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Dear Minister,
Dear colleagues,
It is good that tradition of the extended Gymnich meeting to the group of 28 continues and I think it should continue. The debate on the future of the European Union is going on the right way and we will have a declaration at the end of this year in Laeken. This declaration should be ambitious, defining not only how the debate should continue, but also giving substantial guidelines. Vision of what European Union the candidates want in the future originates from their experience in the accession negotiations. The terms of membership that is to be negotiated by the end of next year will determine whether European Union will be hospitable and comfortable to the new comers. There are still a number of unknowns. First, it is yet unknown what objectives and common policies will be vested in the future European Union. Second, the institutional arrangements that will serve those policies are yet to emerge. And last but not least - how it is all to be financed.Firstly - objectives and policies. Common EU policies - single market, free movement of goods, services, capital and persons and single currency proved their value. Their evolution should continue. Globalisation and search for the global role of the Union has opened new avenues for common policies such as common EU foreign and security policy, justice and home affairs. EU should seek to develop a strong identity in the global politics, while third pillar should gradually evolve from intergovernmental co-operation into a complex of community policies. Among the most important is the question of how the founding principle of solidarity will be applied in the enlarged Union. The cohesion and structural policies proved a success, which can be repeated on a larger scale to the east. It will be a costly venture at the start but a manifold pay-off in the future. Unification and cohesion will require generosity from the current member-states and responsibility from the future members. Solidarity must be genuine. There should be no two different regional policies - one, more generous, for the old member states and the other for the new ones. This also goes for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). We could anticipate that CAP needs a revision. But in any case, support for rural development has to remain. Secondly, European institutions are a derivation of the objectives. There is hardly a need for a "revolution" in the way the Council, Parliament, Commission and other institutions interact. The institutions have to evolve gradually, the same way as the objectives of the EU are evolving - but that does not mean that there should be no change. Community method is to be preserved and further developed. Strong institutions guarantee a fair game. They underlie the cohesion of the Union and have so far been the main methodological "engine" and the key for success of European integration. They made the EU what it is today: a Union that accommodates the big and protects the small. We need a safeguard that this development does not break loose and falls out off our hands. Exclusive clubs or centres or cores should not threaten solidarity. They should not lead us into European Union, which has two standards, two policies, two governments, two budgets - one for the selected, rich and lucky, and the other for the rest. When we look to the semantic meaning of the Union, we see that the word "Union" means "One" - one for all of us. Thirdly, nothing happens without means and finances. The bigger European Union will need a bigger budget. Especially because when enlarged it will include new members with specific needs. Money is always among the most sensitive and sometimes even unpleasant subjects of disputes. Since the question about how the enlargement is financed is a fundamental issue and it will have to be addressed, it would also be sensible to look at the bigger picture and think whether it is a right moment to consider a gradual reform of the EU financing and budgeting. Dear Minister, I would like to thank you for this initiative and to wish the Belgian Presidency to continue successfully this fruitful reflection during the remaining months of this year. Thank you for your attention.