By Matt Williams - 25th September 2007
STRASBOURG: Parliament's representatives at the IGC are having trouble reaching the required unanimity on certain aspects.
Andrew Duff, Elmar Brok and Enrique Barón Crespo spoke at a press conference on Wednesday morning to give an update on what Duff described as the “torturous negotiation on our constitutional future”.
The Intergovernmental conference (IGC) aims to reach an agreed text in time for the summit in Lisbon on 18 and 19 October.
Barón Crespo said that “it is important to have the reform treaty enforced for 2009, in order to make the EU stronger”.
Member states are however still concerned about the implications of adopting the reform treaty, adding to the difficulties faced by the IGC.
“We are trying to help those that have had trouble, to move forward,” said Barón Crespo.
The UK and Poland are divided over whether they should have the opportunity to ‘opt-in’ at a later date to certain policies.
“There are still considerable concerns…we had a two-hour discussion yesterday which closed without agreement,” Duff said.
“There is a certain squaring of circles which has to happen,” he added.
“We need to think about the questions and demands of Poland,” said Brok.
“We’re going to have to set certain lines and decide where the border is”, he added.
There are also worries about the handling and protection of personal data.
Brok said that the ECJ and parliament had to be more fully involved in such a sensitive area.
“The rules decided by council would not be scrutinised by the ECJ…there is a lack of knowledge generally about this area.”
Brok stressed that democratic accountability, not centralising power, had to be a crucial feature of the reform treaty.
“We must not give the impression that the EU is being used,” he said.
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