Memorandum submitted by the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office
PROSPECTS FOR THE BRUSSELS EUROPEAN COUNCIL, 16-17
DECEMBER 2004
INTRODUCTION
1. THIS
EUROPEAN COUNCIL
IS SET
TO BEGIN
ON THE
EVENING OF
16 DECEMBER AND
CONCLUDE AFTER
LUNCH THE
DAY.
THERE ARE
TWO BIG
ISSUES: TURKEY'S
ASPIRATIONS TO
JOIN THE
UNION AND
THE EU'S
BUDGET FOR
2007-13. GETTING THE
RIGHT DECISION
ON TURKEY
IS CRUCIAL
NOT ONLY
FOR THE
PROSPECTS FOR
TURKEY ITSELF
BUT FOR
WIDER ENGAGEMENT
WITH THE
ISLAMIC WORLD.
THE BUDGET
NEGOTIATIONS ARE
ONLY JUST
GETTING STARTED
AND WILL
CONTINUE UNDER
THE LUXEMBOURG
PRESIDENCY. THIS
WILL ALSO
BE THE
FIRST EUROPEAN
COUNCIL FOR
BARROSO'S
NEW COMMISSION.
ENLARGEMENT
2. Following the Commission's 6 October recommendation
that Turkey is ready, we want the European Council to agree to
open membership negotiations in 2005. We want to avoid a further
Council decision. And we want to avoid singling Turkey out for
negotiating terms which are less favourable than for other existing
and future candidates. But some Member States want to push the
date for opening into 2006. They and some others may also seek
to apply more stringent negotiating terms to Turkey than to other
candidates. They could also suggest language proposing that the
negotiations could lead to something short of full membership.
We will resist any outcome that singles Turkey out in this way.
3. The Presidency aims to conclude negotiations
with Romania by 10 December. Three chapters remain (JHA, competition,
and the environment). Assuming Romania has closed its negotiations,
the Presidency will seek formal endorsement of the closure of
negotiations with Romania and Bulgaria and an announcement that
a joint Accession Treaty will be signed in early 2005. We will
support this.
4. The Council is also expected to decide
whether to set a date for opening negotiations with Croatia. Following
the recent critical report to the UN Security Council by the chief
prosecutor of the ICTY, Carla del Ponte, we will want to keep
up the pressure on Croatia to enhance its co-operation with the
Tribunal and will seek to reflect this in the conclusions.
THE EU'S
BUDGET FOR
2007-13: "PRINCIPLES AND
GUIDELINES"
5. Negotiations of the Budget for 2007-13
have hardly started and will extend into 2005 and possibly 2006.
At this Council, the Presidency will seek endorsement of a progress
report on negotiations to date including some generally agreed
principles for the negotiations and "building blocks"
setting out different policy options for each budgetary heading
and the corresponding budgetary implications. The Presidency will
also seek to agree principles and guidelines for the negotiation,
in theory as a step on the path to political agreement in June
under the Luxembourg Presidency, though it is far from clear that
agreement will be possible in this timeframe.
6. We, France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands
and Sweden are arguing for an EU budget of no more than 1% of
EU GNI—far less than the Commission proposal of 1.26% GNI.
As they stand, the building blocks contain several viable options
for a budget below 1% of EU GNI, making a 1% budget a credible
option and placing the Commission proposal at the upper extreme
of the options We will also want the conclusions (the "principles")
to make reference to the principles of effectiveness, affordability,
subsidiarity and value added at the EU level.
7. It is probable that there will also be
reference in the conclusions to Own Resources—the system
by which the EU raises revenue for the Community Budget. We and
most other Member States are happy to reject the Commission's
recent proposal for an EU tax. It is unlikely that any consensus
will emerge on the Commission's proposed "Generalised Correction
Mechanism" to replace the current Own Resources system (including
the UK abatement). We will resist strongly any language that is
prejudicial to the continuation of the current system, including
the abatement.
TERRORISM
8. The Council will consider progress on
the EU Action Plan agreed by the European Council in March following
the bombings in Madrid. Progress reports will focus on the four
areas highlighted by the June European Council: critical infrastructure,
consequence management, terrorist financing and external action.
The Dutch will look to bring the strands together to refresh the
March Action Plan.
AREA OF
FREEDOM, SECURITY
AND JUSTICE
9. The European Council is expected to sign
off on the new EU Drugs Strategy 2005-12. This will have been
agreed at the 2 December JHA Council, and replaces the expiring
Strategy for 2000-04. The new Strategy sets out a balanced EU
approach tackling both supply and demand reduction, including
working with producer countries such as Afghanistan. In early
2005 the Commission will table an Action Plan to define specific
EU-level activity on drugs on the basis of these principles. We
want to set a deadline of June 2005 for agreeing this Action Plan.
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
10. There's no agenda on external relations
as yet, but discussion may include MEPP, Iran, Iraq, the EU-China
arms embargo and Ukraine.
11. The UN's Millennium Development Review
will take place in September 2005. It is important to ensure a
good EU contribution, which we will have to present as EU Presidency.
We want this European Council to call for the timely production
of national and EU reports on the Millennium Development Goals.
Europe Directorate—Internal
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office
29 November 2004
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