JOINT COMMITTEE ON EUROPEAN AFFAIRS debate -
Thursday, 8 Jul 2010

EU Presidency Programme: Discussion with EU Ambassadors

Chairman

Mobile phones are to be switched off because they impact on the communications system. We have a long agenda today and we shall go through it carefully and firmly.

We have an important issue to deal with just now, namely, the review of the Belgian Presidency — the current Presidency — and of course the review of the Troika, comprising the EU Presidency, the incoming Presidency and the previous one.

We have His Excellency Mr. Robert Devriese, Ambassador of Belgium, Her Excellency Ms Mercedes Rico, Ambassador of Spain, and His Excellency Mr. Ferenc Jári, Ambassador of Hungary. They represent the incumbent Presidency, its predecessor and successor. The ambassadors and their officials are all very welcome. We apologise for the delay this morning, but the Order of Business was somewhat longer than usual. There was a certain amount of skittishness among the multitudes, which accounted for it taking longer than normal.

There will be a submission from each of the three ambassadors, followed by a question and answer session, and then we close. I invite Ambassador Devriese to proceed.

H.E. Mr. Robert Devriese

I shall first give some background on the circumstances in which Belgium has to exercise the Presidency. Thereafter I shall cover the main issues our Presidency will have to deal with.

Belgium has considerable experience in EU matters. It is a long-standing member of the organisation and it has acted 11 times as President of the Council of Ministers. This year, 2010, is a time of transition. The European Council has a permanent President. A High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who at the same time is Vice President of the Commission and Permanent President of the Council of Foreign Affairs, has been appointed. All nine other Council formations and the corresponding preparatory working groups remain under the system of the rotating Presidency. With these institutional innovations, the rotating Presidency has to operate very carefully, creating the right conditions from the beginning, adapting working methods and setting the correct precedents.

The Belgian Presidency will have to work with a new European Commission, appointed in February 2010, and with a new European Parliament. With more than one third of its membership renewed and with more power, the Parliament is quite naturally testing the limits of its newly acquired competences. Up to 95% of the legislative work in the EU is now conducted under the normal legislative procedure, previously known as the co-decision. This means that the Council and Parliament are on a par when discussing and adopting new European legislation. In these circumstances, striking the right balance between the institutions is not always easy. Much more than before, exercising the Council Presidency now requires careful negotiation with the European Parliament.

The economic environment remains extremely difficult. Although some observers think the worst of the financial and economic crisis is over, the pressure for adequate crisis-response measures and the workload for designing and carrying out substantive structural reforms of our societies is immense.

Belgium has been faced with early elections. Government coalition talks have not even started. However, this has not hampered the logistical and programming preparations of our Presidency. The outgoing care-taking Government will assume all the obligations of the Presidency. Moreover, European policy has always been a consensus area for successive Belgian Governments. There will be no policy change, whichever coalition eventually assumes power.

We are now operating under the trio-Presidency. The 18 month programme was elaborated by Spain, Belgium and Hungary after months of intense preparatory talks. It is now the basis for our national programme for the next six months, using the Spanish term's legacy.

Given the complexity of the Belgian institutional framework, our national programme had to be negotiated with regional and community governments. Some of these, by the way, will preside over Council formations. These negotiations were also accompanied by a rather intense dialogue with civil society. Last but not least, our programme was submitted to detailed hearings in the national parliament.

The agenda for the Belgian Presidency comprises 40 pages, covers all ten Council formations in great detail and with more than 200 items or themes for discussion or decision was structured into five clusters. They comprise the fight against the economic and financial crisis, climate and environment, the justice and home affairs agenda, the reinforcement of the social dimension of the EU and the external dimension. The further implementation of the Lisbon treaty covers these five clusters.

The first, and probably most important, theme of our Presidency is the current socio-economic situation in Europe. Efforts to fight the economic crisis have to be pursued. Economic and financial transformation should lead us towards economic recovery, sustainable growth and more jobs. Jobless growth is not an option.

We have to continue our structural reforms in the implementation of the new financial supervision architecture, strengthening the stability of the eurozone, restoring budgetary discipline, paying particular attention to education and research as driving forces for innovation, and ensuring an appropriate follow-up to the Monti report regarding the Single Market.

