Mr President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Minister, Commissioner, in dealing with European Security and Defence Policy this afternoon, we are, as President Brok just said, in a field where we can be optimistic about the construction of Europe. Since the Cologne European Council, at Helsinki and Feira and tomorrow, I hope, at the Nice Council, we have been able to follow the progress of this new policy with pleasure. Things do not often turn out that way, Minister, and we are delighted. On 15 June before the Feira Summit, the European Parliament passed a resolution, and tomorrow, on the eve of the Nice Council, it has to vote on a text summarising its position. Obviously I hope a clear majority will support the motion for a resolution. I already know the vote will not be unanimous and that is not surprising, because this is difficult ground where differing political options are expressed on the role of the European Union as opposed to that of its Member States, on the place of the soldier as opposed to the civilian, on the place of the European Union as opposed to NATO and the United States, on the role of the European Union in the world and the choice it has to make between pacifism and non-intervention, on the one hand, and the will to deal with crises, on the other. These choices sometimes divide us, but now gradually a majority is taking shape. Barring accidents, that majority should support the line taken for a year and a half by the Council of Ministers, the High Representative, Mr Solana, and the Commission, especially in Commissioner Patten’s area of responsibility, in charge of civilian crisis management resources, but associated with that support, which I hope is clear and lucid, there are many questions, sometimes warnings, and I shall consider some of them here. First, a brief comment on a crucial issue: the relationship between the new European policy and NATO. We have discussed this at length in the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy. The proposed text confirms the decisions of the European Council. This is not about competing with NATO or usurping its responsibility for defending our territory, it is about turning Europe into a credible partner of the United States by establishing a new balance in the Alliance and giving the European Union a margin of autonomy in the event of a crisis. Secondly, you will note that the resolution affirms Parliament’s clear intention to place the security and defence policy squarely on two complementary pillars: civilian crisis management and, should that fail, military crisis management. This concern for balance means Parliament will be monitoring the fair division of financial resources carefully, although we are well aware that the first comes under the Community budget and the second is still covered by national budgets. Thirdly, we are glad to see the CESDP starting off with a tangible achievement, the Rapid Reaction Force. And we are pleased with the work done so far, especially at the recent Capabilities Commitment Conference. All that has the merit of making this policy credible. This is also the time to take an inventory of the state of our armies and consolidate the will for reform, which I noted recently in Berlin as regards the German army. On the institutional reforms you have undertaken, I would like to stress that we want the European Union to have a coherent, clear and effective chain of command. It is not enough to create bodies like the PSC, the Military Committee and the Military Staff; the vertical and horizontal links between the various bodies must also function properly and in real time. We do not feel entirely reassured on this point and in particular we would like to have the crisis powers of the Commission, the Council and the High Representative specified precisely. Briefly, Mr President, I would like to mention a major problem for the credibility of this policy – budgetary resources. Of course, savings must be made, but we cannot exclude the need for new resources if we want to fill the gaps found in the inventory, especially in high-tech areas. Mr President, like Mr Brok, I would like to stress the role of the European Parliament and the parliamentary institutions. There is so much more to say, but I want the Council’s representatives to know that the European Parliament is keen to adopt this unfamiliar culture of security and defence, and we hope the Nice Summit is a great success.

Political group: PSE