A busy presidency

(Archives B2) France, which has just taken over the presidency of the European Union, will not experience much respite during the six months of this function.

The government of Lionel Jospin inherits, in fact, important files, well prepared by its predecessors, Portugal or Finland, which it will have to carry out. The file which, by the admission of the Minister Delegate for European Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, is " The most delicate task of the Presidency is that of the reform of the European institutions. Because it affects the foundations of Europe (see box) and is a necessary prerequisite for its enlargement to twelve or thirteen new countries.

Opened in February by the Portuguese, within the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), it will be up to the Fifteen Heads of State and Government, meeting in Nice in December, to ratify this reform. It is also in Nice that a “Charter of Fundamental Rights” should be proclaimed, the ambition of which is to make the rights (political, economic and social) guaranteed to them by Europe more accessible to citizens.

“Bringing Europe closer to the citizens is moreover the leitmotif of Lionel Jospin. The “plural” government thus aims to make social Europe a new European priority, by establishing a “European social agenda” for the next five years. This "red thread of this presidency", as Martine Aubry likes to call it, is however likely to suffer from the departure of the Minister of Employment to other, more electoral skies. A departure rather badly perceived by the other Europeans...

But France has other strings to its bow to satisfy its counterparts' appetite for work. It thus wants to continue the food safety file, strengthen the labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for example or ensure the traceability of agricultural products. Improving maritime transport safety also remains another important objective with the adoption of a coherent and concrete set of measures aimed at preventing a disaster like the Erika from happening again.

Despite the drive of Jean-Claude Gayssot, certain measures such as the introduction of double hulls, for example, are however likely to come up against the hostility of certain States, Greece in particular, which have a large fleet. And this file could well not be completed before 2001. Never mind, a few “small” subjects will help to keep up with the news, such as the revision of the directive on summer time...

Finally, France has scheduled an impressive number of external meetings: with Japan, Russia, the United States, Canada, southern Africa, the countries of the Mediterranean... A trick that allows France to restore, at a lower cost, his coat of arms as a world power and incidentally to Jacques Chirac to refine his image as head of state. A busy calendar that could fill up at the slightest news alert, on immigration and asylum, in Kosovo or elsewhere. As of December 31, 2000, there is therefore more than one diplomat or minister in France who will be able to shout “phew”. Before handing over to Sweden...

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)
Published in France-Soir, June 2000