IEP Lunch Debate with Peter TEMPEL: “Results and Evaluation of the European Council”
Ministerial Director Peter TEMPEL, Head of the Europe Bureau of the German Federal Foreign Office, emphasised that the most important result of the European summit was that the goal of bringing the European constitutional process to a successful conclusion will continue to be pursued. As far as the concrete path for reaching this is concerned, a two-track approach was considered appropriate by the heads of state and government: On the one hand the acceptance of the European Union among the people should be increased through concrete measures in individual policy areas, and on the other hand the reflection period should be extended in order to pave the way for a report on further ways of proceeding to be submitted at the end of the German Council Presidency.
Another important topic of the meeting of the European Council was the question of future enlargement policy and above all the absorption capacity criteria of the EU. According to Tempel, the entry of Slovenia into the Euro group was used to demonstrate that Europe is still capable of displaying its dynamism. The same is true for the stronger inclusion of national parliaments in the European legislation process, as announced by the Commission, and the holding of pubic Council meetings in cases of legislative decisions.
Further information on the results of the European Council can be found at:
http://europa.eu/european_council/conclusions/index_en.htm
A dossier with related links can be found at:
http://www.euractiv.com/en/constitution/eu-leaders-agree-keep-reflecting/article-156166
By: Dr. Daniel Göler
