EUROPE'S STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 2000 - 2005
(21026)
6343/00
COM(00) 154
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Commission Communication: Strategic objectives 2000-2005: Shaping the New Europe
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| Legal base:
| — |
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| Document originated:
| 9 February 2000
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| Forwarded to the Council:
| 11 February 2000
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| Deposited in Parliament:
| 6 March 2000
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| Department: |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration:
| EM of 15 March 2000
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| Previous Committee Report:
| None |
| To be discussed in Council:
| No date set |
| Committee's assessment:
| Politically important
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| Committee's decision:
| Cleared |
The Commission document
11.1 The document is a statement of the
Commission's political priorities for the next five years. According
to the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(Mr. Vaz), it meets a commitment made by Commission President,
Romano Prodi, to the European Parliament when he took office.
It is not binding on either the European Parliament or the Council.
Nor does it contain a legislative programme. The Commission presents
this on an annual basis.
11.2 The Communication sets out four strategic
objectives for the five years ahead:
- promoting new forms of European Governance
- stabilising our continent and boosting Europe's
voice in the world
- towards a new economic and social agenda
- a better quality of life for all
1. Promoting new forms of European Governance
11.3 Addressing the complex challenges ahead
calls for new forms of European governance, the Commission says,
adding that is not the sole responsibility of the EU institutions:
"Governments and Parliaments, regional and local authorities
are an integral part of European governance. They all have
a responsibility in shaping, implementing and presenting policy."
(For example, it says, the Common Agricultural Policy is largely
implemented by national agencies.) Yet people do not perceive
it this way:
"European citizens
have little sense of ownership over the structures that govern
their lives. Few distinguish between the institutions, most believe
national and European policies are worlds apart, and all is blurred
within the abstract notion of 'Brussels'. But the truth is that
'Brussels' is all of us."
11.4 The Commission contends that it must
remain the driving force within the process of a European governance
in which national policy co-ordination and Community policies
complement and reinforce each other. It undertakes to focus more
on its core functions of:
"... policy conception,
political initiative, enforcing Community law, monitoring social
and economic developments, stimulation, negotiation and, where
necessary, legislating."
11.5 Nowadays, it says, almost half the
Commission officials are fully occupied in executive tasks, in
implementing policies, and in managing and controlling programmes
and projects.
11.6 Priorities must be clearly defined
and matched to the human and financial resources available. The
White Paper on European Governance which it will soon issue will
give a new impetus to these objectives.
11.7 European governance must provide the
EU with the means to assert itself with a single voice in the
world. The anomaly that it is not fully represented in international
financial institutions and UN agencies needs to be corrected.
11.8 Civil society plays a crucial rôle
in giving citizens a stake in shaping and implementing policy
and the Commission expects to present an initiative shortly on
strengthening civil society's voice. The Commission itself will
live up to its pledge of open government and accountability.
2. Stabilising our
continent and boosting Europe's voice in the world
11.9 The challenges are geopolitical upheavals,
managing globalisation and the weakness of the international system.
The Commission says that it is Europe's ambition to "export"
its stability and prosperity. It expects the first new Members
to join the Community before the end of the present Commission's
mandate. The borders of the enlarged Europe must not become "a
new fault-line separating stability and prosperity on one side
from instability, conflict and development lags on the other."
11.10 On globalisation, the Commission
says that Europe's objective must be to make globalisation compatible
with the common interest of society: "We must maximise its
potential and minimise the undesirable side-effects."
11.11 Referring to the Community's aid programmes,
the Commission says:
"The Union's credibility
and the pursuit of its strategic objectives will inevitably require
a sharp improvement in the efficiency and impact of such measures.
The Commission intends to tackle the problem head on. It is counting
on the other institutions for help in establishing a simpler,
more operational system."
3. Towards a new economic and social agenda
11.12 The Commission calls for Europe to
become a globally competitive economy built on knowledge and innovation
and on a strategy of sustainable economic development. Its greatest
weakness is its under-utilisation of resources, despite its strong
scientific and technological base.
11.13 In order to create a new economic
dynamism, there must be reform in the labour, product and capital
markets. This will be enhanced by "a rigorous application
of competition rules and by further progress in the co-ordination
of tax policy." The transition to an information society
should be given the same political energy and attention as that
devoted to the launch of the single market and the single currency.
11.14 It is also necessary, the Commission
says, to develop and strengthen "the European Model of agriculture
in order to increase the competitiveness of this sector, secure
its sustainability and promote vital rural areas."
4. A better quality of life for all
11.15 Under this heading, the Commission
stresses the need to speed up the establishment of an area of
freedom, security and justice. It is planning, in particular,
to develop "a genuine European policy on asylum and
immigration".
11.16 It also comments that:
"The degradation of
the environment is now proceeding at a frightening pace, and the
continuation of current development patterns is unsustainable.
It is a source of genuine concern and moral indignation. It calls
for a decisive collection reaction."
11.17 It adds:
"And our environmental
legislation needs improving, amplifying and implementing fully."
The Government's view
11.18 The Minister says that the Government
welcomes this Communication:
"... as a helpful contribution
to debate about the EU's political priorities. Many of the issues
that it highlights are also at the top of our priorities, notably
economic modernisation, institutional reform for enlargement (including
internal modernisation of the Commission itself) and developing
the EU's voice in the world. The focus on governance, and the
recognition that to be effective, the EU must work in partnership
with national and regional governments, is particularly welcome.
The Government looks forward to the Commission's proposed White
Paper on this subject."
Conclusion
11.19 The Commission makes all the right
noises about reform. Nevertheless, the priorities it sets out
here cover a lot of ground. This suggests to us that more rigorous
thought needs to be given to further prioritisation, as well as
more efficient work practices within the Commission. At the same
time, we agree with the Commission that the Member States, too,
need to show leadership. It is time for them to make a more purposeful
contribution, for instance by concentrating on achieving results
in areas which have been calling out for reform for many years
now.
11.20 We clear the document.
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