadband access) and SMEs' access to public tenders.
Foreign policy
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner faced questions on many aspects of EU foreign policy from the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
Asked by Jose Salafranca (EPP-ED, ES) about the evolution of the Union for the Mediterranean, he stressed two key priorities: to involve public-private partnerships more extensively, and to concentrate on specific projects, not just policy discussions.
Véronique De Keyser (PES, BE) asked about the fragility of the truce between Israel and Hamas. Mr Kouchner said Europe needs a larger voice in the peace process, and noted that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has strongly condemned Israeli settlements during his visit to the country.
Security and defence
Foreign Minister Kouchner noted that "there can be no diplomacy without a reinforcement of Europe's defence policy."
Security and Defence Committee Chairman Karl von Wogau (EPP-ED, DE) asked about the possibility of making EUROCORPS a standing force ready for use in ESDP missions. Defence Minister Hervé Morin said he agreed that having personnel and equipment standing idle was a "sad state of affairs," but that EUROCORPS needed permission from all its Members to be deployed, and that the proper procedures between the EU and EUROCORPS would take time to develop.
Ana Gomes (PES, PT) asked about France's resistance to making the EU's code of conduct on arms exports legally binding, to which the Minister replied that although his government "is a bit reticent about that issue, it is very much in favour of establishing a common defence market".
International trade
The ministerial meeting to be held on 21 July in Geneva is "risky", Anne-Marie Idrac told the International Trade Committee, given the number of issues to be resolved and the concessions on agriculture that Europeans have made in these WTO negotiations.
The completion of a Euromed free trade area by 2010 is "anything but theoretical", said the State Secretary for external trade in reply to questions from Tokia Saïfi (EPP-ED, FR) and Ignasi Guardans (ALDE, ES) on the development of the Euromed area.
Asked about economic partnership agreements by Glyn Ford (PES, UK), she announced that negotiations would be reoriented to take account of food safety. The European Parliament should vote on its assent to the EPA with the Caribbean at the start of 2009.
Development
"Our priority is the relaunching of family and local agriculture so as to fight the world food crisis sustainably", Alain Joyandet, State Secretary for Cooperation and the francophonie the Development Committee. Finding new sources of funding is on the agenda of the French Presidency. "The success of the tax on air fares strengthens our determination to press ahead with this kind of innovative source of funds", said Mr Joyandet, who reaffirmed the Presidency's backing for the inclusion of the European Development Fund in the main EU budget.
Transfers from European residents are another possible source of funding, suggested Thierry Cornillet (ALDE, FR). Development Committee Chairman Josep Borrell (PES, ES) observed that "the means allocated to solidarity with developing countries are declining, to the benefit of security policies. France and the UK have contributed greatly to this reduction in official development assistance.
Human rights
Human rights are an integral part of the vision of a common foreign and security policy, Jacques Pellet, the French Foreign Ministry official responsible for Human Rights told the Subcommittee on Human Rights on Wednesday. In particular, the French Presidency will focus on establishing a project promoting women's rights and acting against violence towards women.
Agriculture and rural development
"Agriculture is one of the four priorities of the French Presidency" said Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Michel Barnier before the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee on 15 July. Its key aims are to obtain an agreement on the CAP health check and the distribution of fruit and vegetables in schools, fixing the main lines of the food aid for the most deprived persons scheme and starting work on the issues of the food quality green paper.
Mr Barnier also wishes to strengthen consumer health protection (with controls on the use of certain products, import checks) and to reaffirm "Europe's solidarity with developing countries" and its determination to "help tackle the world food challenge" by producing "more and better".
Although generally favourable, MEPs nonethess expressed doubts and concerns, notably about milk quotas, tobacco and sheep. Committee chair Neil Parish (EPP-ED, UK) questioned the compatibility of reducing the use of plant-health products with increasing production and with the modulation rate to be fixed by the Council.
Transport
Dominique Bussereau, State Secretary for Transport and Transport Committee members expressed their concern about the two dossiers from the maritime package which have still to be completed - those on the civil liability of ship-owners and on the flag states' obligations.
MEPs urged that separate agreements on other issues in the package be ruled out, so long as the two existing proposals are blocked by the Council's failure to agree a common position. Parliament will therefore continue to push for progress in the Council.
Mr Bussereau promised to make every effort to this end, stressing his conviction that the Council would not risk blocking everything, and adding that the 1-2 September Council in la Rochelle should achieve progress on this issue.
Regional Development
"Subsidiarity is the underlying principle of any regional policy measure, although value can be added at EU level", French State Secretary for territorial development Hubert Falco told the Regional Development Committee on 16 July. He outlined three target areas for adding value.
First, the Presidency will try to promote an EU-wide public debate on how cohesion measures can mobilise the potential of every region to boost competitiveness, growth and jobs. It will also seek to cut red tape that dissuades regional project backers from applying for EU structural funds.
Second, he stressed the need for a clear definition of "territorial cohesion", to be taken into account in every EU policy (although the EU's outermost regions need special treatment, he said) and looked forward to the Commission's October green paper on this topic.
Third, the Presidency is working on a "common reference framework" for sustainable cities. This will stress the need for partnership among stakeholders, solidarity in urban settings, and an integrated approach to project management, he said.
Mr Falco also sought MEPs' support for a plan to mobilise EU funding for energy-efficient housing, as a "tangible expression of solidarity with citizens".
Gender equality
Ensuring the professional equality of women and their economic independence, improving access to rights and combating stereotypes, as well as stepping up the Beijing action plan are the three main planks in the French Presidency's equal opportunities policy, State Secretary for Solidarity Valérie Létard told the Womens' Rights Committee.
A ministerial conference in Lille, on 13 and 14 November, will be the "high point of the French Presidency in this area", she announced. Asked about wage equality, which is the subject of an EP report now being examined in committee, Ms Létard said she wanted to "achieve specific objectives".
Culture, Education and Sport
Ensuring sustainable development in culture and communication, while "seeking to fulfil the legal and moral obligation to preserve and protect cultural diversity" will be key priorities for the French Presidency, Culture and Communication Minister Christine Albanel told the Culture and Education Committee.
The Presidency is also looking for progress in education, with greater mobility of students, teachers and resources, a commitment to lifelong learning in European universities, and more visibility to all European citizens, said Higher Education and Research Minister Valérie Pécresse.
The Presidency also hopes to bring Europe together to discuss European education systems of the future and the results of a common debate on 'Schools of the 21st Century' will be submitted to the Council, added Education Minister, Xavier Darcos.
Finally, a European sports forum will be held in Biarritz for the first time in November, as confirmed by State Secretary for Youth, Sport and Voluntary Organisations Bernard Laporte.
REF.: 20080717IPR34792