Speech by the President of the European Council, José Sócrates, to the European Parliament to report on the Lisbon informal Summit and the final session of the Intergovernmental Conference - Main contents

European Parliament

At 10am on Tuesday morning, MEPs will debate the outcome of the informal summit of heads and state government taking place in Lisbon on 18 and 19 October. The Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates will explain the outcome of the key summit.

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«Mr President

Mr President of the European Commission

Members

You will allow my first words to be spoken in memory of my friend. In memory of the MEP, Fausto Correia, who died a few days ago at an early age. His death was a great loss to the European Parliament, and in particular to the Portuguese Socialist Party.

Fausto Correia was a man of great political and human qualities. He was an intelligent politician, well prepared and always committed to European ideas. But it is his human qualities of generosity, companionship and tolerance that I would like to recall now. After all, these are the qualities that give meaning to a life in politics.

For me, his death is a personal loss, the loss of an old friend who shared many moments of my political life and who will be greatly missed.

Distinguished Members

When I stood before this Plenary three months ago to present the programme of the Portuguese Presidency, I referred clearly to what the main challenge - the top priority - of the Portuguese Presidency would be: to draw up and reach an agreement on a new Reforming Treaty, bringing to an end six years of deadlock in the European Union's institutional debate.

It is therefore with great satisfaction that I have come here today to the European Parliament to present you the agreement reached by the Intergovernmental Conference on 18 October. The agreement that will give birth to the new Lisbon Treaty. The Treaty that will be signed on 13 December in the city whose name it will bear.

The Portuguese Presidency began with the task of transforming the mandate we were given by the German Presidency - and let me stress its clarity and precision - into a new Treaty.

The agreement we have reached is confirmation of the wisdom of the method and calendar defined at the start of our Presidency. It was necessary - as I told you at the beginning of the Presidency - to take advantage of the June Council so as to try and conclude the Treaty not in December, as many advocated, but in October.  

In fact, we made the IGC for the revision of the treaties the fastest in the history of the European Union. We began on 23 July and we finished on 18 October.

When we look at the background to this Treaty it is easier to appreciate the importance of this political decision, of not leaving until the end of the year a task that was in our grasp to finish sooner. Europe needed a rapid agreement and that is what it got. Europe needed a sign of confidence and that is what it got. Europe needed to turn towards the future and that is what it has done.    

We got quickly down to work with all the Member States who, without exception, constructively and resolutely sought to overcome the difficulties that still remained and we were able to present a complete text of the Treaty on 3 October which brought us closer to our goal.

The questions that remained for the Lisbon Summit were few, but they were politically difficult. In this context, our strategy was to try for an agreement on the very first day of the Summit. Not only did this seem possible to us, but we would be giving Europe a very important signal. The signal that the European Union can decide quickly, even when decisions we all know are difficult are at stake.

In Lisbon, agreement was reached on the following questions which allowed the final agreement on the Treaty to be sealed:

On the Ioannina clause, the solution involved two levels:

a declaration on the decision making system in the Council by qualified majority that specifies the actual Ioannina safeguarding mechanism;

which is complemented by a Protocol that requires consensus in the European Council on any attempt to modify or revoke this mechanism.

In so doing we provided guarantees on the Ioannina compromise without affecting the integrity of the decision making process by qualified majority.

A solution also had to be found to the political question on the number of Advocates General in the Court of Justice. Agreement was reached on a declaration stating that the Council would give its approval to any request from the Court of Justice for the number of Advocates General to be increased by three from eight to eleven. In this case, Poland would have a permanent Advocate General and would no longer participate in the rotation system, while the current rotation system would cover five Advocates General instead of three.

As for the appointment of the Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the agreed declaration foresees that the European Parliament can use suitable contacts to participate in the appointment process even in the very first phase in January 2009.

The Conference also approved a declaration clarifying the delimitation of competences between the Union and the Member States, foreseen in the Treaties.

And, lastly, the issue of the composition of the European Parliament. An amendment was made to Article 9.-A of the Treaty of the European Union, defining that the number of members cannot exceed seven hundred and fifty (750), plus the President, maintaining the proportional degressivity of its representation.

Two declarations are added to this amendment:

one defining that the additional seat in the European Parliament will be attributed to Italy; and

the other guaranteeing that the European Council will give its political agreement on the composition of the European Parliament, on the basis of the proposal from Parliament itself.

The Council therefore accepted the criteria put forward by Parliament and went ahead with what it considered an acceptable adjustment, with a view to adapting the current framework during the 2009-2014 period.

In addition to these questions I have mentioned, the Portuguese Presidency also took care to include the opt out rules and clauses in the Treaty that were part of the mandate, obviously respecting the positions of the Member States that wanted them whilst taking constant care not to take away from the essence of the community decision process and the overall coherence of the Treaty.

