Portuguese EU Presidency: a two-fold economic and institutional challenge

3.51.33pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 11th Jul 2007

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe highlighted its economic and institutional priorities at this morning's public debate in the European Parliament, Strasbourg.

Wishing Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates a successful six-month Council Presidency, ALDE Leader Graham Watson welcomed the expected relaunch of the Lisbon Strategy. "My group particularly welcomes your initiative to open the discussion on flexicurity", he said. "We have to modernise social protection and benefit systems if we want to face the challenges of a global market. Let us protect workers, not uncompetitive jobs. Our social safety net should not prop up failing businesses but rather help those affected re-integrate into new employment opportunities".

Bronislaw Geremek (Partia Demokratyczna, Poland) in his intervention focused on the institutional challenge which the Portuguese Presidency would have to address due to the mandate decided by the European Council of 21/23 June, to negotiate a new Treaty. "This is an important agreement, a difficult compromise allowing Europe to reinforce its unity. The mandate is clear. No country will get away from the commitments they made", Mr Geremek warned, hinting at the prevarications of the Kaczynski brother government.

In this debate, designed to guide Parliament to support the convening of the Intergovernmental Conference of 23 July, Andrew Duff (Lib Dem, United Kingdom), ALDE Spokesperson for Constitutional Affairs, insisted that the conditions implied in the Constitutional Treaty of 2004, and set up to reinforce the powers and competencies of Parliament be reconfirmed in the future Treaty: "We must ensure that the growing number of opt outs does not contaminate the integrity of the corpus of EU law and jurisdiction. We will fight to prevent any political spillover, especially from the UK Protocol on the Charter", Andrew Duff said. He concluded by pronouncing a plea in favour of "maximum transparency" within the IGC, which would be guaranteed by "Parliament's greater role and added strength."