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President Prodi's Speech on "The Seville Summit: enlargement, immigration and reform"

The Spanish Presidency

Honourable Members,

For European integration, 2002 is a crucial year -- a year crammed full of projects and challenges of huge political and historical significance. Such as enlargement and the debate on the political and institutional framework of the EU -- in its present form and the shape it will take tomorrow.

In the last few months, another challenge has caught our attention -- immigration, which calls for more thinking on the equilibrium needed within our societies in Europe and in north-south relations.

These are daunting challenges. We must pay tribute to the Spanish Presidency, which has guided the EU through the last six months with drive and wisdom.

I take this opportunity to thank President Aznar, his Ministers and all those who worked with him for a job well done. And I add that cooperation between the Presidency and the Commission has reached a very high standard. We have now worked out a method that can, I hope, be applied by all future Presidencies.

Enlargement

One of the EU's successes in these six months has been the way the roadmap for enlargement has been followed.

At Seville we made further progress: we achieved common positions on the chapters on agriculture and the Structural Funds and we identified the last hurdles to overcome.

In the autumn, by the time of the Brussels Council European in October, we must have agreement within the EU on certain budgetary issues, and in particular direct payments to farmers.

Sometime in the autumn too, the citizens of Ireland will be voting in a second referendum to ratify the Treaty of Nice. I have every confidence that this time the debate will focus on the real substance of the Treaty, not on other issues wrongly laid at the EU's doorstep. And I am in no doubt the outcome will be positive.

In this connection, I regard the European Council's declaration on respect for Ireland's military neutrality as highly significant.

So I look forward to the Copenhagen European Council with optimism. Step by step we are overcoming the potential obstacles to a definitive decision on enlargement. The candidate countries' staunch efforts over the last few years deserve to meet with success.

I cannot repeat too often that enlargement and the attendant reforms are and will remain our main political priority and that this Commission will spare no effort to reach that goal -- a goal whose strategic importance stretches far beyond the confines of Europe.

Immigration

Asylum and immigration were high on the European Council's agenda. And what prevailed at Seville were common sense, good judgment and moderation. Illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings are unacceptable. The EU has made it clear that it will do its utmost to put a stop to them.

This is not just a declaration of intent. At Seville, clear details and a timetable were laid down for:

• concluding readmission agreements currently being negotiated and starting talks with countries identified by the Council;
  
  
• undertaking joint operations at external borders before the end of 2002;
  
  
• introducing common visa arrangements by March 2003.

Don't underestimate the importance of timetables. Experience teaches us that we can only make consistent progress by setting definite dates. And I assure you we will work to ensure those commitments are met.

Overall, immigration calls for a comprehensive approach that takes all the political, social and human dimensions fully into account.

Border controls are bound up with asylum policies, security is linked to ensuring fair treatment for all, and the effectiveness of various decisions and measures within the EU depends on relations with non-member countries and on development cooperation too.

Renewing with the spirit of Tampere, the Council neglected none of these aspects and demonstrated admirable even-handedness.

This is reassuring for all citizens. For those who are concerned about the future for legal immigrants and who believe in open, tolerant societies. And for those who are worried about illegal immigration and the people who exploit it, and who want security stepped up. Of course, security doesn't just depend on managing immigration, but on various issues where a comprehensive EU approach can really make a difference.

Honourable Members, this is one of the lessons we must learn from Seville, where there was a clearer awareness that some problems cannot be solved at national level, and there is a need for courageous, farsighted policies and decisions at EU level.

Reform of the Council and the Commission

Honourable Members,

As it draws near, enlargement is generating a ferment of reform throughout the EU. This largely focuses on two areas: the Convention, which is about to wind up the first phase of its work, and the three main institutions.

Under the chairmanship of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the Convention's task is to devise lasting solutions for an EU of tomorrow with 25 Member States or more, and to think about the type of Union we want for our continent.

But, as I said, there are other processes under way, both within the EU and on its doorstep. And these demand we review the workings of the institutions as of now -- resolutely, swiftly and pragmatically -- without waiting for the Treaties to be amended and without interfering in the work of the Convention.

The impact of enlargement on the way the institutions function must, for example, be assessed immediately, so the necessary measures can be put in place by the beginning of 2004 at the latest.

Secondly, we must not forget that the Community system depends on a fine balance between the institutions, based on a set of checks and counterbalances, and functioning interdependently. Any change affecting one institution will have a structural impact on the others.

So a coordinated and concerted approach is vital in efforts at streamlining under way in all the institutions. It gives me pleasure to note that in some ways this is already happening and practically on its own. The Corbett report to Parliament, the Solana report and my own thinking on reforming the way the Commission works all point in the same direction.

In particular, the new rules approved at Seville concerning the European Council and the other Council configurations and my ideas on revamping the College of Commissioners have much in common. Both initiatives involve organizing the activities of each institution in a more flexible and simpler way, identifying a set of core areas and tasks and assigning them for coordination with clearly determined responsibilities.

Honourable Members,

The time is ripe. Creative solutions must be found right away with the instruments to hand -- with the Treaties as they stand. But, as I said, we must act consistently and coherently. That is also the idea behind our set of proposals on Better Regulation.

So I am pleased that the Seville European Council decided to set up a High-Level Technical Group for Interinstitutional Cooperation. And that it called on the three main institutions to adopt an interinstitutional agreement before the end of the year to improve the quality of Community legislation and its transposition into national law.

This is the task before us in the coming months and I am sure we will tackle it calmly and dedicatedly, and in the spirit of cooperation that has become a feature of our relations.

Thank you.

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