“STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ADDRESS”

DELIVERED BY MR. DIMITRIS PLATIS
CONSUL-GENERAL OF GREECE IN NEW YORK
AT THE EUROPEAN STUDIES CENTER
( June 19, 2003 )    

At the outset, allow me to express my most sincere thanks to the European Studies Center for inviting me, in my capacity as representative of the country that assumed and exercised the Presidency of the European Union during the first semester of 2003, to speak about the main international or and/domestic issues that the European Union tackled during this same period.  Allow me to in particular to express my Government’s and my own personal thanks to the person who has dedicated a good part of his life in New York in promoting the image of Europe in the United States . This person, the real “soul” behind this initiative, is Professor Kaufmann.

 I wish to thank him personally for organizing, semester after semester, and in the most diligent and competent manner, this series of lectures, henceforth called: “The State of the European Union Address”.

 Although the title, borrowed from the traditional “State of the Union Address” of Presidents, Governors and Mayors in the US , may sound overoptimistic from a European perspective, I suggest that we all look at it again and try to discover the underlying message: Europe is becoming a rich and powerful house, that increasingly needs to express itself in one voice. Hence, Professor Kaufmann and myself agreed some time ago to call these “traditional” speeches “State of the European Union Address”.

 Ladies and Gentlemen:

 The Head Summit of Thessaloniki, that is going to take place from 19 through 21 of June 2003, will have to deal with very important conclusions. We feel that these conclusions will be historical because they determine the future of Europe , the course of the new Constitution, the new military doctrine, which is being developed by the Member States under the supervision of Mr. Solana. The Summit will also have to discuss the problems of our region, specifically the Western Balkans and particularly the prospect for it to be included into the large family, ensuring security for the wider region, democracy, economic development and of course the discussions regarding the issue of migration.

 Finally important issues of political nature will be discussed as well as international issues such as the Middle East , Iraq , Iran and the relations of the European Union with the United States . A full agenda, I believe, with important conclusions while the European Union is to move forward after this procedure. 

The Greek Presidency on the Threshold of Enlargement

I would argue that the European Union is at the most crucial crossroads in its history. The Accession Ceremony in April to commemorate the biggest ever enlargement, welcoming ten new members into our family, was an occasion for celebration. It marks the end of the artificial division of our continent after the fall of the Berlin Wall, which has opened the door to a radically new Europe , allowing us to re-unite with all those European nations that share the Union 's values of freedom, solidarity and democracy.

But, at least in the international media, this milestone, this achievement of the European peace project was overshadowed by the final stages of the war in Iraq . And this in many ways was unfair to the real strengths and real achievements of the EU. Yet the Iraq crisis did highlight the fact that in a rapidly changing world, we, our Union , do not rest on our laws and that our citizens, citizens of the world, expect much more from us.

In short, the Iraq crisis revealed once again the gap between our expectations and the actual potential of the European Union. Some even argue that this whole episode made a mockery of the attempt to forge ahead on foreign policy within the Convention.

I believe that, on the contrary, this is a crisis, if you like, which gives us a unique opportunity, a new contract for a new Europe is what we want to draft with the new Constitution, to reshape our Union so that it can meet both the needs and demands of its growing number of citizens, and the challenges of our globalising world. In doing so, the crucial question that we must ask ourselves is: What kind of Europe do we want, both internally and externally?

But these are rhetoric questions and I should think that we, here, can tackle more concrete issues, as the ones that well be taken up by the European Summit in Thessaloniki. 

 Five thematic items are included in the official agenda of the summit meeting in Thessaloniki . 

1. The new Constitution of Europe (officially called: “institutional modifications discussed by the European Council regarding the future of Europe ”). 

2. Major issues of common foreign policy, security policy and defense. Here, issues concerning the transatlantic relationship will inevitably have to be discussed.  The Twenty-Five will also examine the European strategic concepts when it comes to issues of European security and Weapons of Mass Destruction. 

3. Immigration, asylum, and exterior borders:  This is a critical issue for the southern part of the European Union, including Greece .

4. Summit of European Diasporas

5. EU policies in the Western Balkan region.

 A.               EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION

 As far as this agenda item, the Head Summit, or the “European Council in Thessaloniki” will be discussing the first draft Constitution that will be submitted to them by the group of eminent personalities, headed by the former President of the French Republic, Mr. Valery Giscard d’ Estaing. 

 Before analyzing the basic contents of this draft Constitution, allow me to state here, with a certain pride, I cannot hide it, what has been selected for inclusion in the preamble of the European Constitution:

 The founding fathers of this Constitution chose a passage from Pericle’s Funeral Oration, as attributed to him by Thucydides: In his Oration, Pericles, shaken by the deaths of so many Athenian citizens during the first year of the Peloponnesian War, said: “We call our system democracy, because the government is in the hands of the many, not of the few”. This is precisely what Europe feels of itself, and how Europe wishes to define its own governing system. 

