podczas XIV sesji Konferencji Utrechckiej
Kraków, 9 marca br.
Dear Ben, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is very appropriate that we start today's session of the Utrecht Conference by discussing the Constitutional Treaty and the changing European Union. The Netherlands and Poland are among the ten Member States intending to hold referenda on the Treaty in the near future. This is in itself a very unique situation. At no time before has the European Union gone through an equally extensive test of democratic viability. Turning to the people this time around will have more meaning than we often realise. On the one hand, the referenda will sum up the achievements of the European Union in the last decades. More importantly, they will decide about its future as a political union.
The Constitutional Treaty is not about a significant change of the rules-of-the-game in the Union. It brings with it a lot of useful consolidation, comprehensiveness, consistency and rearrangement. There are important improvements, above all in the area of foreign and security policy. But all that does not mean that we will have a radically new blueprint for how the Union is to be organised in the future. In terms of new projects, there was more on the table at the time of the Treaty of Maastricht. Not surprisingly we have since slowed down the process. In addition, broad public opinion criticized the Union for the deficit of democracy. The agenda of the integration project has not allowed for an indefinite conquest of new areas. It has become clear that at some point there is going to be no more. We have not reached that stage yet but one day we will have to become comfortable with our European whereabouts.
The Constitutional Treaty is about consolidation. Yet it is also a founding Treaty. It was elaborated through a democratic process bringing together representatives of 25 member states as well as the institutions of the Union. None of us liked everything that was agreed and accepted without saying the result of the Intergovernmental Conference. But no-one can deny that there was a genuine spirit there of looking for mutually acceptable solutions to express our common ideas for the European Union. Not surprisingly, the slogan of the European Union continues to be "unity in diversity". In fact, it will not just be a slogan but a rich source of dynamism in the Union.
The challenges ahead of the EU
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The new Treaty completed in fact a long and tortuous process of adjusting the structure of the European Union to meeting the new challenges with internal as well as external features. Let me address at least the most paramount of them.
When Poland in April 1994 submitted its application for membership, the European Union was emerging after the heated period of the ratification of the Treaty of Maastricht. For us it was not entirely understandable why some members of the Union have had serious problems with adoption of a new Treaty. At the same time the war in the Balkans was an ultimate test of the Union’s ability to act efficiently outside its borders. I believe that apart from another wave of enlargement these two important signals had influenced the way of thinking of the authors of the Laeken Declaration.
The second part of the nineties began to prove that the gap between the expectations of citizens and the language of the Union was getting bigger. The Union today is facing this problem in even more acute manner. The level of support for the integration process has diminished, at least in some countries. There are many examples of the purely national resentments. Therefore, let us think for a while, what are the real problems?
Democracy and legitimacy – bridging the gap
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A lot has been said about democracy and legitimacy in the European Union. The European Convention generated volumes and volumes of views and opinions. But in all of them one term was repeated in every language of the EU - deficit of democracy. People live in the Union but they do not feel themselves as being at home there. The democratic life of the Union is an area where the Constitutional Treaty brings a lot of progress. It is more readable than the collection of treaties it replaces. The definition of the Union, its core values, goals and principles are well and clearly defined.
More transparency is introduced to legislative and regulatory procedures. The role of European Parliament and the national parliaments has been increased. Of course the effectiveness of this function will largely depend on ability of the Members of the Parliaments to perform their new roles. The European Parliament gained weight in the process of nominating the President of the European Commission. Given the very nature of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and its value to our citizens, it was a wise and important decision to incorporate it to the Treaty. The people’s legislative initiative is not only a symbolic provision but also a real possibility for exercising direct democracy.
It is obvious that all these new regulations cannot overnight reduce the entire deficit of democracy in the Union. However, they provide for a real progress in bridging the gap between the citizens and the institutional system of the Union.
Managing the new shape of the Union
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The European Union today has a completely new shape than year ago. And it is not just the case of the simple growth of the number of the Member States. It concerns its diversity, its power, and its potential to handle new tasks. And again one can say that the Constitutional Treaty anticipates these concerns to quite high extend. First of all it is worth stressing that the new Treaty preserves the institutional balance and enhances the community method. It has been and it should remain the basis of the integration process. I hope that the Council of Ministers and the European Commission while remarkably expanded will work hand-in-hand together. The first few months of this Commission prove that the 25-large fleet can operate effectively although it requires more identity-building than we had assumed.
Another important factor in this process is to assure the proper management of the work of the Council of Ministers. It is my deep conviction that the system of the Group Presidency will be a good response to the difficulty of managing the steadily increasing array of complex presidency tasks. At the same time, it will guard the principle of the equality of the Member States on which the European Union has been based on. This prime principle should be preserved and protected as the Union enlarges.
Common Foreign and Security Policy – the need for a more active role on the international stage
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy are a platform for seeking ways and means to share sovereignty where it has always been the most difficult, that is where sovereignty has always been at its bear. The provisions of the Treaty pertaining CFSP are the results of a vivid discussion during the European Convention and the Intergovernmental Conference. There were some unexpected external circumstances that made the process of consultations even more complicated. Have the right conclusions been drawn?
The new post of the Union’s Minister of Foreign Affairs should enable the Member States to speak with one voice on international issues, thus improving the image of the EU and enhancing co-operation with third countries, it is not a decisive factor guaranteeing unity of purpose. The solution is even simpler. We have to secure an effective and functional use of all means at the disposal of the future Minister and the European External Action Service. We hope that this service will be well balanced in terms of the institutional and national representation as well as richly furnished in all instruments indispensable for fulfilling its task. That is going to be a real test of the political will and wisdom of the current and future Members of the European Union.
As the members of the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union we shall attach a lot of importance to the new challenges in the neighbourhood policy. One of the most important of them is to seek a new opening in the relations with Ukraine. It is not a mission complete yet. The reforms in Ukraine require our constant support and open mind.
Ratification process
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As far as the ratification process is concerned, Poland and the Netherlands have their eggs in the same basket. There is a hectic political discussion about the ratification calendar in Poland.
The government believes that the best time for the referendum will be the first round of the presidential elections in the autumn. The turnout of the Spanish referendum and our requirement for the 50% threshold point suggest that this is the right approach. Yesterday, the ratification bill was submitted to the Council of Ministers. Now we have to mobilise all means and ways to inform the public about the Treaty. I believe that all member states carrying out the referenda should stay closely in touch. I am personally convinced that there is nothing we could do more to bring about the idea of the political union than to put the Constitutional Treaty to the popular vote.
The day after
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As far as the Constitutional Treaty is concerned we have an asymmetrical situation in front of us. If the Treaty is ratified, there will not be an immediate and dramatic change in functioning of the Union. But it will be just the opposite if one or more member states reject the Treaty. This would evoke a deep political crisis in the Union. The Treaty is worth ratifying on its own merits. However, if someone is not convinced, he or she should think of the unnecessary turmoil in which a rejection would plunge the European Union. It is not worth it! The European Union has genuine challenges to face and it cannot afford to backtrack in its institutional development. Even the most sophisticated provisions cannot guarantee, however, a new kind of opening within the Union which bring people closer to each other. That last effort will require an enormous determination on the side of the political class as well as commitment on the part of the citizens. I trust that we will succeed.