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In December 2003, a European Council meeting was held under the outgoing Italian EU Presidency. The Council examined a report issued by the European Employment Taskforce, with the aim of improving implementation of the European employment strategy. However, it failed to agree on the draft EU Constitutional Treaty.
European Union heads of state and government met in Brussels on 12 December 2003 for a European Council summit, under the outgoing Italian EU Presidency. A range of issues were discussed, including employment and social policy questions.
In the area of employment, the Council welcomed a report on Creating more employment in Europe, presented in November 2003 by the European Employment Taskforce chaired by the former Dutch prime minister, Wim Kok. This Taskforce was set up following the March 2003 European Council in Brussels (EU0304205F), with a brief to carry out in-depth independent analysis of employment policy areas and to identify reforms to enable Member States to implement the European employment strategy and therefore achieve its objectives.
The report states that there is a need to accelerate the implementation of employment reforms, noting that the European Union still has a long way to go if it is to achieve the concrete employment objectives set at the Lisbon European Council in March 2000 (EU0004241F). The main objectives here are an overall employment rate of 70%, a female employment rate of 60% and an employment rate for older workers of 50% by 2010. The report also notes that economic growth is insufficient and unemployment remains much too high. It states that employment reform is all the more urgent in the light of the wider, longer-term challenges the EU faces, such as globalisation, worldwide economic transformation and the consequences of an ageing population.
The European Council agreed with the Taskforce’s view that improving the EU’s employment performance, in the context of the European employment strategy, depends on meeting the following four requirements:
This Council therefore stated that employment will be one of the central themes of the 2004 spring European Council. It invited the European Commission and the Council of Ministers to consider the Taskforce report when they prepare the next joint employment report, in the framework of the European employment strategy.
The Council stated that it looks forward to welcoming the 10 new Member States which will join the EU on 1 May 2004 (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia). It invites them to intensify and complete their final preparations for membership, in the run-up to the accession date. It also noted with satisfaction the 'advanced state of the ongoing process of ratification' of the Accession Treaty, signed on 16 April 2003 in Athens.
In the case of Bulgaria and Romania, the Council noted the 'continuity and irreversibility of the ongoing enlargement process', of which these two countries form an integral part. It stated further that their preparations for membership are well advanced. The EU hopes to welcome these two countries as members by January 2007.
In the case of Turkey, the Council noted that substantial progress had been made in terms of working towards meeting the accession criteria for EU membership, although more work is needed. In particular, the Council cited the problem of Cyprus, noting Turkey’s political will to solve the border dispute there and stating that resolution of this problem would 'greatly facilitate Turkey’s membership aspirations'.
However, the Council’s debates were overshadowed by the delegates’ failure to agree on the draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. This draft, which represents the culmination of the work of the European Convention- the body set up to work on amendments to the EU’s existing Treaties and chaired by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing - was presented to the Thessaloniki European Council in June 2003 (EU0307204F). It forms the basis of the work of the Intergovernmental Conference on Treaty reform, which began its work in October 2003. Reform of the existing Treaties is deemed necessary in order to ensure the smooth working of the EU’s institutions and functions in the context of an enlarged EU. Areas of reform include an extension of qualified majority Council voting and a recalculation of what constitutes a qualified majority. For an overview of the main employment and social policy implications of the new draft Treaty, see EU0308204F.
It had been hoped that the new Treaty could be finalised and approved by the time the 10 new Member States join the EU on 1 May 2004. However, ministers could not agree on the text, with the main focus of dissent centring on qualified majority voting in the Council in an enlarged EU of 25 Member States. The main opponents of the draft Treaty's proposed new voting rights were Spain and Poland. Under the Nice Treaty (EU0012288F), both Spain and Poland are assured 27 votes in the Council until 2009. After this date, under the proposed new Constitutional Treaty, a new system would come into force, under which a qualified majority is defined as the majority of Member States, representing at least three-fifths of the EU’s population. Many delegates see this as a simpler voting system which will avoid the building up of blocking minorities, as is presently the case. However, countries such as Poland and Spain would lose out in terms of voting power under the proposed new system and therefore oppose it.
After some deliberation, ministers failed to agree and the Council subsequently issued a press release stating that 'it was not possible for the Intergovernmental Conference to reach overall agreement on a draft Constitutional Treaty at this stage. The Irish Presidency is requested on the basis of consultations to make an assessment of the prospect for progress and to report to the European Council in March.' Thus, the baton is passed to the Irish Presidency, which takes over at the helm of the Council for a six-month term on 1 January 2004.
Although the December 2003 European Council discussed the issues of how to improve the employment performance of the EU and enhance the implementation of the European employment strategy, it will be remembered primarily for its failure to agree on the text of the draft new Constitutional Treaty. It had been hoped that the new Treaty could be signed by all Member States before 1 May 2004, the date on which the 10 new Member States join the EU. Although the new draft Treaty contains limited innovations in terms of social and employment policy, it would give legal underpinning to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and extend the scope of qualified majority voting to some new areas, such as social security for migrant workers. Time will tell whether the 25 current and prospective EU Member States will be able to agree on the new text. (Andrea Broughton, IRS)