Parties formulate Maastricht drafts

Date: 19/10/1995

By Rory Watson

THE European Union's Christian Democrats will decide their negotiating stance for next year's Maastricht renegotiations at a special congress in Madrid in early November, with the centre right parties expected to endorse a clear call for a federal Europe.

A 19-point draft declaration, to be submitted to the three-day congress opening on 5 November, has been prepared by a small working group under German MEP Hans-Gert Pöttering. It strongly reflects the views of German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and once adopted will be official European People Party (EPP) policy as governments set out to restructure the Union.

The following weekend (11 November), the EPP's main political opponents, the Socialists, will also gather in Madrid at the specific invitation of Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez to continue preparation of their Maastricht review strategy.

But whereas the Christian Democrats are preparing for a high-profile congress with several hundred delegates and a rally in a training stadium used by Real Madrid football club, the Socialists have opted for a low key “conclave” without any formal declaration.

Some officials are quietly sceptical about attempts to forge firm policy positions several months before the IGC even opens.

“Governments will not want to put all their cards on the table now and certainly won't want their hands tied when they go into the negotiations. Anyway, they tend to pick on the things they approve of and to forget other items,” commented one senior European parliamentary official.

The two political families' determination to position themselves for the IGC contrasts with the efforts their groups made in May in the European Parliament to rally behind a single parliamentary policy jointly drafted by Socialist MEP David Martin and Christian Democrat MEP Jean-Louis Bourlanges.

But the exercise reveals the extent to which the two largest political groups in the European Parliament are trying to work closely with their national political parties in the Union.

The draft EPP declaration before the Madrid congress has already attracted scores of amendments and may be considerably modified. Its emphasis on a federal Union and more legislative powers for the European Parliament will sit ill with British Conservatives, whose MEPs are individual members of the parliamentary group but are not affiliated to the EPP as such.

The current draft emphasises the need to give more importance to EU citizens in the new treaty. It argues for a clear guarantee of fundamental human rights which individuals could invoke. Less secrecy and more simplification of decision-making would also help people identify more easily with the Union, it suggests.

In response to concerns at the dividing line between EU and national powers, the document recommends a clear demarcation of competence. It anticipates the difficulties ahead as the Union grows in size by suggesting countries be allowed a certain grace period to implement legislation, but that this be limited to perhaps five years.

The draft EPP statement goes considerably further than the joint Parliament submission sent to Spanish European Affairs Minister Carlos Westendorp's Reflection Group earlier this year by advocating a radical overhaul of the EU budget and raising the idea of a European tax. This would replace an element of national taxation and not mean an extra burden on taxpayers.

Europe's Socialists are considering a less ambitious agenda, reflecting the care needed to forge an agreement between as many as 18 national parties. The nine-page discussion paper drafted by Dutch MEP Jan Marinus Wiersma acknowledges the need for improved decision-making, but is cautious about what this might mean for the number of Commissioners and the balance between large and small countries.

It recognises the need for clear examples to be given for any extension of majority voting, rather than pressing for any blanket policy. It is also less enthusiastic than the joint Parliament submission about ending sole governmental responsibility over foreign and defence policy and judicial and home affairs cooperation. Tackling unemployment is considered a top priority.

According to Wiersma: “We have deliberately made a direct link between issues and the need for institutional change. It is very difficult to sell institutional change on its own to the public. We aim to publish our IGC statement around the time of the Madrid summit in December.”

The plans for the IGC are being finalised as the European Parliament itself is canvassing the opinion of European citizens on the kind of European Union they would like to see. This week almost a hundred organisations representing diverse interest groups responded to an invitation to participate in public hearings in Brussels. A second exercise is due to be held in the New Year and the views of the many citizenship, social policy and environmental organisations involved will be analysed by Socialist and Christian Democrat MEPs Raymonde Dury and Anna Maij-Weggen.