| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.8, No.8, 28.2.02, p2 |
| Publication Date | 28/02/2002 |
| Content Type | News |
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Date: 28/02/02 By A 'FOUNDING treaty' for an enlarged EU would be the ideal outcome of the new Convention on Europe's future, says Jean-Luc Dehaene, one of the body's vice-presidents. The former Belgian premier hopes that such a treaty will represent a consensus among all participants in the 105-member Convention, which holds its first meeting today (28 February). Among the changes he foresees is a move to increase the use of qualified majority voting. Dehaene said that when the EU expands, it will be necessary to 'generalise' the practice of taking Council of Ministers decisions by majority votes, rather than by unanimity. Addressing the annual conference of the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels last week, he also said it was essential to have a strong European Commission and argued that each EU country should have at least one member at its top table for a five-year term. At the same event, Regional Policy Commissioner Michel Barnier described EU governments' reliance on unanimity as a 'factor of collective powerlessness'. Moving to majority voting, he added, was the 'only possible solution' to preventing the Union from being 'paralysed' once it grows to 25 or 27 states. Barnier declared his 'personal preference' was for the Commission to remain at its current level of 20 members. 'It is in the interest of the EU and every member state to preserve the Commission's effectiveness,' he said. Hungary's EU ambassador, Endre Juhasz, argued that 'enlargement should begin' on the basis of the Nice Treaty. He urged Ireland's voters, who rejected Nice last June, to endorse it in the fresh poll expected later this year. 'While I fully respect the free will of the Irish people, I would kindly invite them to vote for the Nice Treaty,' Juhasz said. He added that Budapest is 'not afraid' of the principle of 'reinforced cooperation' in the treaty - which would enable a coterie of EU states to proceed with integration more quickly than the others. 'Such cooperation is absolutely OK with us on the condition that it remains open,' he remarked. A 'founding treaty' for an enlarged EU would be the ideal outcome of the new Convention on Europe's future, says Jean-Luc Dehaene, one of the body's vice-presidents. |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations |
