eunbil · GT0N1587 · 2006-06-09 00:00:00 — THE EUROPEAN UNION , 30 2006 from : Presidency to : COREPER Subject : (15 and 16 2006) - Draft conclusions Further to the discussions held in Coreper on 23 2006 and at Klosterneuburg, the Presidency submits the following revised draft conclusions of Council. This text will continue to be updated in the light of work underway elsewhere. In particular, section II (a) will need to be updated in the light of the outcome of the forthcoming . The meeting was preceded by an exposé by , President of Parliament, followed by an exchange of views. I. EUROPE LISTENS In 2005 the Heads of State or Government called for a period of reflection during which a broad debate should take place in all Member States, involving citizens, civil society, social partners, national parliaments and political parties, with the contribution of European institutions. Council welcomes the various initiatives taken in the Member States in the framework of national debates, as well as a series of events organised by the Austrian Presidency, in particular the Conference "The Sound of Europe" in on 27/28 January 2006. Council expresses its gratitude to the Commission for having contributed to the reflection period in the context of its Plan D and to Parliament for having organised together with the Austrian Parliament the joint parliamentary meeting on the "Future of Europe" on 8/9 2006. Council welcomes the intention of institutions and Member States to carry on their activities aimed at involving citizens in the debate about what Europe should stand for in the 21st century. Council carried out a first assessment of the reflection period. This took place on the basis of the written report prepared by the Presidency and Council Secretariat drawing on information provided by Member States on their national debates (doc. 9701/1/06 REV 1), as well as the Commission"s contributions ("A citizen"s agenda - delivering results for Europe", the "Plan D" initiative and the on a Policy). While worries and concerns have been voiced during these debates, citizens remain committed to project. They expect the Union to prove its added value by taking action in response to the challenges and opportunities facing it: ensuring peace, prosperity and solidarity, enhancing security, furthering sustainable development and promoting European values in a rapidly globalising world. Council reaffirms its commitment to a Union that delivers the concrete results that citizens expect in order to rebuild a climate of confidence and trust, as set out in Part II, and has agreed to extend the reflection period, as set out in Part III. Promoting freedom, security and Progress on measures agreed in the Hague Programme aimed at addressing problems such as illegal immigration, trafficking of human beings, terrorism and organised crime while guaranteeing respect for fundamental freedoms and rights will be assessed in . In the meantime further efforts are required, particularly as concerns: following the progress made on the (SIS II) and implementation of the Schengen acquis in the new Member States, rapid finalisation of the legislative measures on border control and cooperation and completion of the technical preparations at EU and national levels, making operational the and the in 2007 thus paving the way for the enlargement of the Schengen area; taking work forward rapidly on the Commission"s proposal on the of and the collection of biometrics for the purpose of visas and initiation of a pilot project; taking work forward on visa facilitation and readmission agreements based on the Council approach, starting with the countries with a European Perspective; further strengthening of practical cooperation in developing a balanced common European asylum system, rapid progress on relevant proposals including the amendments to and the of a list of safe countries of origin as well as on Regional Protection Programmes (, , , ); following the progress made on strengthening judicial cooperation in both civil and criminal law, rapid finalisation in particular of the Framework Decisions on Evidence Warrant, the protection of personal data as well as the procedural rights in criminal proceedings to be recognised to accused persons; intensifying cooperation, in particular giving an increased role to Europol to support operations, as well as replacement of the Europol Convention by a Council Decision by 1 January 2008. Council welcomes the "" agreed by Member States and Neighbouring countries of the EU at the Ministerial Conference in on 4-5 2006 as well as the participation of and the of . It takes note of the first steps made towards such a partnership, e.g. improving cooperation between the EU and the Western countries to combat organised crime, corruption, illegal migration and terrorism. Council takes note of the "Initiative" on possible future tripartite cooperation in the field of and home affairs between the EU, and the of and invites future Presidencies to consider how this initiative might be taken forward. Council calls for a further swift implementation of the Strategy for the external dimension of JHA, with view to enhancing the coordination and coherence between JHA policies and external policies. In the light of the increased cooperation with third countries of origin and transit in migration issues in particular in the regions neighbouring the Union, namely the eastern, south eastern and regions, Council recalls the importance of a balanced and comprehensive approach. It awaits the presentation of the Commission communication on future priorities in the field of illegal immigration and follow-up action and it recognises the importance of the forthcoming UN High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development and the need for an EU common position. Against the background of recent migration events, Council calls for the continued of the implementation of the Global Approach to Migration, in particular regarding