We have to start with the implementation of the EU 2020 strategy for jobs and growth which should bring us closer to the target of a competitive and green knowledge economy by the year 2020. Belgium wants this strategy to produce better and concrete results. That is why we pleaded these past several months for a limited number of goals, an improved methodology compared to the Lisbon strategy and a stronger social dimension.

However, sometimes long-term strategies alone do not suffice when one is faced with an urgent situation as seen in the case of Greece. The EU took several unprecedented steps towards more European economic governance which would have been impossible to imagine six months ago. Does this mean we are completely out of the danger zone? I am afraid not. Rumours of possible contamination to other eurozone countries will continue to create uncertainty in the financial markets. To restore confidence, further concerted and co-ordinated action towards more permanent crisis-prevention mechanisms is necessary.

The EU and the eurozone should not only be strengthened to withstand dangers from within, but also to ensure a strong and prominent European role in the global governance structures such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the G20. Reinforcing the EU's position in such organisations and international fora is also one of the objectives of the Belgian Presidency.

Our second priority is climate and environmental policy and the aim of a low-carbon economy. Europe is, and should remain, the driving force that encourages the international community to strive for ambitious and concrete results at the climate summit in Cancún later this year. The EU certainly has to remain an example for other countries and regions, but Belgium believes we should also act pragmatically. This means we should not always focus on our own European priorities, as we did too often in the past, but that instead we should try to forge alliances with our most important non-European partners. With its tradition of consensus building, Belgium will hopefully be able to contribute to these efforts. The preparation and co-ordination of the European positions in the run-up to and at the conference in Cancún will also be a tremendous challenge for our Presidency.

There is more in our EU Presidency programme than climate policies. We shall pay particular attention to the greening of our societies in different walks of life. If we really want to achieve the goal of a green economy in the EU itself, we have to link our climate ambitions to other areas such as European transport, energy and fiscal policies. Biodiversity and, more specifically, the preparation for the Tenth Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagova, Japan, in October will be another important challenge for the Presidency.

Our third priority is in the area of security, justice, asylum and home affairs. We will start the implementation of the Stockholm programme, the framework for EU police and customs co-operation, co-operation in criminal and civil law and asylum, migration and visa policy for 2010 to 2014.

The Stockholm programme was adopted in December 2009, but now comes the beginning of its implementation. Belgium hopes to bring forward issues like the common asylum procedure, the mutual recognition of judicial decisions, the fight against organized crime, illegal immigration and human trafficking.

In the application of the patrimonial law in the case of cross-border divorce and separation in the EU, we shall for the first time revert to the procedures of enhanced co-operation. This is a domain in which European citizens have concrete concerns and are entitled to expect concrete action from Europe.

The fourth priority of our Presidency is to achieve progress on various social issues. This is European year of the fight against poverty. Several conferences and discussions within the Council will be held to evaluate current policies and enhance the instruments for eradicating poverty. In its Council work Belgium wants to pay particular attention to the further development of a stronger social dimension in the EU 2020 strategy. We will also carry out the work programme in respect of the renewed social agenda presented by the Commission in 2008 and in other sectors such as pensions, public health and equality policy. Belgium believes discussing such issues at European level can have added value. We are all faced with the same challenges: ageing of the population and the fight against poverty. These are issues mostly dealt with at member state level and as not all member states share our ambitions, we will try to find a balance between our ambitions and the political reality in the European Union.

Our fifth and last cluster is the external dimension. The European Union has to remain the most important regional organisation in the world and one of the main actors for peace and security. To achieve this, we must speak with a single voice. The Lisbon treaty makes this possible with the creation of the position of High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Catherine Ashton presides over the Foreign Affairs Council and represents the European Union abroad. That is a daunting task, especially if one considers that the instrument to enable her to assume this task, the European External Action Service, is not yet available. Negotiations with the European Parliament on the establishment of this European diplomatic service have just ended. In the meantime, the Belgian Government has offered Lady Ashton the support of the Belgian diplomatic service both in Brussels to preside over the working groups, as well as abroad in countries without an EU delegation or where the EU delegation does not yet have a head of delegation. In all of these cases Belgian diplomats will act on her behalf and under her guidance. As soon as the European External Action Service is up and running, we will step aside. Priority setting in Common Foreign and Security Policy, CFSP, matters lies in the hands of Lady Ashton only.

