Internal wrangles cast shadow over summit preparations

Date: 11/12/1997

By Rory Watson and Mark Turner

LUXEMBOURG Premier Jean-Claude Juncker faces an uphill struggle at this week's Luxembourg summit to prevent the Union's historic expansion eastwards being soured by a clutch of internal arguments between existing EU members.

Differences over membership of the new Euro-X council which will accompany the introduction of a single currency, over the identity of the first president of the European Central Bank (ECB) and over future EU regional spending all threaten to overshadow the Union's move into a new era.

In a bid to clear away some of the potential pitfalls as early as possible, Juncker has invited his fellow Union leaders to tackle single currency issues at the start of their two-day summit in the Grand Duchy tomorrow (12 December).

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has already indicated that he will continue to press for membership of Euro-X , even though the UK will not be among the single currency's founding members. While the idea enjoys the support of Sweden, Denmark and Greece, it has been strenuously opposed by other member states.

A possible way out of the impasse was offered earlier this week by French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

“I think it is clear that full information has to be given to the 'out' countries and it is probably necessary to invite them for some specific topics where they are interested. On this basis, I think we can find a solution,” he suggested.

Although France and Germany are divided over who should be appointed as the first president of the ECB, Union leaders will have no difficulty in delaying a final decision until next year.

Similarly, they will try to avoid raising the temperature over the Union's finances and future cash transfers to major beneficiaries such as Spain, Portugal and Greece by postponing any substantial debate on the issue until 1998.

Commission President Jacques Santer yesterday (10 December) sought to defuse potential arguments by emphasising the central challenge facing the Union: that of enlargement.

“This is a major moment in European integration and must be a success. Enlargement means the end of division in Europe and the consolidation of peace on our continent. It is a major gift to ourselves, to the candidates and to the whole world,” he said.

The summit will give the go-ahead for a first wave of enlargement negotiations to be opened early next year with Cyprus and five central and eastern European countries - Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Estonia - while the remaining eastern applicants will be reassured that they are an essential part of the accession process.

But if that process is not to be blown off course by Turkey, which fears being sidelined in the enlargement talks, the summit will need to construct a careful formula which reconciles Ankara's demand to be treated as a valid EU candidate with Union condemnation of its human rights record and continued occupation of northern Cyprus.