the priorities focussing on and the , and welcomes in this sense the in and the launching of dialogue in the framework of the EU-ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) Partnership. It looks forward to the forthcoming final report by the Commission on the Hampton Court follow-up to migration and security to be examined at its meeting. Council calls for the implementation of the action plans agreed under the EU Counter Terrorism Strategy, including the strategy against radicalisation and recruitment, to be accelerated. Work must also be sped up on the protection of critical infrastructure. Council awaits the Commission"s first respective programme as well as concrete proposals on detection technologies. and the Commission are also invited to develop measures to combat the misuse of the internet for terrorist purposes while respecting fundamental rights and principles. Council calls upon the incoming Finnish Presidency, in close collaboration with the Commission, to explore the possibilities of improving decision-making in the area of Freedom, Security and . Agency for fundamental rights Improving the Union"s responsiveness to emergencies, crises and disasters inside and outside the Union remains a political imperative. When such emergencies occur, citizens rightly expect a swift and effective response. This is done by Member States, primarily responsible for managing emergencies on their territory, and Union, which helps to organise and coordinate available assets when requested to do so. Council endorses the Presidency report on "Reinforcing the Union"s emergency and crisis response capacities" (doc. XXXX/06) which sets out the many practical steps and decisions taken to improve coordination and delivery of available assets; to get assistance quickly where it is needed; and to provide more effective consular protection to EU citizens in third countries. Furthermore, Council welcomes the report submitted by in 2006 as an important contribution to the debate. on work conducted under the Austrian Presidency, priority must now be given to: rapid implementation of agreed measures and decisions taken as set out in the Presidency report, including the EU emergency and Crisis Coordination Arrangements and the Setting up of a in and the recommendations by the Secretary-General/High Representative pertaining to the coordination and use of Member States" military assets and capabilities in support of disaster response; exercising these procedures and capabilities and learning lessons from these exercises and actual operational experience to improve disaster response; the further developing a European Union rapid response capability based on means that Member States make available, including interoperable civil protection modules; adoption of the recast of the Community"s civil protection mechanism and on the of a rapid response and preparedness instrument by the end of the year; an even closer cooperation among EU Member States, including joint consular service points in pre-identified regions. To this end, a joint report by the Secretary-General/High Representative and the Commission is requested by October 2006. The incoming Presidency will report to the achieved across the board. Promoting way of life in a globalised world Council took stock of progress in several of the areas discussed at Hampton Court and at the last , aimed at promoting way of life in the face of globalisation and demographic trends. Sustainable development means that the needs of the present generation should be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs; it is a fundamental objective of Union. While positive achievements in areas such as water management and energy on global level, climate change, getting prices right and better policy making have been made since the , many challenges remain. Therefore an ambitious and comprehensive renewed EU Strategy for Sustainable Development has been adopted (document XXXX/06). The implementation of this Strategy will be closely monitored and followed up by regular basis. Climate change is a global problem requiring global solutions. Council therefore looks forward to a successful continuation of the discussions in the framework of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and under the Kyoto Protocol to arrive at a post-2012 arrangement consistent with meeting the Council"s objective of a maximum global temperature increase of above pre-industrial levels. will therefore push in all relevant multilateral fora, including with all Parties to the UNFCCC, for a full and open dialogue on future action and on agreeing an international goal. In addition, Council calls on the Commission to submit without delay a report to Parliament and experience of the application of the directive establishing a scheme for green house gas emission allowance trading within the Community, accompanied by proposals as appropriate. Council welcomes the conclusion of the Inter-Institutional Agreement on the Financial Perspectives 2007-2013 providing the Union with the means to carry through its policies and stresses the importance of rapidly adopting the necessary legal instruments. The re-launched Strategy has already been refocused on those issues of most importance to the citizens, jobs and growth, in full coherence with the Sustainable Development Strategy; special emphasis has been laid on investment in knowledge and innovation, business potential, especially of Small and (SMEs), and employment of priority categories. Council in particular: welcomes the agreement reached in and calls for a swift conclusion of the legislative process; recalls the importance of a simple, transparent and easy to apply regulatory environment; welcomes the Commission"s intention to launch a fundamental review of the Single Market, to be followed by concrete proposals for completing the internal market and ensuring its effective functioning; an interim report will be presented before the 2007 ; stresses the importance of the social dimension of the Union"s action, and welcomes the intention of Commission to take stock of social realities in the EU and invites the Commission to issue an interim report before 2007 and to pay particular attention to the social impact of European legislation within the Commission"s integrated impact assessment; underlines the need for investment in knowledge and innovation, [and welcomes] [calls for the rapid] adoption of the 7th Framework Programme and of the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme as well as the of the EIB innovation facility; notes the significance of the Commission"s communication on the challenges ahead for universities and encourages the Member States to promote excellence and modernisation, restructuring and innovation in the higher education sector in order to unlock its potential and to underpin Europe"s drive for more growth and jobs; reaffirms that will be an important step to fill the existing gap between higher education, research and innovation. PM: Commission proposal on further steps In its conclusions of 2006 Council called for an Energy Policy for Europe and invited the Commission and Council to prepare a set of actions with a clear timetable enabling it to adopt a prioritised Action Plan at its meeting in Spring 2007. The external aspects of energy will constitute an important part of such an overall policy and will need to be included within the Action Plan. PM: Joint Paper Commission - SG/HR for Council: "An external policy to serve Europe"s energy interests" Improving the efficiency and coherence of its external policies Council reaffirms the commitment of the Union and the Member States to use their substantial international influence as effectively as possible to protect and promote the interests of their citizens. The growing challenges facing the Union make it even more important to improve the efficiency, coherence and visibility of its external policies, as well as the consistency between its external and its internal policies. Council welcomes the proposals to that effect contained in the paper "Europe in the World", presented to the Council by the President of the Commission. It welcomes the internal measures which have already been implemented or are proposed by the Commission. It invites Member States, the High Representative / Secretary General and the Commission to take work forward with a view to improving strategic planning, coherence between the Union"s various external policy instruments as well as cooperation between the EU institutions and the Member States. Council agrees that a first stocktaking in relation to the implementation of these measures will be taken in the Council during the Finnish Presidency. Improving the functioning of the Union Council agreed on a number of measures intended to enhance the functioning of the Union without requiring changes to the Treaty. This includes opening up the work of the Council and bringing more clarity to the respective responsibilities of the various actors in the work of the Union. A pre-requisite for increasing the trust and confidence of citizens in Union is that they are able to get first hand insight into its activities. Council therefore decides to further open up the work of the Council and agrees on an overall policy on transparency (). In particular, all Council deliberations under the co-decision procedure shall now be public. It requests the Council to rapidly take the measures necessary to ensure implementation of the new policy. In view of the importance of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, Council welcomes the initiative taken by the Austrian Presidency to hold a conference on subsidiarity in St. Pölten on 18/, as a follow-up to last year"s conference in the Hague. In that context the ideas developed at these conferences should be examined and future Presidencies encouraged to carrying this initiative forward. Council notes the inter-dependence of and national legislative processes. It therefore welcomes the Commission"s commitment to make all new proposals and consultation papers directly available to national parliaments. The national parliaments are therefore encouraged to strengthen cooperation within the framework of the Conference of European Affairs Committees (COSAC) when monitoring subsidiarity. Council further recalls that the confidence of citizens in project can be strengthened if European legislation reflects more strongly the added value of EU action. It therefore invites the Council, Parliament and Commission to draw up a standard subsidiarity and proportionality check list that shall be applied in legislative process. Council equally welcomes the [progress made by] [positive outcome of discussions between] Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the comitology reform. The newly agreed provisions will enhance scrutiny of the legislator with regard to the Commission"s implementing powers in areas subject to co-decision, thus improving the comitology procedures. Progress has been made since its last meeting in all fields of Better Regulation and all institutions and Member States are urged to implement their respective commitments as set out in the 2003 Inter-Institutional Agreement on Better . Council calls on the Member States to take initiatives at national level, including through their national reform programmes, in order to reduce administrative burdens on enterprises. It invites the Commission to report on the progress made at national and Community levels by early 2007. should draw conclusions on further steps to be taken. Priority should be given to reducing unnecessary administrative burdens, which pose a significant barrier to a more innovative and knowledge-intensive economy. In this context, Council looks forward to an announcement of ambitious, measurable reduction targets by early 2007, in time for the . Council welcomes the further embedding of the use of impact