CONCLUSIONS OF EUROPEAN LIBERAL DEMOCRAT PRIME MINISTERS AND LEADERS SUMMIT, VAL DUCHESSE, BRUSSELS The European Liberal Democrat Prime Ministers and leaders met on 11 December in Val Duchesse, Brussels, to discuss the draft European Constitution ahead of the Intergovernmental Conference. Prior to the meeting in Val Duchesse, the Liberal Prime Ministers of Belgium, Denmark and Bulgaria met for discussions over lunch with the leaders of the ELDR Group and Party and the Presidents of the European Commission and Parliament. They were joined by foreign ministers from the Liberal family and by the Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Erdogan. The Finnish Prime Minister Mr Vanhanen joined them later for their afternoon discussions. At the Liberal summit press conference in Val Duchesse, European Liberal Democrat leader Graham Watson MEP commented that “if Mr Blair, Mr Schroeder, Mr Chirac and Mr Aznar stick to their red lines, it will be a red letter day for Europe. My message to EU leaders is raise your game.” He also welcomed the fact that Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey had joined the Liberal Prime Ministers and leaders for discussions over lunch: “As a result of our contacts with the AK Party, we were very pleased to welcome Mr Erdogan to our lunch meeting. He has expressed an interest in closer co-operation with the ELDR, and this is an interest we reciprocate.” On the IGC, Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said “we need a positive result at the end of our negotiations”, whether this comes on “Saturday, Sunday or even Monday.” He called for negotiations “where everyone puts aside their national interests and looks to the European interest”, and said “we have to stay as close as possible to the Convention text, which was a good compromise. There should be no left-overs. Transition periods are always possible, but there should be no rendez-vous clauses.” Responding to a question concerning the Dutch proposal to introduce an article on the Stability Pact into the Treaty, Mr Verhofstadt commented: “There is a need for clarification and additional instruments in future to apply the Stability Pact, but it is not a good idea to mix our work on the IGC with a battle on the Stability Pact.” On defence, Mr Verhofstadt said: “We have made an enormous step in the right direction with what we have on the table. I think we are near to agreement on a mutual assistance clause inside the EU, and near to achieving a European planning capacity, which does not mean a European headquarters.” Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen also urged agreement at the summit, describing himself as “optimistic about reaching a result”: “We should make an agreement on a new Treaty, and we should not leave Brussels until we have it. My wish is that we mark the first anniversary of the Copenhagen summit agreement on enlargement by concluding a framework for this enlarged Union. There should be no left-overs from this summit. We need a Treaty which can be a framework for the European Union for many years to come, just like the Treaty of Rome.” Mr Fogh Rasmussen described an agreement on the Commission as “the key to a compromise.” He proposed that “there should be one Commissioner per Member State with full voting rights, but to secure efficiency, the work of the Commission should be based on a number of portfolios wich could be shared among Commissioners. This is how we organise our work in national governments, why not do the same for the Commission?” On the Stability Pact, Mr Fogh Rasmussen said: “I agree with the Dutch that we need a strong Stability Pact, but I am not sure that we need Treaty amendments. This is about political will.” The Danish Prime Minister said of the Italian Presidency’s proposals on defence: “European defence must be open to everyone, and carried out in co-operation with NATO and in full conformity with EU rules.” On the solidarity clause he felt that the Italian Presidency “has tabled an acceptable proposal, including for the neutral countries.” The Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Simeon Saxe Coburg Gotha, was participating for the first time in the summit of European Liberal Democrat leaders. On the IGC he commented that “nobody should come with the idea of imposing his full programme. Everyone should be willing to give a bit to complete this new Europe. We should think of Europe above all other considerations.” Pat Cox, the President of the European Parliament, said: “My message to the summit is that we should bring closure here and now, and this can be done this weekend. There should be no more left-overs.” Concerning proposals to curtail the European Parliament’s powers over the budget he said: “The proposals of Finance Ministers are completely unacceptable, and if they are adopted we run a serious risk of a negative opinion by the European Parliament. The new Constitutional Treaty is intended to close the democratic deficit; Finance Ministers would open a new democratic deficit which did not exist before. This must be changed.” ELDR Party President Werner Hoyer commented: “We are very happy to be joined in our discussions by our Bulgarian friends, this is a great moment in the history of our Party.” On the draft Constitutional Treaty, Mr Hoyer commented: “I am glad that in future, the Convention will prepare the next IGC” as the Convention had done well, with the active Liberl participation. He also expressed his “disquiet about apparent steps backwards from the Convention agreements and the developments on the rights of the European Parliament over the budget.” On the forthcoming elections of the Turkish community in Cyprus, Mr Hoyer commented: “We are following these closely. We express the hope that as a result of the elections, the Turkish Cypriot community will be able to accept the Annan Plan as a basis for negotiations which will lead to the accession of a unified Cyprus to the EU on 1 May.” For more information, contact: Philip TOD: +32 486 44 04 97 Read more ...

Pat Cox will receive the "Karlprize" for merits in the European integration process in Hachen on 20 May 2004 Read more ...