 Additionally, this very basic text governing Europe will include a paragraph stating that the European civilization bases itself upon the Hellenic and Roman civilizations. And as we all know that the superior Hellenic civilization managed to absorb the conquering Romans, a Greek would proudly say that today’s European civilization bases itself upon the Hellenic civilization and thinking.

Writing a European Constitution can be described as an exercise in exploring the frontiers of European citizenship.

I believe that European citizenship is about belonging to a community of values. According to the ancient Greek philosopher Isocrates, he said, being a Hellene, is partaking in Greek culture. In many ways, being a European, is partaking in this community of values.

While our member states today all rest on strong democratic foundations, in particular that of elective democracy, it may be possible for the EU to invent or promote new forms of democracy. And we have had one, in experimental form. It is the e-Vote, an innovative electronic voting project accessible through the Greek Presidency website (www.eu2003.gr). Already, roughly 150.000 people from across Europe have participated in online votes on topical issues such as enlargement, immigration, and the EU's role in the world.

E-Vote is a unique experiment in that citizens are not simply invited to respond to fixed questions, but are encouraged to submit their own suggestions as to what issues should be given priority and how they should be tackled. By actively soliciting public opinion, e-Vote is an important step towards bridging the gap between European leaders and their constituents, European institutions and citizens, but also between nations and regions. In this way, e-Vote has created a new European forum, a virtual 'Agora' where people can express their views on issues that will affect their collective future..

We hope to extend this experiment in e-democracy for the EU beyond our Presidency, with ongoing projects that could include:

" The systematic use of the internet to make transparent decision processes;
" The organisation of e-referenda;
" The possibility of transforming the Convention website into a "virtual agora".

In the short term, we intend to encourage a wider public debate on the Convention proposals, by hosting a real 'Agora' or open forum in Athens , following the presentation of the convention results to the Council by Valery Giscard d'Estaing.

Let me now dwell about the proposed structure of the new Europe : 

 According to the draft, the new European entity (no one calls it a Federation yet, although the Germans would most likely prefer it, given their own political system) will be headed by two Presidents: one, the President of the European Commission, whose powers will be much wider than they are today, and the other one, the President of the European Council, elected for a period of two and a half years by the Heads of State and Governments participating in the European Council, upon a positive opinion given by the European Parliament.  The President of the European Council will have to be either a current member or a former member of the Council, having remained there for a period of at least two years. 

 He will be responsible for representing the European Union abroad in areas of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).  Concurrently, he will be empowered to decide on the establishment of a “presidium” of three other members selected on a rotating basis. 

 This particular idea does not seem to appeal to all full members of the Union . Some prefer the rotating Presidency, as it stands today. 

 Again under this same agenda item, the former French President proposes the modification of the existing European Commission structure, by establishing a fifteen member European Commission, including the President. In this structure, twelve auxiliary members, without the right to vote, will also participate.  This proposal was again met with a certain reaction on the part of the smaller members of the Union , who preferred the stipulations of the Nice Accords (at least one Commissioner coming from each Member-State).

 Mr. d’ Estaing further thought about the selection process of the President of the European Commission:  according to his draft, the President of the Commission will be elected by the European Parliament, upon proposal by the European Council, which will have to have special majority in order to make this particular decision.  As far as the European Parliament is concerned, the draft Constitution stipulates the direct election of its members for a five-year term.  Further, the maximum membership of the Parliament cannot exceed the number of 700. 

 In terms of a “permanent” Foreign Minister of the European Union, an idea that is being supported by almost all members of the Union , the draft Constitution stipulates that this person should be appointed by the European Council, on a special majority vote, upon the consent of the President of the European Commission.  Among his other tasks, the Foreign Minister of Europe will have to promote and act on the basis of CFSP of the Union , while simultaneously serving as a Vice President of the Commission. 

 Moreover, the draft Constitution foresees the establishment of only two Ministerial Councils:  one, the “Council of Foreign Ministers”, presided over by the “permanent” Foreign Minister of the Union , and second, the “General Affairs Council”, incorporating all ministerial councils the European Union deals with.

 B.      MAJOR ISSUES OF COMMON FOREIGN POLICY, SECURITY POLICY AND DEFENSE

Why Europe Needs a Stronger ESDP

All these separate issues beg the question: Why should the EU seek more of a significant role on the international stage? Don't we have enough to contend with, in simply managing the institutional challenges of enlargement and addressing internal problems?

Our own citizens are by no means immune to global events. Within the European Union, we are so interwoven - positively interdependent - that most of our citizens benefit enormously. They derive wealth; they derive social welfare; they derive a sense of security in the knowledge that we, at least, will never go to war with each other. And we want to bring this concept to a wider Europe , Southeastern Europe and further. But have we done enough to protect our citizens from the external threat to our collective interdependence? In a world of irresponsible states, deep global inequalities, fanaticism, terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, European values, norms and structures may not be completely sufficient to protect us from new security threats beyond our frontiers.

