Intergovernmental Conference (Hansard, 21 October 2003)

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

On 4 October my right honourable friends the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary attended the opening session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in Rome. The conference has been convened to enable member states to make decisions on a future Constitutional Treaty in order to ensure that an expanded European Union is both more effective and more accountable. Its starting point is the draft treaty produced by the Convention on the Future of Europe, placed before the House this August as Command Paper 5897.

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On 9 September we issued a White Paper (Cm 5934) setting out the Government's approach towards the IGC. As we said in that White Paper, the draft treaty is a good basis for starting the IGC negotiations. It consolidates existing treaties into a clearer and more comprehensible text, but one which does not alter the fundamental constitutional relationship between the member states and the Union. It provides for the more efficient decision making processes which will be needed in an enlarged Union of 25 members. For example, it proposes a new position of full-time Chair of the European Council, which will make the Union more efficient, by ending the frequent changes of direction and priority inherent in the rotating presidency system. It also reinforces the role of national Parliaments in the European Union, and the application of the principle of subsidiarity.

We do not regard the draft treaty as perfect: as for many other member states, there are some points in the text which we want to change and others which we need to examine in more detail. Final decisions at the IGC are by unanimity and, as our White Paper stated, we will only accept a final text which makes it clear that issues like tax, defence and foreign policy remain the province of the nation state.

This first detailed session of the IGC, attended by Foreign Ministers, agreed that, when the Council of Ministers is legislating, its proceedings should be as open as possible. It also agreed that the provision in the draft treaty for establishing a legislative council, which we opposed, would be dropped.

The European Council of 16 and 17 October will continue discussion of the draft Treaty. In the mean time, Foreign Ministers met in the context of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, on 13 October. We hope for agreement on a final text in sufficient time to allow for signature of a treaty, as provided in the conclusions of the Thessaloniki Council, as soon as possible after 1 May 2004. In the interim we will of course continue to keep the House informed of progress, including through ministerial appearances at the IGC Standing Committee.