In the Foreign Affairs Council, however, one important area still lies within the responsibility of the rotating Presidency, that is, international trade policy. The main objective of the European Union is and should remain the conclusion of the Doha Round, but since very few still believe we will soon reach an agreement in the World Trade Organization, WTO, negotiations, we should also focus on bilateral negotiations with countries such as, for instance, Canada and India and regional entities such as the Andean Community or the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, APC, countries, many of which are interested in trade agreements with the European Union. However, we should make sure our own interests are safeguarded. Preparing the negotiating positions of the European Union remains the responsibility of the rotating Presidency.

The Belgian Foreign Minister will preside over the General Affairs Council which deals with, among other things, EU enlargement. This is a sensitive issue in many European Union member states, including Belgium. During our Presidency we will play the role of an honest broker. This means we will maintain the European perspective for the candidate countries with the ultimate goal of EU membership once the conditions have been met. Each individual candidate country will only be able to make progress on the basis of its own merits.

The Chairman gave me ten minutes in which to present the Belgian EU Presidency programme and I realise I have slightly overstayed my welcome. Had he given me one minute, I would have told him that, as an honest broker, Belgium would do its utmost to steer the European Union through this difficult and challenging time of transition, loyal to the letter and the spirit of the Lisbon treaty and in constructive co-operation with the institutions, in order to better prepare the Union and its member states for the tasks and challenges that lay ahead of us.

Chairman

We attended the chairpersons meeting of COSAC in Brussels on Monday which was impressive. We wish the ambassador well in the next six months of the Presidency. Does Ambassador Mercedes Rico wish to speak now?

H.E. Ms Mercedes Rico

Not particularly, unless some Deputies or Senators have questions to ask. Our Presidency has been very open and everyone is aware of what has been accomplished.

Chairman

I thank the ambassador. Does Ambassador Ferenc Jári wish to speak?

H.E. Mr. Ferenc Jári

I am in the same position. If Members have any questions, I will answer them.

Chairman

We are making good strides. We will move on to questions.

Senator Paschal Donohoe

I thank the Belgian ambassador for his presentation. I have a question about the discussions taking place on the issue of economic governance and how to deal with the fallout with reference to the Greek economy. I am aware the President of the European Council is preparing a report on the issue which, I understand, will go before a European Council meeting later in the year. What will be the ambassador's view on the report and, in practical terms, what changes does he envisage being implemented?

Chairman

We will take questions from a number of Members and then hear the replies.

Senator Terry Leyden

I welcome the ambassadors. I compliment Spain on a successful Presidency and wish it well in the further rounds of the World Cup. It enjoyed great success last night and I am delighted for it.

When does the ambassador expect a government to be formed in Belgium because that is crucial? We have the permanent representatives and acting Ministers, but we need permanency, particularly as Brussels is at the centre of the European movement. It is ironic that Hungary encountered a similar problem during its Presidency in terms of a change of government. From my experience as a former trade Minister, it is vital that we have permanency, a policy that can be implemented and that there not be a change of policy a quarter of the way through Belgium's Presidency of the European Union. These are important issues.

Implementation of the Lisbon treaty to the letter is very important. The representatives will be aware that this committee and the sub-committee chaired by Deputy Lucinda Creighton have recommended a way for the laws and directives to be considered by this Parliament. We have made great progress in that regard and come up with an agreed policy document which will be launched in the coming days. What we have done and the recommendations made will provide a good template for other countries in terms of the way European Union legislation should be considered by each Parliament and making the Union more meaningful to citizens. We have given the matter detailed consideration and the committee has met representatives from other European countries in that regard.

