NICOLE FONTAINE President of the European Parliament Avrupa Parlamentosu Başkanı In Some Applicant Countries Templatations of the Past May Resurface at any Time Nicole FONTAINE, the President of the European Parliament, give the Parliament's opinion before the work of the Summit. Significant progress has already been achieved, and it is my fond hope that the final obstacles will be removed and that, by means of your unanimous vote, the European Union will be able to send out to all its constituent States and peoples the messages of dynamism and clarity which they are looking to this historic summit to provide. If Nice is to be a success, it must clear the way for an enlargement, which, because we have agreed to put aside our national interests in order to reform our institutions, thereby making them more effective and more democratic, proves beneficial to all concerned. It must demonstrate to our fellow citizens that the Union is founded on values enshrined in a Charter which can be invoked by all the men and all the women living on the territory of the European Union. The Nice Summit is the meeting at which decisions must be taken on the unresolved issues. In other words, it represents the moment of truth. Turning precisely to the most sensitive issues dealt with at the Intergovernmental Conference, as a prelude to the proceedings of this summit of fundamental importance to the future of the Union I should simply like to outline Parliament's viewpoint, as reiterated only recently. Ultimately, the enlargement must be seen in a broader context, that of the reunification of the entire European family against a background of shared democratic, economic, social and cultural values. Over a period of less than one year the political landscape in Europe has been rocked by upheavals in the Balkans, upheavals to which the recent Zagreb Summit bore witness. The whole of Europe is at peace, even if some areas of tension remain. Torn apart yesterday, still fragile today, these countries have embarked on a process of democratisation and are now looking towards membership of the Union. We must bear this in mind. At the same time, the wrong messages are being sent out to the public in our countries. In some applicant countries where a democratic culture is not yet firmly rooted, for example Romania, current events are illustrating that the temptations of the past may resurface at any time. This is why Parliament is strongly urging you to enshrine in our shared legal system the fundamental values on which the Union is founded. The proclamation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights will be a vital stage in this process. The Charter does not simply seek to protect citizens against abuses of power by the European institutions. It also seeks to protect States against reversions to earlier forms of behaviour irreconcilable with our key shared values. If we give the Charter legal force, we will show that these values are binding on every one of us, Member States and applicant countries alike, and that they are inviolable. With that aim in view, Parliament would like the Member States to give the Charter the legal force which will guarantee its credibility and effectiveness at the very least by means of a reference to it in Article 6 of the Treaty and, immediately after Nice, when considering a preamble to a future Union Constitution. What substantive argument could be invoked to justify any other course of action? By the same token, Parliament welcomes the fact that the Intergovernmental Conference is proposing that you should incorporate into the Treaty a mechanism designed to ensure that appropriate and proportional action is taken to prevent any breaches of the democratic principles on which the Union is founded. However, values and policies can only be safeguarded and implemented by effective institutions. This is what is at stake in institutional reform. The issues of the weighting of votes in the Council and the composition of the Commission, issues which the general public often find difficult to grasp, are overshadowed by the key problem of national sovereignty. Admittedly, the pooling of certain areas of sovereignty is a process which is anything but straightforward, since it has a direct bearing on our individual national cultures and the way in which power is exercised at national and European level. However, you must have the courage to acknowledge a fact which I regard as fundamental, particularly in a Union with 30 or more Member States: a decision to retain the right of each Member State to veto proposals in any area other than the constitutional sphere will not stand the test of time, in other words it will yield to the pressure of practical imperatives and public expectation. Taking only these topical examples, who can seriously claim that individual Member States are in a position to provide an effective response, one likely to allay the justified fears of our fellow citizens, to the havoc wreaked by mad cow disease or the damage caused by maritime and climatic disasters? The citizens of Europe have not only come to terms with this fact, they are also looking to Europe as an entity to shoulder its responsibilities. The demonstrations taking place outside this building are no nine-day wonder. They reflect a growing awareness among the peoples of the Union. Even today, our Union of Fifteen is suffering cruelly under the unanimity rule. What would happen, then, in a Union with 27 or even 28 Member States? It is vital, therefore, that the scope of qualified-majority voting should be broadened. In this connection, Parliament will not judge the outcome of the European Council solely in quantitative terms, but also, and above all, in qualitative terms. The areas which are still the subject of tense discussions are precisely those which will enable us to say whether or not the Nice European Council has created a dynamic of enhanced effectiveness and closer integration. In Parliament's view, qualified-majority voting is required in the areas of taxation, social and cohesion policy, international economic agreements and asylum and visa