'Clearly there will be no enlargement if there is no Lisbon treaty’, Bernard Kouchner (France) told reporters. A bit more diplomatic but equally clear was the position of Germany: ‘We will be not in a position to accept new member states in the EU without the Lisbon treaty’. Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union – Chancellor Merkel’s party - stated recently that ‘the consolidation of the identity and institutions of the European Union must have precedence over further EU accession’.
Currently Croatia, Turkey and Macedonia hold the status of official candidate to join the EU, while the other western Balkan countries are all potential members. But the Lisbon Treaty, designed to make the EU more efficient after the so called ‘big bang’ enlargement of twelve mostly former communist countries, has still to be ratified by four memberstates: Germany, Ireland, Poland and Czech Republic.
The already weak position of the Czech Republic, holding the rotating EU Presidency in the first half of 2009, became even more bizarre after Prime-Minister, Mirek Topolanek, resigned. A week before he lost the confidence vote in the Czech Parliament, he threatened that ratifying of the Lisbon Treaty was in danger if President Obama did not fulfil the deal of the Czech government with the Bush administration about an anti-missile shield on Czech territory. After he was ousted from power Mr. Topolanek promised he will try to persuade his eurosceptic party to accept the treaty, before the June European elections.
Meanwhile, the Irish government has said it will continue negotiations with the Czech EU presidency on securing a legal text on certain issues concerned with the treaty, despite the Czech Republic’s complicated domestic problem. These legal guarantees –on neutrality, tax and social issues – were agreed by EU leaders following the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum last year. These legal guarantees have to bring Ireland on board in a second referendum, foreseen in the autumn of this year.
You have to be a keen optimist to expect a sunny future for the Lisbon Treaty!
There are also clouds over the future of Jose Manuel Barroso, the current president of the European Commission. In September he gave a Dutch journalist the scoop that he was ready to extend his presidency by a second 5 years term. At that moment nobody in Brussels seemed to be surprised by this confession and also in the capitals of the EU member states hardly any disapproval was heard.
In March the center-right EPP-ED group in the European Parliament, which hold the majority and is expected to keep this position after the June elections, has officially backed Mr. Barroso for a second term. EU heads of state and government may already decide at their 18 June meeting whether the conservative Portuguese is to receive a second mandate.
But: ‘This does not give enough time for European Parliament which will be newly elected in June, to express itself’, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, leader of the European Socialist Party (PES) , told journalists. A former Danish prime-minister, Mr. Rasmussen also said that ‘One thing is sure; the PES will not back Mr. Barroso’. Rasmussen criticised the way Mr. Barroso has managed the economic crisis and his inclusion of the existing national social protection mechanism as part of the EU stimulus package.
It seems that also French President Nicolas Sarkozy is not in favour for an early choice of a Commission President and also criticised the way the European Commission handled the current crisis.
To be continued…..
