A Belgian Presidency and a Belgian permanent President: competitors or comrades?

An interview conducted by Interel

 

Compared to its previous EU chairmanship in 2001,Belgium starts its Presidency today in a very different context: first of all there are the economic and financial problems and challenges, the Lisbon Treaty, the appointment of a permanent President of the Council and of course the internal Belgian political crisis which led to federal elections on June 13. Interel asked the right hand man of the permanent President of the Council, Frans Baron van Daele, how he perceives the challenges of the Belgian Presidency.

Is there then still an added value to a rotating Presidency today?

Baron van Daele: A rotating Presidency, and particularly with Belgium acting as EU-President, can continue to play an important role as long as it takes into account the new institutional relationships and assures that input and proposals can be sent to the European Council, which elaborates orientations. Good cooperation between the permanent and rotating Presidency, as has been the case with the Spanish Presidency, is the best guarantee for a rotating Presidency to succeed in leaving its mark on certain important dossiers either because it is able to progress on dossiers sent by the European Council or because it formulates proposals to the European Council, which takes the dossier up at the highest level.

Which role can Belgium play within the so called “trio Presidency”?

Baron van Daele: Since the Treaty of Lisbon the three successive Presidencies coordinate and cooperate on their programme in order to guarantee a continuity over a period of 18 months (3x6months). Obviously, given its Europe- experience and traditional influence in developing EU-policies, Belgium is an important driving force. One can even say that today, even under the new configuration as foreseen in the Treaty of Lisbon, Belgium acts as a partner that is listened to by others and that knows how to assert its influence in this complex European environment.

Which kind of dynamic do big Member States such as France and Germany create, especially in relation to the permanent President of the EU?

Baron van Daele: Cooperation between Germany and France has always been a plus for the progress of the European Union. Of course, the Franco- German initiatives need to be embedded in a broader context at a certain moment in time, such as the Euro group or the entirety of the 27 Member States. It is the President’s competence to incorporate impulses such as Franco-German proposals in the broader story in the right way and with the right timing.

In which way will the upcoming Belgian Presidency differ from the Belgian Presidency of 2001?

Baron van Daele: Apart from the new Treaty of Lisbon, the appointment of a permanent President and its internal political crisis, Belgium is especially faced with a totally different general context as compared to 2001. In that year, 9/11 and the so called “Declaration of Laken”, which had to result in constitutional deepening, marked fundamentally the Belgian Presidency. Today, the Belgian Presidency will put the economic crisis on top of the European agenda, including thestrive for reinforcing the competitiveness of our economies. One should not forget that a Presidency has the opportunity and the choice to define the order of priorities. That is the privilege of the Presidency.
 

How can the European economy be strengthened?

Baron van Daele: The competitiveness of an economy is the result of a number off actors among which there form and the improvement of structures. The new Agenda 2020, politically agreed in March by the European Council, focuses on finding ways to encourage Member States to implement the necessary economic structural reforms. Agenda 2020 concentrates on a number of specific structural reforms, such as research and innovation, the labour market activation, the fight against social exclusion and the improvement of the level of education. So contrary to the Lisbon Agenda of 2000, the new Agenda 2020 clearly focuses on specific areas and foresees that every individual country discusses its problems and proposed solutions with the European Commission.

How can Europe enhance its competitiveness on the international forum?

Baron van Daele: Economists specialized in foreign trade differ in opinion. It is clear that exchange rates play an important role in terms of competitiveness since the rates have an impact on export. More important is the capacity to introduce new products on the market and to attract new sectors. A country like Germany, where the level of wages can be compared with the rest of the western world, succeeds in being an important export country. In other words, Germany proves that a right policy of encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship clearly leads to positive results.

What are the challenges in the area of energy?

Baron van Daele: Between January and March 2011, the European energy policy will be discussed at the level of the European Council. After Copenhagen, efforts are being made to create an new dynamic and to make some countries more willing to move forward. The EU-energy policy is basically about better securing our supply, improving green energy and connecting energy systems between the different Member States. But also relations with Russia remain high on the agenda, although Russia is of course not the only energy provider.