assessments in decision-making in the work of all institutions as a crucial element in the legislative process. Council also welcomes the implementation of the Commission"s programme to simplify existing legislation, looks forward to receiving a report from the Commission in the second half of 2006, and requests that relevant Council formations give priority to specific simplification proposals. It stresses the importance of extending the simplification programme to all relevant branches of economy. Council also takes note of the successful conclusion of the Commission"s 2005 screening exercise and invites the Commission to continue to screen pending proposals. LOOKING AHEAD TO FUTURE CHALLENGES (a) p.m. (b) Enlargement Council takes note of the initial discussions on enlargement held at the informal Foreign Ministers meeting in on 11 and in Klosterneuburg on 27-28 2006. It agreed to continue and deepen this general discussion during the second half of 2006. It recalls that enlargement has proved a historic opportunity contributing to ensure peace, security, stability, democracy, the rule of law as well as growth and prosperity in Union as a whole. Enlargement is equally helping the EU to become a more competitive and dynamic economy and to be better prepared to meet the challenges of a globalised and changing world. Council notes in this context the Commission"s report on the economic success of the historic enlargement of the Union in 2004. With regard to the ongoing enlargement process Council emphasized that every effort should be made to protect the cohesion and the effectiveness of the Union. Just as in the past it will be important to ensure in future that the Union will be able to function effectively and to further Europe"s common project. Therefore Council will have a debate on all aspects of further enlargements, including the Union"s capacity to absorb new members, at its meeting in . The Commission is invited to present a special report on the criterion of the Union"s absorption capacity at the same time as it tables its annual progress reports on the enlargement and pre-accession processes This report will focus in particular on legal, institutional and financial aspects as well on the perception of enlargement by public opinion within the Union and should take into account the need to explain the enlargement process adequately to the public within the Union. It is the Union"s common objective to welcome and in January 2007 as members of the Union if they are ready. On the basis of the Commission"s Monitoring Report of 2006 Council confirms this position. While commending both countries for the reform efforts undertaken lately, Council calls on and to rigorously step up their efforts to tackle decisively and without delay the remaining issues of concern as mentioned in the Commission"s 2006 report. Council remains convinced that, with the necessary political will, both candidates can overcome the deficits stated to reach the envisaged date of accession on 1 January 2007. It encourages Member States to complete the ratification of the on time, irrespective of the Commission report expected in early autumn. Council reviewed progress made in the acquis screening and welcomes the start of substantive accession negotiations with . is expected to share the values, objectives and the legal order set out in the treaties. The Union is committed to support in its efforts to comply with the Union"s standards and membership obligations, including the criteria. Council recalls, in line with previous conclusions, that the current negotiations are based on each country"s own merits and that their pace will depend on each country"s progress in preparing for accession measured against the requirements set out in the Negotiating Framework. This includes the compliance with contractual obligations under the Association Agreement, including the Customs Union and the implementation in 2006 of the Additional Protocol as well as the implementation of the revised Accession Partnership. Council calls on to intensify the reform process and to implement it fully and effectively throughout the country, so as to ensure its irreversibility and sustainability as well as to progress towards the fulfilment of the political criteria. Council reviewed progress made in the acquis screening and welcomes the start of substantive accession negotiations with . is expected to share the values, objectives and the legal order set out in the treaties. The Union is committed to support in its efforts to comply with the Union"s standards and membership obligations, including the criteria. Council recalls, in line with previous conclusions, that the current negotiations are based on each country"s own merits and that their pace will depend on each country"s progress in preparing for accession measured against the requirements set out in the Negotiating Framework. This includes contractual obligations under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement as well as the implementation of the Accession Partnership. Council encourages to continue its reform efforts and to achieve sustainable progress towards the fulfilment of EU standards. Council reconfirmed perspective of the Western as set out in the Stabilisation and Association Process, the Agenda and the 2006. In this respect, Council confirmed that the future of the Western lies in Union. Each country"s progress towards Union will continue to depend on individual merits in meeting the conditions and requirements set forth in the criteria and in the Stabilisation and Association Process, including full cooperation with the ICTY. All Western countries have in the last year made significant steps along their road towards the EU, with EU membership as ultimate goal in conformity with the Agenda. welcomed the initial progress made in the implementation of the Commission"s Communication "The Western on the Road to the EU: consolidating stability and raising prosperity".