Letter from President Prodi to Mr. Aznar

In just a few days we will meet in Seville. We will have the opportunity to address to take decisions on three key priorities: immigration, enlargement / institutional reform, and the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Action now in each of these areas will reinforce the prospects for long-term prosperity, peace and stability for the European Union and for our partners around the world over the years to come. I set out below some reflections on each of these points.

Immigration

At the beginning of June I wrote to you offering my strong support for your decision to push the issue of illegal immigration to the top of our agenda in Seville. Immigration-related issues have increasingly become, in the eyes of the majority of our citizens, associated with questions of security; questions which our citizens expect Europe to answer as we builds an area of freedom, security and justice.

We must address these concerns…

Detailed and often complex work on legal immigration and asylum has been underway for a number of years. It is part of the balanced set of objectives that we agreed in Tampere in autumn 2000. Yet that work risks getting bogged down unless we are seen to be responding in a determined way to widespread public concern about illegal immigration. There is much we can do if we act together and mobilize our considerable assets, both internally and externally, to tackle this problem. However, focusing on illegal immigration must not lead us to neglect other equally important aspects of the migration question, particularly the issue of ensuring the harmonious integration of our existing immigrant population.

We must send a clear message to our citizens. We will be tough on illegal immigration and the trafficking of human beings it so often entails because this is a crime and an affront to human rights. But legal immigration is good for Europe. It is source of vitality and energy which an ageing Europe needs. The multicultural nature of our societies is now a reality and we must be willing to embrace all the adjustments necessary to make multiculturalism and ethnic diversity succeed, respecting the fundamental values of our free and democratic societies.

Enlargement and institutional reform

In Seville we will take stock of the considerable progress made under your Presidency in the enlargement negotiations. We must now give the process a further push as the home strait of the negotiations comes into view. This includes deciding in due course on the issue of direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy where I believe the Commission's approach offers the best prospects for success.

Ensuring that enlargement is a lasting success is a key goal of the Convention on the future of Europe. However, the results of its work will depend on Treaty changes, flowing from the Inter-Governmental Conference, which will take effect only after enlargement has happened.

This poses a challenge. The Nice Treaty has introduced the institutional reforms needed for enlargement to happen, but many practical issues affecting our day to day work remain. How will responsibilities be divided in a Commission from 2004 of between 25 and 30 Members? How will Council or even our Summits function effectively when a "tour de table" may take up to four hours? How can we ensure a strategic direction and coherent action within an enlarged Union?

Each Institution is starting to address these issues. The report of Mr. Solana and the Presidency's proposals, which I very much support, are launching the Council on this path. Equally, the Corbett report opens interesting avenues for the European Parliament.

This provides us with a unique opportunity to get things right in time to welcome the new Member States, providing we work together to ensure a common and coherent logic underpins whatever we may propose individually. As far as the Commission is concerned, I believe that we need to reorganize responsibilities within the College around a limited number of essential tasks and rationalize our decision-making process. Such steps can ensure that better organization can go hand in hand with a better, more effective and democratic form of governance at a European level. The Commission brings to this its experience of reshaping its administration and its efforts to improve European Governance, most recently through the Action Plan on Better Regulation, which, I sincerely hope, will prompt us in Seville to set ourselves the target of concluding an interinstitutional agreement before the end of 2002. Thus we would improve the quality of Community legislation and the relevant procedures for its adoption. Only a concerted action will allow us to achieve both "better organization" and "better regulation" of all institutions.

Johannesburg

The European Council must give a renewed boost to the preparation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg if we are to achieve the ambitious objective that we set a year ago in Göteborg. We cannot allow the multilateral agenda to derail because of the US farm bill and developing countries' doubts about European sincerity in granting market access, finance and to reduce our trade distorting subsidies. The recent FAO World Food Summit in Rome was a disappointment. A failure in Johannesburg could have wider repercussions on growth and trade.

I welcome the fact that several of us already decided to go to Johannesburg. The large number of European companies participating in this Conference and taking part in initiatives in support of sustainable development in the third World will be encouraged by our presence.

We should together spell out clearly our firm determination to live up to our commitments. I would underline three key messages in this respect.

First, we have to reassure the world that we are serious in implementing the commitments taken in Monterrey and Doha, although the WSSD cannot be a parallel negotiation about trade and finance.

Second, we should ensure that a strong Political Declaration which would support the Doha Development Agenda process is agreed and indicate how the increased funds pledged in Monterrey will be used in a sustainable manner.

Thirdly, strong emphasis has to be put on implementation. The European Union is ready to follow the priorities of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, namely water, health, energy, agriculture, biodiversity. Trade and globalization is also a key factor. The European Union should combine forces to put on the table in Johannesburg credible EU-wide initiatives on water and energy, with particular emphasis on Africa.

Finally, I would like to take the opportunity of this letter to congratulate you, along with Council and the European Parliament, on the remarkable progress that you have made towards closing the "delivery gap" that we had identified within the Lisbon strategy.

We have had real successes - key measures within the financial services action plan agreed, a new Community R&D programme worth more than EUR17 billion over four years and the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol are just a few of the highlights.

I very much believe that our recent work, for example, on getting the right framework for quality public services, and initiatives such our eEurope 2005 Action Plan will help to consolidate those successes.

Nevertheless, despite real progress, better economic prospects and a stronger euro, many people still find themselves facing considerable uncertainty as the effects of last year's sharp economic slowdown continue to cost jobs and hurt businesses.

Our response must be to hold steady to the commitments taken in Barcelona. The adoption of the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines for 2002 must send a reassuring signal as regards the credibility of economic policy co-ordination that supports our single currency, as well as enabling us to envisage the dynamic development of our policies over time. It is the process of long-term, structural change, combining economic, social and environmental reforms, alongside stable economic conditions, which has actually helped the Union to cope better with recent shocks and will ensure high growth and employment.

It is against this background that I am looking forward to our discussions at the end of this week. I can assure you that the Commission will be working with you ensure that our meeting is a success.

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• President Prodi's Speech on the Seville European Council (18/6/2002)