So what is to be done? It is painfully clear from recent experience that we are in urgent need of a “European strategic concept”.  It is no longer enough for us to simply react to international events and crises - we need to pool our ideas and resources to develop a clear sense of direction about how we plan to address them. We must assess and agree on the threats that exist, assess our capabilities, draw up an appropriate policy in order to deal with them effectively. This means we must ask ourselves some challenging questions. For instance, if our efforts at peaceful enforcement of non-proliferation do not work, are we prepared to establish a doctrine for the use of force? And are we prepared to promote the reform of the United Nations to encompass specific prescriptions for the use of force? Would this stance not be consistent with our commitment to multilateralism? But also how we can promote alternatives, how we can use our experience in a useful way, in using our tools in order to prevent reaching the brink of war, in solving problems without having to use force. And here, the EU with its experience can develop a very important, positive strategy in foreign policy and security.

The time has come to draw up a concrete action plan and in Kastellorizo, at the beginning of last May, the EU decided to pass it to the High Representative, Javier Solana, to work with his policy unit which has members from all member states, so that he comes up with a paper, a report on the European strategic concept, a European security concept. And this paper will be discussed in Thessaloniki .

A second point is what are our capabilities. Here you may have seen that a recent, important mini-defense summit by France , Germany , Belgium and Luxembourg created some controversy. But it also highlighted the need for us to move forward and so long as they remain open to the rest of the Union , and this initiative continues to be part and parcel of the EU decision-making process, this is a healthy democratic process to have people taking initiatives.

A third point, I believe, for our foreign policy is a need to respect and to capitalize on our different experiences, our different capabilities, our different histories.

To demonstrate in a clearer fashion how the Union has been trying to capitalize on our different experiences, the Greek Presidency, that is our Consulate, together with all twenty-five European Consulates in New York , organized a book fair on Europe and a panel discussion at Columbia University . 

 In Columbia’s most magnificent and official room, the “Rotunda”, where General Eisenhower took the oath as President of Columbia University, before becoming President of the United States, the twenty-five projected a European image to the wider American public that gathered there, on May 20^th.  At the same time, a panel discussion was held in the same Rotunda, under the theme: “The Europe of 25: Rediscovering an Ally of the United States .” 

 At the end of this exercise, the Greek Presidency, accompanied by five or six representatives of European Consulates in New York, visited the three most important specialized high schools of New York, namely Bronx Science, Stuvyesant, and Townsend Harris, where we discussed with the eleventh and twelfth graders about how they viewed Europe and how they understood the relations between Europe and America.  And, leaving their premises, we donated all our books to their respective libraries. 

 C.      IMMIGRATION, ASYLUM AND EXTERIOR BORDERS

At the Head Summit of Thessaloniki, very important conclusions will have to be reached regarding the issue of migration.

 The Presidency feels compelled to see that a migrant is integrated into our societies and becomes an adequate member, participating at the economic, social and political procedures of Europe and in parallel to safeguard our borders from the organized crime and the illegal migrants. The Presidency will also try to issue a Directive stating clearly who is a resident and who is an immigrant or an asylum seeker. 

 The issue is vast and I cannot commend on topics that have only been debated, some strenuously, I would say, but not yet agreed upon.

 D.      THE SUMMIT OF EUROPEAN DIASPORAS is an initiative of Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou and the Greek Presidency of the European Union.

 The Summit is the first-ever gathering of distinguished members of the diasporas of the 28 member-states, accession and candidate countries of the EU. In all, approximately 60 diaspora members will convene in Thessaloniki on June 19-21, concurrently with the 2003 Chalkidiki European Council.

 The Summit will debate ways for Europe to strengthen relations with its diasporas and to draw on their experience, knowledge, and networks to advance European Union policies.

A series of roundtable discussions will explore the diaspora and immigrant experience, and seek to connect them with the evolving nature of the European Union and its current policies. A European Diaspora Task Force will be convened at Summit ’s end and charged with making recommendations in 2004 on strengthening EU-diaspora ties.

 Ε.      EU POLICY IN THE WESTERN BALKAN REGION  

Finally as far as the last thematic item in their agenda, Heads of State and Governments in Thessaloniki will debate a text of conclusions and recommendations. In this text, the Union will be expressing its political will to support the European perspective of all the countries of the region and will be presenting a plan of action to attain this goal. 

 The decisions of the European Council in Thessaloniki will be reflected in the Thessaloniki Declaration, to be signed by all of the interested parties which will participate at the summit meeting between the European Union and the Western Balkan countries. This meeting will take place on June 21, 2003 and all acceding and candidate countries will be participating.

 I have tried to outline here what will be discussed in Thessaloniki . And I will be more than happy to answer to any questions you might have.

   Thank you