I presume the Icelandic application is being fast-tracked to ensure Iceland will become a member of the European Union. I expect Croatia to be a member in January also. I note there are other applicant countries, but the one that is constantly highlighted is Turkey. Is it likely that it will be a member of the European Union? What is the view of the Belgian Government of Turkey's application? In terms of human rights issues and the way policies are implemented, would Turkey's membership be of major assistance to the development of the European Union or could it create difficulties within it?

Deputy Joe Costello

I thank the Belgian ambassador for presenting such a comprehensive programme. Unfortunately I was not here for all of the meeting but I have the document and I have been going through it. I compliment the Spanish ambassador for a fine six months in the Presidency and the Hungarian ambassador is looking forward to the six months following the Belgian Presidency. I was delighted to see Spain win the World Cup.

The programme is based on two main areas. One of these is Europe 2020, and Belgium will have the Presidency during the implementation of the first six months of that ten year programme. Obviously, it is a crucial time with regard to getting it started and beginning the implementation phase. The other main area is the implementation of the provisions of the Lisbon treaty, which Senator Leyden spoke about. Over the past six months we have spent much time putting together proposals on how it could best be implemented. We have a document which might be of some use to the ambassadors.

I have a number of questions on the socio-economic component of the 2020 strategy. We speak about sustainable growth and competitiveness which are necessary to pull Europe out of recession. We had a previous ten year programme under the Lisbon strategy which did not achieve its very laudable objectives. We now have a series of laudable socio-economic objectives on growth, job creation, sustainable development and new energy sources. How do we achieve them? How will we put together an implementation programme? Perhaps the Belgian ambassador can expand on this as Belgium will be at the cutting edge for the first six months during which countries will be putting together their national reform and implementation programmes.

There was much talk about having targets on combating poverty and having a 25% reduction over the ten year period. Figures have been compiled on getting 20 million people out of poverty during the period but I am not sure how strong the targets have been or whether there are mechanisms to ensure it happens. How strong will we be on the 2020 emission targets? An extra target for 2030 was thrown in as an aspiration. Is there anything that can be done on this?

I am interested to see how the Lisbon component, the Stockholm programme and the area of freedom, security and justice will work out. There will be much more monitoring by national parliaments on freedom, security and justice. What proposals are there for national parliaments to be able to effectively carry out their work, which is beginning in this respect? Getting the European external action service up and running has been made a major focus. There still seems to be much difficulty about how that will operate and be integrated into existing national structures. Do the ambassadors have ideas on this?

This committee has a particular interest in Israeli Palestinian affairs. An Irish ship is still impounded after being hijacked on the high seas. We still do not know what happened to the goods on board. We feel the only way to deal properly with these matters is through the European Union. We would certainly like to see the country holding the Presidency take a proactive role in matters of this nature. With regard to enlargement, will there be any progress on the accession of Croatia and Iceland?

Senator Mark Dearey

I thank the ambassador for his presentation. I was encouraged by the fact that he identified biodiversity as an important theme in the climate cluster and that the tenth conference of the parties will take place in October. It is critical that when we conflate the prospect of addressing the economic and climate crises, and a theory is proposed that it is an opportunity to deal with both at once, we realise that underpinning any healthy economy is a healthy biodiversity and that a healthy biodiversity demands new economic thinking. That is not often stressed but it is true. We cannot continue with the business as usual model and hope to keep pressure off biodiversity at a global level and sustain a planet that sustains us. I am curious to hear what the ambassadors have to say about addressing climate and biodiversity issues and economic issues and what demands one places on the other.

With regard to the climate conference of the parties in Cancún, what are the ambassador's thoughts on what happened to the European Union in Copenhagen in December? I felt it was humiliating. The regional organisation with the strongest policy in the world on climate was effectively sidelined. Perhaps it is a harsh interpretation but it is how it looked to me watching from here what happened. Are preparations being made to ensure the European agenda, as a leader in this area, stays the course next time and that we do not end up with people trying to find the lowest common denominator to keep the conference from failing or becoming a complete fiasco, which it almost did?

