EU Summit: Total failure avoided, but Europe is still not saved

Commenting on the outcome of the EU summit Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Monica Frassoni, Co-Presidents of the Greens/EFA group, today said:

"Even though failure was avoided this morning, the result of this summit and how it was achieved is depressing. It was an event characterized by total mistrust, undignified bazaar trading, and by a lack of vision for a future Europe.

If the spirit of this summit is meant to be the guideline for the diplomats during the forthcoming IGC, it would not bode well for the outcome of their negotiations.

At this summit, the bad guys were rewarded proportionally to their negativity: the more you said no, the more you got. The negotiations were conducted under conditions satisfactory to the adversaries of European integration. The 18 Member States which ratified the constitutional treaty, the European Parliament and the Commission did not stand up to the challenge. We are disappointed with the lack of commitment shown by the 18 to defend the achievements of the Convention.

All the modifications agreed to in this compromise are backward steps from the ideals of the constitutional treaty. This is also true for the Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, which is now more intergovernmental than ever.

Very worryingly is the opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights granted to the United Kingdom, and Poland's unilateral declaration on the Charter. This is a dangerous erosion of the common basis of European values and undermines the position of Europe both within and abroad.

On a positive note the articles on majority voting and co-decision are maintained. Another positive development is the agreement on a clear procedure on how to leave the EU. Member states, like Poland and the United Kingdom, which don't want to share in our common European values, should seriously envisage this exit clause."

Press Service of the Greens/EFA Group
in the European Parliament

Richard More O' Ferrall,
Press Officer,
The Greens/EFA in the European Parliament
Tel: Brussels +32 2 2841667 / Strasburg +33 3 88174375
Mobile: +32-477-44-38-42
Fax: 0032 2 2844944
email: richard.moreoferrall@europarl.europa.eu