MEPs strive for EU logic while Libya Army action goes NATO +Monetary Stability Mechanism to €uroZone

 

 

 *Brussels/Angelo Marcopolo/- EU Parliament Rapporteurs and other EU personalities, replying to "EuroFora" and other Journalists' Questions, including on Gasperi's Historic premonitory observations, expressed both reserves that Military action to help revolted Libyan People against Military attacks by Colonel Kaddafi's regime might go towards NATO, instead of an EU's Defence and Security policy, and Hopes that a permanent Financial Stability Mechanism will not stay exclusively in a €uroZone Member States' InterGovernemental New structure, at nearby Luxembourg, but could also be linked with an EU framework, after a necessary impulse was successfully given by an initially Franco-German initiative spearheaded by President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel (Comp. "EuroFora"s NewsReports from 12/2010 Freiburg's and Brussels' Summits, as well as 2/2011 Brussels' Summit).

Both, almost parallel moves, timely challenged, in fact, on 2011, Historic European Politician Alcido de Gasperi's prioneer 1952-1954 views that European Political Integration could be achieved only with the "Driving power" of a Single Currency and/or a Common Defence policy, which both needed also a Values' driven, European Ideologic "Mentality", to be developed mainly by Democratic Political Debate, as reminded a Book recently published and presented at EU Parliament in Brussels by his Daughter, Maria Romana di Gasperi (See infra).
 
------------------

Questioned today by "EuroFora" and other Journalists, during a Press Conference at EU Parliament in Brussels, at the eve of EU Heads of State/Government's Summit next Thursday and Friday, March 24 and 25, about the main substance of the outcome which appears to result this week from EU Parliament's decision, earlier in Strasbourg, to Postpone its Vote on the New, Permanent Financial Stability Mechanism for €uroZone Countries, until EU States' Governments accepted a stronger role for EU Commission and Parliament, its Co-Rapporteurs, German ChristianDemocrat MEP Elmar Brok, and Italian Socialdemocrat MEP Roberto Gualtieri, explained the main reasons for theri satisfaction from EU Council's positive reply in a Letter sent yesterday, March 22, by EU Commissioner Oli Rehn and €uroGroup's Chairman, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker :

 -"EuroFora" asked EU Parliament's co-Rapporteurs on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to make it crystal-clear, whether, "to oversimplify things, if we understood well, the main Amendments that EU Parliament wishes are not so much about the Content, but rather about the Role that MEPs, as Representatives of EU Citizens, would play in the Decision Making Process, now and in the Future. (Apparently), that's (seems to be) the main thing. Is there anything else ? Or this is, indeed, the main focus ?", we asked them to confirm.

+ "Second, the Result is that, if we have a Regulation governing the Conditions to the Granting of an Aid, this means that, if, from one side, the decision will be taken by the Governors of the ESM, because it's Governments' Money", nevertheless, "the Conditions governing these Aids, (i.e.) the MacroFinancial Surveillance Program and the Economic Adjustment Program (of the Member State concerned), will be governed by a Procedure which will be defined by the (EU) Regulation, which is a Legal act of the (European) Union, co-decided by the (EU) Council and the (EU) Parliament", the Italian MEP added.

- "This means that we establish a Link between an InterGovernemental leg, I'd say, of the Mechanism, and a(n EU) Community leg of the Mechanism, linking together these two elements, and avoiding the Risk of creating a kind of "Parallel" InterGovernemental (European) Union Governance, outside of the EU Institutional framework, which was the bigger Risk , reinforced also by the fact that the Original Project of Competitivity Pact was a project which was also a Risk to  establish a kind of Parallel EU Governance", as the mainstream Socialist MEP found.

- "Now, our (EU Parliament's) efforts have been to link the InterGovernemental side with the (EU) Community side, and I think that this element is very important, (i.e.) a Strong Link between the two Dimensions", Gualtieri underlined.

- "So, we had a Role of the (EU) Parliament which is both "Procedural", (i.e.) on how MEPs can influence an outcome, and which is also about the Content : Because the Regulation means involvment of the (EU) Parliament in the definition of the procedure governing the Conditions" of ESM's future Aides, he concluded.
---------------------------
    As for German ChristianDemocrat MEP, Elmar Brok, he had already stressed, earlier in this same Press Conference, the fact that, several times in Europe's History, "an InterGovernemental Initiative always started something (New), because it was impossible to do it under the standard EU competences, since the (EU) Treaty didn't allow that. But afterwards we put it into a Framework of a Community Method, so that the Unity of an EU approach is kept", as he had said from the outset.