Chairman

The points raised here were also raised at the meeting in Brussels on Monday. I know the issue of enlargement with regard to Croatia, Iceland and Turkey was discussed and strong views were expressed. It is interesting that the programme for the Presidency is very similar to the response made by the committee on the 2020 programme. The Doha Round was mentioned on Monday and there was general agreement that Europe has to exert itself in the world economy as it is in a better position to do so than most. As the ambassador rightly stated, we have to cater for our own economies and not disadvantage any part. The Middle East was dealt with at some length as were a number of other issues. The ambassador has a fairly comprehensive overview. The issues he raised were identical to those raised on Monday and here.

H. E. Mr. Robert Devriese

I thank the Chairman. On economic governance and the EU 2020 strategy, as I mentioned the Belgian Presidency is very much committed to implementing a new regulatory and supervisory structure for the financial sector. It probably will be the most important issue from our Presidency. The Members all probably have seen that the issue was heavily debated in the European Parliament. It probably will be decided upon today. To a certain extent, we managed to de-mine the issue and see to it that the negotiations will go on. A few days ago, it looked like we were on a collision course with the European Parliament. I think we are out of the danger zone and negotiations will go on.

The committee has understood that the main issue is whether we allow supervision at European level or if it will remain at national level. Some are very much in favour of supervision at European level, and that is very much the position of the majority in the European Parliament. That will be how the issue will end up. The committee will be aware that not least the United Kingdom, with a strong financial sector, is not really keen on that. However, I am fairly sure that we will manage to come to a consensus on this issue instead of a clash. In the end, it will be European supervision of the banks, the insurance companies, pension funds and financial markets.

Employment is very much another central theme of the Belgium Presidency within the Europe 2020 strategy. One of our focal points is investment in human capital; job creation, mainly in the green and white sectors; and modernisation of the labour market. The Chairman stated that the Council will adopt employment guidelines, which, in fact, were initiated by Spain. I think we can bring that to a conclusion during our Presidency.

Also on the economy, protection of innovative ideas is very much a focal point. Administrative simplification, protection of intellectual property, European patent research and development, and innovation are areas on which we hope we can make progress. At the European Council in December, we hope to reach the objective of spending 3% of the national product on research and development. Special attention will be devoted to professional training and lifetime learning, which is very much a focus point of our Presidency.

On financial sector reforms, the Belgian Presidency is drafting a multi-annual action plan in co-operation with the Commission and the European Parliament determining all financial service reforms to be introduced in the European Union and taking into account the work in progress already in the G20.

I would not say Government formation is a big worry. Of course, we would have preferred not to have early elections. We were quite hopeful that we would get through our Presidency without early elections, but some have decided otherwise and we had elections. Probably some have seen that the outcome was rather unexpected, but it is not overly worrying us. As I stated, we have long experience. We are one of the founding members. We have had 11 Presidencies so far. As well as among diplomats, there is much experience among civil servants. We are not in any danger or in any way worried, and we still have a caretaker Government. If we eventually come to a coalition Government, we hope that will be by the beginning of September.

Although it is a very difficult and complex country, usually coalition talks do not take that long in Belgium. The last one, in 2007, was exceptionally long. It took approximately a year. There are other countries in Europe that have much simpler economic systems and, usually, have coalition talks going on for approximately a year. A year, for Belgium, is rather unusual. We hope that by September, when the European Union really gets started again — July is an active month and August is a very quiet month — we will have a Government. Whichever the coalition will be is not a worry either because for all parties in Belgium the European Union is a consensus issue. Whichever coalition comes to power, the European issues are a consensus matter and there is no fear to have on that area at all. Although we are not worried if we do not have a Government by September, after all, decisions must be defended by Ministers, not by civil servants or diplomats. Of course, we are hopeful that by September we will have a Government, not just a care-taking Government but a Government in full power. When it comes to permanency, we have no fear whatsoever.

On the enlargement issues, Belgium has always been of the position that we must maintain very strict conditionality but once the contract is fulfilled, it is needless to have a candidate wait. The committee will be aware that the Commission is working on an enlargement package that will be submitted in November. It is a strategy document in which the Commission will highlight all of the facets of the merits of enlargement and the contribution enlargement can make to the Europe 2020 strategy. The reason that package is to be submitted is to counter an enlargement fatigue which is very much there and it will also cover the consequences of the financial and economic crisis.

