[A-List] EU integration struggles: Hain again

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Hain leads fightback to secure permanent EU president

Ian Black in Brussels
Friday June 6, 2003
The Guardian

Britain was last night leading a fightback to secure a permanent president
in the EU's new constitution as negotiations drew to a close.

Peter Hain, Tony Blair's representative on the Brussels convention, vowed to
resist attempts to strip the new post of its powers.

The Welsh secretary warned that failure to agree would mean that governments
would ignore the work done by Valery Giscard d'Estaing over the past 15
months.

The convention is drawing up a constitution to define the powers of an EU
enlarging to 25 members next year, but the final treaty has to be agreed by
all member states.

"It is 'make up your mind' time," Mr Hain said before the full 105-member
body began a final week of intensive debate.

The convention's final meeting is scheduled for June 13, with the finished
product to be delivered to the EU summit in Salonika, Greece, a week later.

Britain's priority for the treaty is a permanent EU president who will
create greater policy continuity by replacing the current rotation system -
and anchor power firmly in the hands of governments.

The idea is backed by Spain, France, Italy, and Germany. But small countries
and the European commission fear a loss of power in key areas, and want
changes. Romano Prodi, the commission president, yesterday said the rotation
system should be retained.

Mr Giscard, anxious to broker a deal, has adjusted his proposal to clarify
that the duties of the president would not encroach on the powers of the
Brussels executive.

But Mr Hain signalled that another way to appease small member states would
be to vote by simple majority to decide who gets the new job. That is a more
attractive option than requiring consensus or using a qualified majority
that favours the big countries.

Britain has teamed up with Spain and Poland to resist demands to
re-negotiate advantageous voting figures agreed at the Nice summit three
years ago. The Spanish foreign minister, Ana Palacio, said the issue was a
non-negotiable "red line" for Madrid.

In return Britain has won Spanish support for ensuring that tax issues are
kept out of the proposed reforms.

Mr Hain said Britain would also hold out to ensure that a so-called EU
"foreign representative" be answerable strictly to governments, not the
commission. He also demanded that the part of the constitution dealing with
economic policy be watered down to ensure control rests with the Treasury,
not Brussels.

· London's mayor, Ken Livingstone, has written to Mr Hain warning that the
wording of a clause on competition policy would leave him and government
ministers open to legal challenge if they attempted to affect the unfettered
operation of the free market.