Irish leader sets goals for summit

Date: 03/10/1996

By Rory Watson

IRISH Prime Minister John Bruton has identified six key questions which the EU must answer if it is to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

In a letter to fellow EU government leaders, Bruton indicates that their special summit meeting in Dublin on Saturday (5 October) offers an opportunity to start preparing the answers and give strong political direction to the negotiations on Union reform.

At the heart of Bruton's agenda is the imperative of increasing the Union's public acceptability and efficiency. He says the EU must be brought closer to its citizens, its institutions made more democratic and its territory made secure.

In parallel, the Union must strengthen its security and external policies, improve its decision-making machinery and ensure the changes do not upset the carefully-constructed balance between the EU's institutions.

Bruton's call comes as France and Germany are stressing the need to speed up the reform talks.

After a meeting with his German counterpart, French Foreign Minister Hervé de Charette said: “The Franco-German booster will have to accelerate the process.”