We would have hoped that the association agreement with Croatia would be signed during our Presidency but even Croatia realises that it will not be ready during this year. The signing of that treaty will most likely be done under the Hungarian Presidency.

Turkey is, of course, a classic. The committee will be aware that there is a progress report being elaborated and a report requested by the Council on the Ankara Protocol. There are still many chapters to be negotiated. Twelve chapters have been open, 18 are suspended. Negotiations are a long-term issue. Apparently, it will very largely depend on domestic reform but when it comes to Belgium, we will encourage Ankara to continue these reforms and at the same time examine how relations between Turkey and Cyprus can be improved. We are quite confident. As I stated, our fundamental position is that when a country eventually has fulfilled all of the conditions, it will join the European Union, but it will have to have fulfilled all of the conditions. The President of the European People's Party, EPP, which, in fact, is not very much in favour of Turkey joining, stated not so long ago that it is important that Turkey is a member of NATO, and who would doubt it, and important that it is a member of the Council of Europe, because one day EU accession will be a reality.

In our Presidency, we will start the negotiations with Iceland.

I referred to Croatia. I mentioned in my exposé that the fight against poverty is very much one of our main objectives. I refer to security and justice matters. I covered these areas extensively in my exposé. How will the European external action service operate? We are beginning to get a clear idea. We remain far from its formation and this is why we suggested to High Representative Ashton that she could rely on our diplomatic service as much as is needed. We are confident it will work and will be up and running before the end of this year. Perhaps it will not be in operation everywhere. As I remarked, the European Union does not have representation in all countries. In some cases, the head of delegation has not yet been appointed. This is taking longer than we would have hoped but eventually we will get there. I refer to Israeli-Palestinian affairs. Naturally, this is a major issue but the committee will understand that since the ratification of the Lisbon treaty this is no longer an issue for us. It will be dealt with not by the rotating EU Presidency but by High Commissioner Ashton only.

I must confess that I cannot go into matters of biodiversity, climate, economic crises and the various linkages because of a lack of personal knowledge. However, these areas are very much a priority and they are being dealt with at the proper level. Can the EU avoid a second humiliation? Yes, of course. As I mentioned, the humiliation had a good deal to do with the fact that we were focusing somewhat too much on the priorities of the European Union and not considering other positions sufficiently. We will prepare the conclusions or negotiating positions very carefully for the next summit, taking into account other county's positions, and I am confident that we can tackle this efficiently and that we will not face a humiliation again.

Chairman

I thank the ambassador. Do the other members of the delegation wish to make any comments at this stage?

H. E. Ms Mercedes Rico

I thank the Belgian representative and Deputies and Senators for their kind words. They alluded to the Spanish EU Presidency which was, as the committee will remember, not only the first transition EU Presidency after the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, but in some practical aspects a crisis management Presidency. We had to deal not only with the financial crisis of some European and euro member countries, but to prevent the crisis from becoming generalised to other countries. Our programme had to be adopted. We had to deal with the ash plume crisis in the EU Council on transport. We are proud to have ushered in the new institutions in a rather graceful manner.

The relationship between the permanent President, Mr. Van Rompuy, and the head of the Spanish Government was in perfect agreement in the way Van Rompuy was to take over specified charges, certain aspects of the preparations and the Chair of the European Council meetings. He has received 100% help from the Spanish Government as has High Representative Ashton in the General Affairs and External Relations Council from Minister Moratinos. These transitions were essential as was the new role of the European Parliament, which is more complex.

I thank everyone including Ireland, the committee, the Department of Foreign Affairs and especially the Minister of State, Deputy Dick Roche, and his team for their help and co-operation. I wish the best for our Belgian friends as well.

H. E. Mr. Ferenc Jári

I cannot look back to any particular experience of my country with the rotating EU Presidency but I can look back to half a year of the trio Presidency which is now behind us. This is a new concept and it is a product of the learning curve of the European Union, which helps us to deal with situations related to changing Governments in the course of a rotating Presidency, to which Senator Leyden referred. The trio Presidency has given a type of stability to the programmes and issues. It has helped us to deal with and represent such issues jointly, in a manner decided by three Governments and countries, not necessarily by the Government which will actually perform the role of rotating EU President.