    Therefore, now, after EU Council accepted most EU Parliament's last minute demands for Changes to an initial Draft Text on ESM,  "nothing can be done without proposals, without assessment, without checking by EU Commission", and the framework conditions have to be done under a Regulation", where both EU Commission and EU Parliament play a full role, Brok had observed.

    Indeed, even if ESM's decision to grant, or not, an Aide to an €uroZone Member State, and under what concrete conditions, is to be taken by an InterGovernemental Board of Governors, due to be headquartered in Luxembourg, according to EU Council's Draft, due to be endorsed by EU Heads of State/Government's Summit here during the next 2 Days, nevertheless, EU Commission plays useful role at various stages of the procedure (See supra), while the Regulation which will define the General Conditions for the granting of such Financial Aides, has to be co-decided together by EU Governments, Commission and Parliament, which will, moreover, be "regurlarly informed" on how the New €uroZone's Mechanism functions in practice, according to the Compromise Draft.
-------------------

    But, according to another Journalist, from "Radio Radicale" (Italy), EU Council's replies to EU Parliament's such requests weren't always as positive as expected, and "this is the 1st time it happened", while recently we saw something like that also for the Budget. So, aren't you astonished of what is happening, including asking for a Treaty Change ?, the collegue's question apparently criticized about the InterGovernemental initiatives.

    - However, Brok was anew adamant : - "First of all, this (ESM) concerns the Crisis of the €uro : Not the Crisis of certain €uroZone Countries. Second, politically, it was absolutely clear, that this question could find an answer only in a Simplified (decision-making) procedure, which makes it possible not to have certain Countries' Referenda : We don't want that", he explained realistically.

    - "And we have done it several times" : I.e. Start Moving Forward, with an InterGovernemental Lead. But, making sure that EU Institutions are Part of it, and make it, later, (EU) Community Policy. F.ex. in Shengen's case, of Justice and Home Affairs", etc., Brok reminded.

    This was apparently endorsed by an overwhelming Majority of MEPs who adopted, later this afternoon, at EU Parliament  Plenary's votes in Brussels, the Compromise Amendments to the ESM agreed by Brok and Gualtieri with Rehn and Juncker (See supra).
------------
    Meanwhile, the Dialectic tensions between InterGovernemental Initiatives and EU or narrower Groups' moves to start realizing a new European policy, emerged also at another crucial field for EU Integration this week, on the occasion of Topical developments on the Libyan issue, where Brussels' growing rumours about a possible coordination of Military actions by NATO went on, at the same moment that, after expressing strong regrets for the absence yet of an immediately active "EU Defence and Security policy", with "all necessary instruments", already since the start of the Libyan crisis,  experienced MEPs as EPP's 1st vice-President Vito Bonsignore, (See his statements to "EuroFora" in earlier NewsReport), timely added a Press Conference on a recent Book about Alcide de Gasperi from Italy, generally considered, together with Schuman (France) and Adenauer (Germany), one of the spiritual fathers of Modern Europe :

 

    - Asked to comment on the fact that the Book "Alcide de Gasperi : Christian, Democrat, European", that she presented, together with Bonsignore, at the aftermath of the 50th Anniversary since the death of the European Politician, almost ends with the Past reject of an initial attempt to create a European Defence (1954), she observed that, indeed, at that period,  - "My Father was ill and wasn't able to go to Paris (before the Vote) on EDC. Some Days afterwards, he was shocked when he heard about the results (of the Referendum) that he considered as a "Calamity". He firmly believed that the European Defence Policy played a key role for a Political integration of Europe. At that moment, he almost thought that the European project was blocked. But later he hoped that such obstacles would be lifted "in a Few Years" time. "He didn't foresee such a long period", until today, de Gasperi's daughter regretted now, almost Half a Century later (1954-2011, i.e. obviously implying that Gasperi was more right, on the crucial importance of EU Defence policy, than he thought)...

    + But, almost immediately afterwards, replying to another question, De Gasperi's daughter also gave another (and apparently linked) Critical view on EU's development through History :  - "I don't know what's going on, but in the EU Parliament, almost everything is done in a so distant, Cold way, that you can't imagine that it could raise the Enthousiasm, particularly of Young People !", she regretted.