Thus we have a new Treaty. And a good Treaty. A Treaty that resolves the crisis of the past and puts Europe in a position to set its eyes on the future. A Treaty with significant advances of which I highlight just some. This Treaty:

adopts, with no alteration, the enlargement of the European Parliament's participation in the legislative process, as well as the innovations in the budgetary process, thereby enhancing the Union's democratic legitimacy;

improves the decision making process, namely by the extension of the vote by qualified majority to the area of freedom, security and justice;

also on the area of freedom, security and justice, it upholds the legal foundations required for the development of more effective immigration and asylum policies, as well as police and judicial coordination against terrorism and organised crime thus strengthening the security of our citizens;

clearly lists the domains in which the Member States transfer powers to the Union;

strengthens the supervisory role of the national Parliaments;

But in the set of advances that this Treaty brings, there is one I find particularly gratifying to underline: the Charter of Fundamental Rights which will be proclaimed by the European Union's three institutions on 12 December is explicitly made legally binding by the Treaty.

To this, I must add the Union's membership to the European Convention for Human Rights and the fact that a solution has been found to the question of the judicial framework of European citizenship, as requested by the representatives of this Parliament.

On the external front, the new institutional framework that the Treaty creates - in particular combining the position of High representative and Vice President of the European Commission for Foreign Affairs - reflects the extent of our ambition: to give Europe a more significant role on the international stage and the means for effective cooperation with our partners.

Distinguished members

Negotiations were tough and demanding. But Europe was successful. It achieved the crucial goal: it has a Treaty that affirms European values, that strengthens Europe as a global economic player and that provides its institutions with more effective conditions to fulfil this role.

Europe has left this Summit stronger. Stronger to face up to global questions. Stronger to assume its role in the world. Stronger because it sends a signal of confidence to our economy and to our citizens.

The Treaty of Lisbon now shows a Europe that is prepared, confident, sure of itself. What the Treaty of Lisbon brings is a new Europe fit for the times.

I want to thank the European Parliament. I want to thank its President, Hans-Gert Pöttering and its representatives at the IGC - Elmar Brok (EPP-ED), Enrique Barón-Crespo (PSE) and Andrew Duff (ALDE). On behalf of the Portuguese Presidency, I want to thank you for your excellent collaboration, the constructive suggestion put forward and the dedication so that Europe could reach an agreement and do so quickly.

But I also want to thank the European Commission, and in particular its President, for the help they gave the Presidency throughout this negotiation process.

But it is only right that I should express my profound gratitude to the General Secretariat of the Council and especially to its legal services and to its Director, Jean-Claude Piris. I thank them for their hard work, competence and dedication. They did a magnificent job. Europe is indebted to them.

I would also like to thank all the representatives of the Member States who participated at various levels in the IGC. The Presidency cannot forget the spirit of collaboration, dedication and openness that everyone demonstrated in search of the best solutions.

Allow me now to extend my personal gratitude to Luís Amado, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Lobo Antunes, Secretary of State, and to all the Portuguese diplomats who gave their best for what undoubtedly will be one of the greatest successes of the Portuguese Presidency.  

Distinguished members

Once their goal of concluding the Treaty in Lisbon was achieved, the Heads of State and of Government were able to dedicate the morning of the second day to debate on the external dimension of the Lisbon Agenda and the response to the challenges of globalisation. It was a good debate in which we benefited from the participation and valuable contribution of the President of the European Parliament. It was a debate looking towards the future.

The President of the European Commission gave an important contribution to the discussion with his communication on 'The European interest: being successful in globalisation», which received great praise from the heads of State and Government.

The debate addressed in particular the financial markets in the light of the recent troubles, and climate change with a view to the Bail Conference.

Among the various conclusions I took from debate, I want to highlight one: Europe has everything it needs - and even the duty in a number of matters - to lead the globalisation process. Be it in the reciprocal opening of markets; in the improved environmental, social and financial standards and of intellectual property; and also in the boosting of strategic cooperation with our international partners.

It is a conclusion that I am proud to say is in keeping with the motto set by the Portuguese Presidency: «A stronger Union for a better world».

Distinguished members

Let me make one last reference before I close. It is true that 18 October brought the agreement on the Treaty of Lisbon to a close.

But that very day began with another important agreement. The agreement between the European social partners on the challenges of the labour market. The social partners set a good example of constructive commitment and responsibility. A good example of attention to the need for dialogue and the needs for reforms in the light of a globalised world in constant change.

Distinguished members

In political life, moments when we have the opportunity to serve our country and Europe at a critical moment are rare. I feel honoured to have had such an opportunity. I want to thank you for the support that I have always felt from this Parliament.

But the job is not yet finished. There is still much to be done. I want to assure you that the Presidency will continue to work with the same commitment and the same conviction as at the first hour for a stronger European in the service of a better world.

Thanks you very much.»