policy. These areas not only have direct implications for the smooth functioning of an economic and monetary area. Just as importantly, the Union must also be an area of solidarity, an area in which citizens enjoy genuine, untrammelled freedom of movement and establishment, something which is not yet the case. It must be an area which, in the eyes of the world, has laid down clear and detailed rules for dealing with migrants. If some Member States are still reluctant to make this vital step, they should at least undertake to draw up a timetable for the transition to qualified-majority voting spread over two, three or even four years following the entry into force of the Treaty of Nice. European public opinion would accept an explanation that the objective will eventually be achieved, but it will not tolerate the abandonment of that objective. We have made Europe a fit place for future generations to live in. Those generations will be increasingly unwilling to accept the disparities which are still evident, disparities completely unrelated to the specific national characteristics which represent the wealth of our States. There is another, equally fundamental issue. It concerns exemplary democratic working methods at Union level. The Union has come a long way since the Treaty of Maastricht introduced the codecision procedure. In their role as legislators, the Union institutions draw on a dual legitimacy: that of the Council, as the representative of the Member States, and that of Parliament, as the direct representative of European citizens. The codecision procedure, which has now proved its worth, is the ultimate expression of the balance between these two legitimacies. In Parliament's view, the obvious course of action is to extend its scope to cover all the areas in which qualified-majority voting will henceforth be the rule. A further vital factor in the integration process is the role which will be entrusted to the President of the Commission in the context of the changes to the composition of that body. By strengthening the position of the President and the College of Commissioners as a whole, you will recognise his role as the driving force behind the integration process, a role which will be more decisive than ever in an enlarged Europe. If the dynamic of integration is to have free rein in that enlarged Union, we recognise the need for enhanced cooperation arrangements, although we are perfectly well aware of the problems concerning the way they should be initiated . If these arrangements are not to be hampered by a democratic deficit, you must acknowledge Parliament's right to give its assent prior to their implementation. The successful reform of the institutions has one basic objective, that of bringing the institutions closer to our citizens. As you know, Parliament attaches great importance to the practical nature of Union policies and their profile. By making the decisive moves towards the establishment of a European food safety authority, we will provide our fellow citizens, who are currently at a loss at what to do in the face of recent food scares, with at least some measure of reassurance. Parliament hopes that by giving the social agenda practical substance, and by agreeing on a timetable for the entry into force of its six guidelines, the Nice Summit will confirm that this agenda does indeed reflect a 'firm ambition' and that the Union will recognise that social, economic and employment policies are closely linked and must contribute equally to a better quality of life for our fellow citizens in the social sphere. By making a defence Europe a reality, with a very few exceptions the Member States have shown their determination to make Europe as an entity a major player on the international stage. You must continue along that road. Nice will be one stage in the process of bringing our states and our peoples closer together, following the examples set at many similar meetings over half a century of European integration. In particular, Parliament hopes that the Nice European Council will take determined steps to launch a process of reflection about the nature of the Union, a Union whose Community method should be based on the approach employed by the Convention which drew up the Charter and whose key objectives should be the simplification of the Treaties, a clarification of the distribution of powers and responsibilities between the Community, the Member States and the regions, and a constitution for Europe, the foundation of which would be the Charter we have just proclaimed today. NICOLE FONTAINE: "BAŞVURU SAHİBİ ÜLKELERİN BAZILARINDA GEÇMİŞTE YAŞANAN OLAYLAR HER AN YENİDEN KARŞIMIZA ÇIKABİLİR" Eğer Nice başarılı olacaksa, genişlemenin önünü açmalı. Vatandaşlarımız, AB'nin Beratı tarafından korunan değerler üzerine kurulmuş olduğunu anlamalılar. Ben Parlamento'nun bu konuya bakış açısını özetlemek istiyorum. Genişleme, daha geniş bir anlamda ve tüm Avrupa ailesi tarafından paylaşılan demokratik, ekonomik, sosyal ve kültürel değerlerin bir birleşmesi olarak görülmelidir. Temel Haklar Beratı'nın ilanı önemli bir adımdır. Bu Berat, vatandaşları Avrupa kurumlarının güç suiistimallerine karşı koruduğu gibi, devletlerin de bizim ana değerlerimizle bağdaşmayan eski davranış biçimlerine geri dönmelerini de önlüyor. Ancak, değerler ve politikalar sadece etkin kurumlarca korunup, uygulanabilirler. Üye devletlerin, deli dana hastalığı veya iklimsel afetlerle teker teker başa çıkabileceklerini kim iddia edebilir? Avrupa vatandaşları sorumlulukları üstlenecek bir Avrupa'nın varlığını istiyorlar. Bugün 15 ülkeden oluşan Birlikt'e bile, ittifakla yönetimin sancıları çekilirken, 27 veya hatta 28 ülkeye çıktığımızda ne olacak ? Bu nedenle, ittifak çoğunluğuyla oy verme kapsamının bu bağlamda genişletilmesi hayati önem taşıyor. Bir başka önemli konu da Birlik düzeyinde demokratik çalışma yöntemleri. Parlamento, Nice Zirvesi'nin, yönlendirici 6 standardın uygulanabilmesi için bir takvim üzerinde anlaşarak, Birliğin sosyal, ekonomik ve istihdam politikalarının vatandaşlarımıza daha iyi bir yaşam kalitesi sağlayacağına olan inancını vurgulayacağını umuyor.