This is the case with my country. We will begin our EU Presidency with a different Government from that which prepared the trio Presidency. The trio Presidency provides a large framework and the strategic direction for one and a half years, which is new for the European Union. We are looking forward within the framework of a strategic programme for one and a half years, not only for half a year. This lends a stability to the whole system.

Another major item of stability relates to the Lisbon treaty and the new institutions. These have changed the role and importance of the rotating Presidency to some extent with a permanent President of the European Council and a larger role for the European Parliament. This also lends elements of stability. The rotating EU President is not the sole representative or custodian of the success of a given half a year of the European Union's activities. These matters may depend on the levels of ambition of particular countries but the new European institutions make the role of the rotating EU Presidency that of an honest broker, to which the Belgian ambassador referred. This means it is more of a co-ordinating role and more that of an initiator or the party that will implement certain programmes. A good deal depends on how well the rotating EU Presidency performs that particular role. Depending on its success, certain programmes could be more efficiently carried out but the President of the European Council is assuming some of the roles the rotating Presidency has been carrying out and, in this respect, the system will have a larger degree of stability and continuity.

There is another issue I would like to reflect on. Deputy Costello asked about how to implement the Europe 2020 programme. It is also something that belongs to our common appreciation that the Union is as successful as the member states are willing to make it. In this respect, I would like to underline the fact that the programme is mainly dependent on the member states and, during the Belgian Presidency in the autumn, they will make their own commitments. The Union has come to an agreement on certain major objectives but how the member states will make good on their commitments is the deciding factor of the success. With 1% of EU GDP, the European institutions and the Union are not in a position to ensure the objectives will be met at the end of the programme. It depends on the member states and, therefore, we are looking forward to the national commitments made in the course of the autumn and to the first review conference during the Hungarian Presidency in spring 2011 when we will have the first experience to fall on. The Europe 2020 programme, which is probably the most important programme of the Union for decades, will decide to a large extent how the Union will move forward and how it will find its own place in the world. In spring 2011 we will have a review conference and then we will probably in a position to give a more concrete assessment of how the implementation is going to be.

H. E. Mr. Robert Devriese

I want to answer one question on the Lisbon treaty implementation. As I said in my concluding remarks, we will respect the treaty to the letter and the spirit. When it comes to the role of the parliaments, the committee has probably heard the preparation of our national programme is the result of intensive hearings with our national parliament. We already gave the example of what should be done. The committee will have all the interparliamentary meetings during the Belgian Presidency through its own channels. We got our Belgian national programme a few days ago. If there are more questions, I am always either on a personal basis or in a group ready to answer questions.

Chairman

The issues raised to which the ambassadors responded are of concern throughout Europe. It was stated at last Monday's meeting that to ensure everybody has confidence in the enlargement process, progress is ongoing and can be reported and that Turkey is an influential player in the Middle East and the western Balkans and could be constructive in that area. Overly protracted negotiations or too many obstacles appearing on an ongoing basis means resolution remains with both the Turkish authorities and the Union. The feeling was expressed that it would be in everybody's interest to ensure there was progress and the process was not seen to be dragging on forever because that would be hugely debilitating.

The economy, Doha and the Europe 2020 programme were discussed. The submissions on the programme and the issues raised by this committee largely related to the previous arrangement where there seemed to be a lack of monitoring on an annual basis and Ms Rico mentioned this previously. This will be addressed in the new programme. Mr. Jári rightly pointed out that for the financial services industry to be successful and for financial institutions to operate in unison, there must be a uniform regulatory system across Europe because failure of any state to adopt such regulations will mean the system is only as strong as the weakest link.

I congratulate the Spanish Presidency on its work during a difficult time. Many threats appeared to its smooth operation over which nobody had control. We will experience similar threats for years to come but the committee extends its good wishes to the incumbent and future holders of the Presidency. I thank the ambassadors for attending and I look forward to working with them throughout the year.

Sitting suspended at 12.45 p.m. and resumed at 12.50 p.m.