European Parliament resolution on the preparation of the 7-9 December 2000 Nice European Council , including the common commercial policy (Article 133 of the EC Treaty)
Date: 2000-11-30
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: European Council, European social policy, common commercial policy, common foreign and security policy, common security and defence policy, enlargement of the Union, food safety, foreign policy

C 228/162

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.8.2001

Thursday 30 November 2000

1.

Approves the Commission proposal as amended;

Asks to be consulted again should the Commission intend to amend its proposal substantially or

2.
replace it with another text;

3.

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

8. Preparation of Nice European Council

B5-0884, 0886, 0890 and 0891/2000

European Parliament resolution on the preparation of the 7-9 December 2000 Nice European
Council, including the common commercial policy (Article 133 of the EC Treaty)

The European Parliament,

! having regard to the Council and Commission statements on the preparation of the 7-9 December

2000 Nice European Council,

! having regard to its resolutions of 16 March 2000 (1) and 3 October 2000 (2) on the drawing up of a

Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

! having regard to its resolution of 13 April 2000 (3) containing its proposals concerning the IGC,

! having regard to its resolutions of 30 November 2000 on progress in implementing the CFSP (4) and

on the Common European Security and Defence Policy after Cologne and Helsinki (5),

A.

reiterating its proposal that the EU institutions, the Member States and the candidate countries with
which negotiations have been started should do everything in their power to ensure that Parliament
can give its assent to the first accession treaties before the European elections in 2004, in order that
these countries may have the prospect of participating in those elections, and to the subsequent trea-
ties during the course of the next parliamentary term,

B. whereas the Treaty of Nice will be assessed on:

! how it facilitates the accession of new Member States by contributing to the Union’s efficiency

and effectiveness,

! how successful it is in bringing Europe closer to the citizen,

1.
Expresses its deep concern at the current state of the IGC negotiations; appeals to the Heads of State
or Government, recalling the inescapable necessity to reach an agreement at Nice which ! in the context
of the major historical challenge of enlargement ! is capable of ensuring that the democratic legitimacy
and efficiency of the Union are enhanced;

Rendering the Union more democratic and efficient

2.
Recalls that a general extension of qualified majority voting in the Council is essential, although it
should not apply to constitutional issues; calls, failing agreement on the immediate introduction of quali-
fied majority voting in the most controversial fields, for deadlines to be laid down in the Treaty;

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)

‘Texts Adopted,’ Item 4.
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 10.
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 7.
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 9.
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 10.

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 228/163

Thursday 30 November 2000

3.
Reaffirms its attachment to the fundamental democratic principle of extending the codecision proce-
dure to all fields where the qualified majority voting rule is to apply in future or already applies; stresses
that the possible abolition of the cooperation procedure, which is still in force for Economic and Monetary
Union, must not diminish the role of the European Parliament, as Articles 99(5) and 103(2) of the EC
Treaty must be subject to the codecision procedure; recalls that its assent to appointments must be
required;

4.

Considers:

! that the composition and functioning of Parliament, the Council and the Commission should be gov-
erned by an overall agreement ! based on the principle of the twofold legitimacy of the Union !
which can ensure balance between the institutions and democratic and effective decision-making,

! that the role of the Commission as the driving force behind integration should be maintained and
enhanced and that the powers of its President must be strengthened; at all events, the Commission
President’s power to dismiss an individual Commissioner should be acknowledged in the Treaty;

! that, as regards the Parliament, a definitive breakdown for EU-27 should be agreed now to apply as of
the 2009 Parliament; that a first step accommodation must be made for the 2004-2009 Parliament in
order to provide some space for new countries coming in before and during the lifetime of that
Parliament, accepting the possibility of a temporary but small excess above the 700 limit during the
last few years of it; emphasises that the method for allocating seats within Parliament must allow the
peoples of the European Union to be fairly represented, even after enlargement;

As regards enhanced cooperation, considers it essential ! in order to ensure democratic control !
5.
to include in the authorisation procedure for any enhanced cooperation a requirement to obtain Parlia-
ment’s assent, to enhance the role of the Commission, to abolish referral to the European Council and to
set the condition that at least one-third of Member States must participate;

6.
Hopes that agreement can be reached regarding changes to and the adaptation of Article 7 of the
Amsterdam Treaty, with a view to establishing a detection and warning system which would come into
operation if any of the Member States showed signs of contravening the basic principles upon which the
Union is founded, and insists that Parliament, too, should have the right of initiative;

7.
Reaffirms its insistence on greater democratic accountability in the EU’s trade policy-making, and
therefore calls on the IGC to consider seriously Parliament’s proposals concerning external negotiating
competence in the field of trade in services, intellectual property and investment; Parliament’s assent to
important international trade agreements; qualified majority voting on Article 133(5); codecision on inter-
nal legislation implementing the common commercial policy, and the provision of regular information to
Parliament on international trade negotiations;

Bringing the Union closer to its citizens

8.
Calls on the European Council to incorporate in Article 151 of the Treaty an explicit reference to
sport and recognition of its specific character, in such a way that, through its action, the European Union
can recognise the specific role of sport as a cultural and economic phenomenon and a force for social
integration;

