Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Berlin criticised for secrecy over EU birthday text

With EU member states expecting to get the final draft of the entire Berlin declaration to mark the bloc's 50th birthday on Wednesday (21 March), some delegations have criticised the secrecy of its drafting and urged the German presidency to handle the forthcoming talks on the EU constitution differently.

Berlin on Monday sent member states four passages referred to as the "Main elements" of the birthday statement accounting for about one fifth of the whole text.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

They include a reference to the 2009 European elections as the point by which the EU should have resolved the institutional impasse sparked by the rejection of the constitution by French and Dutch citizens in 2005.

According to a fresh draft seen by EUobserver, this passage suggests "we must constantly renew Europe's political form. For that reason today, fifty years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome, we are united in the common goal of renewing, in time for the 2009 European Parliamentary elections, the common foundation on which the European Union is built."

It also includes, "We, the peoples of Europe, are aware that Europe is our good fortune!"

Another paragraph mentions the current achievements of integrated Europe, particularly the single market and the euro, and there is also a detailed paragraph on European solidarity and the bloc's social model.

"Only together can we preserve our European social model in the future. That model combines economic success and social responsibility to the benefit of all citizens of the European Union. The single market and the euro make us strong enough to mould increasing economic interlinkage and competition according to our values."

Meanwhile, some delegations expressed surprise at the phrase in the declaration reading "We, the peoples of Europe," in the draft distributed on Monday. They argue that the declaration was drawn up in a close and secretive circle around German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Jan Zahradil, the Czech representative for talks on the Berlin declaration and the EU constitution, said that one of the key points in Prague's reply to the latest text was that it is "regretable" how little debate there was about its content.

"There was just one round of bilateral talks and the rest of the communication came by e-mails. The final part is only expected on late Wednesday when it won't be possible to make changes," he told EUobserver.

"This should not be repeated when we debate the timetable on the EU constitution which the German presidency wants to come up with in the second part of its term," he added.

Concerning the speculation that the declaration may only be signed by the heads of the EU's three main institutions, the Czech Republic notified Berlin that if this is the case, Prague would "feel free" to interpret the statement in its own way, meaning it would see the 2009 deadline as not linked to the ratification of the revised constitution.

The secrecy behind the Berlin declaration has also been criticised by the European Parliament although its president Hans Gert Poettering will also be one of the three personalities putting their signature on the document.

When the EU plenary debated the birthday statement last week, several MEPs criticised the lack of debate on it with liberal group leader Graham Watson saying "to debate the declaration without having seen a draft is bizarre."

Turkey offended

Meanwhile, another critical voice towards Berlin came from Ankara on Tuesday. The Turkish foreign ministry said that the candidate countries for EU membership had hoped to be at least invited to celebrate the union's 50th birthday.

"Had Germany invited candidate countries to the event, it would have served as a meaningful development that would have showcased the unity of the European family," a foreign ministry spokesman said, according to news agency AP.

But the German presidency has been trying to avoid any negative sentiments around the issue of enlargement in the Berlin declaration.

While some countries - such as the UK or new member states - favour further expansion of the EU, France maintained in the course of debates on the birthday text that the Berlin Declaration should not signal Europe's willingness to expand endlessly.

Turkey attended the signing of the EU constitution in Rome on 29 October 2004.

In the run up to the May 2005 referendum on the treaty in France, images of the Turkish prime minister signing the constitution were frequently presented by anti-constitution campaigners in the country as a link between the EU charter and the Muslim country's accession.

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told

Italian central banker Piero Cipollone in his first monetary policy speech since joining the ECB's board in November, said that the bank should be ready to "swiftly dial back our restrictive monetary policy stance."

Podcast

Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza

This week's Euroscopic explores the consequences of Moscow's terror attack, the convergence of public safety and border/migration policy in an EU election year, and the United Nations Security resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

Latest News

  1. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  2. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  3. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  4. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  5. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  6. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  7. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult
  8. EU unveils plan to create a European cross-border degree

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us