    Obviously this  is linked with the importance given in the Book on Alcide de Gasperi about the Political dimension, Identity and Values of Europe, pointing at the need to stimulate a Motivating Speech able and willing to raise EU Citizens' interest, accession and Involvement : - "I want more to speak about the the Common European Heritage, that Single Morality that exalts the Human Person and his ad, .. that Culture of Law, inherited from the Classical World, .. and that desire for Truth and Justice, sharpened by a Thousand of Years of Experience", Gasperi had stressed then (4/1954), explaining why, "together with (Historian and Philosopher) Toynbee, I affirm that Christiantity is at the Root of our European Civilisation".

     - Pointing at the importance of forging a conscious Ideology among EU Citizens and Officials, Gasperi had stressed, indeed, that "a European Mentality had to be created : .. SupraNational Institutions will not be enough, and may well become no more than a Playing Field in which particular interests compete, if the men assigned to them don't feel that they represent Higher and European Interests. Without this European Mentality, any formula uponwhich we decide, may be no more than empty legal abstraction", the Book published recently by EU Parliament's EPP Group with a preface from its President, Joseph Daul of France, timely reminds now, particularly after the recent creation of EU's 6.000 Agents' strong External Action Service, with a vibrant tribute to Gasperi as "unanimously recognized as one of the Architects of European Integration", including as "a Community of Values", to develop together with concrete economico-social measures, such as the Historic "European Coal and Steel Community", that he co-created together with Schuman and Adenauer, and chaired himself "on May 1954", after being granted the Charlemagne Prize at Aachen (Germany) since 1952.

    That's precisely why de Gasperi "had in mind", since then (1951-1954), "the creation of an Elected European Assembly, .. to which an Executive body would be answerable", as he had said at the CoE in Strasbourg, proposing even to "award Constituent Powers", "as a kind of European Constituent Assembly, with the task of drawing up an overall federal proposal" , i.e. almost as Valery Giscard d'Estaing, former French President and EU Convention's Chairman, recently proposed in Strasbourg for EU Parliament, to meet together with representatives from National EU Member States' Parliaments, in a kind of "EU Congress", "f.ex. on 2015", (See relevant 2010 "EuroFora"s NewsReport)...  

    I.e. by finding innovative ways to create Vital and Ambitious, New Democratic, Political Links between EU Politicians and EU Citizens, shortly after the next EU Elections of 2014, and while "EU Political Parties" would have been previously given a chance to be developed, according also to a New Report drafted by experienced EPP Greek EuroMP Marietta Gianakou, former Minister, for the next EU Parliament's Plenary session in Strasbourg, at the beginning of April)..
-------------------------------------------------------------
    Meanwhile, asked by "EuroFora" to comment on the fact that Financial Stability Mechanism goes to an "€uroZone"s new body in Luxembourg, while Military coordination of the Libyan operation seems, at least partially, to head towards NATO,  as if EU was left .. alone in the middle of two apparently contrary trends, (one towards Europe's core, another towards a Trans-Atlantic, larger scope), an experienced Official from EU President Van Rompot's Office, former long-time Brittish Socialist MEP, observed later that EU Council would be glad if it succeeded to lift any "Damocles' sword above our heads" for eventual Disagreements in EU's Summit :

    - As for the 1st point, it's normal for €uroZone Member States to have an InterGovernemental basically structure for their ESM's decisions, since they pay the Money concerned. While, on the 2nd point, "we (EU) didn't yet have developed a Security and Defence policy" prior to the Libyan 2011 Crisis, as he said. Therefore, we (Europan Council's Presidency) would be very glad if we succeed to have relevant Agreements, on both issues, by all the 27 EU Member States' leaders, he optimistically concluded.

    But, meanwhile, the fact that a Pamphlet already published earlier : on "Winter 2010/2011", about ESDP, contains an Article by a British Expert astonishingly predicting that "NATO could play a stronger role in Europe's Neighbourhood, (including North Africa and the Middle East), as a complement to EU efforts to encourage Political Reform", as it suggests even before EU Heads of State/Government decide, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow (Thursday and Friday, 24 and 25 March 2011), added to NATO Member Turkey's controversial stance on the Libyan affair, (particularly after the Colonel "Gadhafi's Prize for Human Rights" recently awarded to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, end of November 2010), might need at least some Clarifications or, at least, Safeguards in order to become able to guarantee a smooth and correct functioning of the delicate operation decided by Democratically Elected Leaders from the EU, USA, Arab Ligue and UNO, (comp. "EuroFora"s NewsReport from last Saturday's, March 19, Paris' International Summit)....