9.
Calls for the Charter of Fundamental Rights to be incorporated in the Treaty in order to give funda-
mental rights pride of place in the Community’s legal order; calls on the European Council, if Member
States fail to reach agreement at Nice on incorporating it, to refer to the Charter in Article 6(2) of the
Treaty on European Union; considers that, in future, any possible amendment of the Charter should be
adopted by means of a procedure based on the Convention model; urges a strengthening of the relations
between the Union and the Council of Europe and their respective Courts by granting the European Union
specific authority to sign up to the existing European Convention on Human Rights;

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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13.8.2001

Thursday 30 November 2000

10.
Considers that a satisfactory conclusion of the IGC must be accompanied by a commitment to
encourage broad public debate on the future of Europe and to launching a process aimed at expressing
in a clear Constitution the founding principles, the balance among institutions, the competences and the
simplification of the European Union, as well as, if still necessary, the integration of the Charter of Funda-
mental Rights; such Constitution should be prepared by a Convention similar to the one that elaborated
the Fundamental Rights Charter and working according to a precise timetable; the paper on governance to
be submitted by the Commission should also be a part of those discussions;

Enlargement

11.
Supports the Commission’s enlargement strategy aimed at completing negotiations by 2002 with
the most advanced countries and calls on the Council and the candidate countries to ensure the feasibility
of the envisaged scenario;

Security and Defence

12.
Strongly supports the evolution of a common European security and defence policy (CESDP) that
will increase the Union’s free-standing capacity to act for peaceable and humanitarian objectives in a wide
sphere of operations; hopes that the current negotiations between the Member States achieve credible and
practical innovation;

13.
Calls, therefore, on the forthcoming European Council to take the political and institutional deci-
sions required to make the CESDP fully operational in 2003 by setting up the definitive CESDP bodies
(Political and Security Committee (COPS), Military Committee and Military Staff), by establishing a Council
of Ministers of Defence and by devoting the same effort to achieving the goals they have set regarding
civilian crisis-management, in particular by establishing a rapidly deployable European police force;

Foreign affairs

14.
Deeply regrets the fact that such a large number of people on both sides, the majority of them
Palestinians, have lost their lives as a result of the crisis in the Middle East, and expresses its condolences
to and its solidarity with the families of all the victims;

15. Welcomes the Declaration by the General Affairs Council of 20 November 2000 and calls on the
European Council to do its utmost to relaunch a positive and constructive dialogue between the Israelis
and the Palestinians in order to secure an equitable and lasting agreement based on United Nations Secur-
ity Council Resolutions 242 and 338; stresses, in particular, the call for an observer mission in accordance
with the mandate conferred by the Security Council;

16.
Calls on the European Council to launch a political and diplomatic initiative with a view to re-
establishing a climate of mutual trust and considers that the intended participation by the High Represen-
tative for the CFSP in the work of the committee responsible for establishing the facts should make a
major contribution to this commitment;

Strongly supports the European perspective given by the Council to the countries of the Balkans at

17.
the summit in Zagreb;

18.
Deplores the fact that excessive bureaucracy and budgetary constraints have created obstacles to the
implementation of the cooperation programmes of the Euro-Mediterranean process, especially as far as
civil society involvement is concerned;

19.
Calls on the Council, following also the Marseille Summit, to relaunch the Euro-Mediterranean part-
nership project agreed in Barcelona in November 1995, and takes the view that the lack of progress made
is a potential crisis factor in the region and undermines the EU’s political role in leading the efforts aimed
at achieving stability in the area;

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Thursday 30 November 2000

Food Safety

20.
Calls for a ban on animal feed production and farm breeding practices that involve recycling animal
remains to cattle, sheep, goats and any other animals, including poultry and fish, as long as Member States
cannot guarantee the implementation of existing EU laws concerning BSE prevention, and as long as the
separation of fallen animals as proposed by the Commission has not come into force;

21.
Reiterates its call for the rapid introduction of compulsory testing for BSE in all cattle, sheep and
goats destined for slaughter, starting with all those above 18 months of age, in all Member States in order
to obtain a clear picture of the epidemiological situation throughout the EU;

22. Welcomes in this respect the creation of the European Food Authority which will be instrumental
in reassuring EU consumers as regards the safety of food in Member States and should strengthen the
position of the European food industry on the world stage;

Social Agenda

23.
Calls on the European Council to adopt an ambitious Social Agenda along the lines of the Commis-
sion Communication as already endorsed by the European Parliament, with clear objectives, proposals for
specific instruments and precise deadlines;

24.

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the IGC.

*

*

*

9. CFSP

A5-0340/2000

European Parliament resolution on the progress achieved in the implementation of the common
foreign and security policy (C5-0255/2000 / 2000/2038 (INI))

The European Parliament,

! having regard to Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union and Rules 103(3) and 163 of its Rules of

Procedure,

! having regard to the Council’s annual report for 1999, submitted to Parliament on 15 May 2000 in
application of section H (paragraph 40) of the interinstitutional agreement of 6 May 1999, on the
main aspects and basic choices of the CFSP, including the financial implications for the general budget
of the European Communities (C5-0255/2000) (1),

! having regard to its resolution of 5 May 1999 on the role of the Union in the world: implementation

of the CFSP in 1998 (2),

! having regard to its resolution of 5 September 2000 on a common Community diplomacy (3),

! having regard to its resolution of 6 September 2000 on the Union’s priorities as regards external

activities (4),

! having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security

and Defence Policy and the opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A5-0340/2000),

(1) OJ C 172, 18.6.1999, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 218.
(3)
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 4.
(4)
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 9.