(a) Joint resolution replacing B3-1112, 1113, 1115, 1116, 1117 and 1118/91

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its proposals and pronouncements on Political Union and Economic and Monetary Union, and in particular its resolutions of 18 April and 14 June 1991,

- having regard to the conclusions of the European Council meeting in Luxembourg on 28 and 29 June 1991,

A. having regard to the role which the European Council should have played in providing political momentum and direction,

B. deeply regretting that the national interests of certain countries prevented any improvements being made to the proposals drawn up by the Luxembourg Presidency, which must be congratulated on its efforts,

C. deploring the fact that the European Council has not provided the necessary political momentum for the work of the IGCs and that on the contrary it has merely postponed all the crucial decisions to the European Council meeting in Maastricht in December 1991, and fearing that this jeopardizes both the timetable and the objectives of the Intergovernmental Conferences; welcoming, however, the confirmation of the dates for the two IGCs, the fact that they will be concurrent and the confirmation of the mandates given by the two European Councils in Rome in 1990,

D. taking the view that the basis for the future work of the IGCs can only be the Community patrimony and its development towards a federal-type European Union,

I. As regards the Conference on Political Union

1. Considers that Political Union must be based on a single institutional framework, on full retention of the Community's past gains, on the principles of subsidiarity and economic and social cohesion and on European citizenship;

2. Points out that the democratic deficit has been undermining European integration since the Community's inception and has not therefore been brought about by the subsequent course taken by Community policies, and insists that its elimination should be the key political feature of the final agreement, in accordance with the final declaration issued by the Conference of Parliaments of the European Community;

3. Regrets that no satisfactory answer was given to the question of the unity of the Treaties and considers from this point of view that the draft Treaty of the Luxembourg Presidency constitutes a poor basis for the future work of the IGCs, and that progress would have been possible on the basis of the Commission's proposals in Dresden;

4. Reaffirms its rejection of the approach prevailing in the governments of the Member States, giving preference to integration based on intergovernmental cooperation ;

5. Confirms the crucial importance of the codecision procedure, which must end with an explicit vote by the two branches of the legislative authority approving an identical text; notes that the unity and transparency of the institutional system can be guaranteed only if this procedure is applied to all legislative decisions;

6. Takes the view, with regard to the co-decision procedure, that the Commission's right to accept or reject, at its discretion, amendments adopted by the elected Parliament, irrespective of the majority by which they are adopted, would be incompatible with the principle of equality between the two branches of the legislative authority;

7. Recalls that it is imperative that Parliament should give its assent to any decision of a constitutional nature, in particular those covered by Article 236 of the EEC Treaty, and stresses that the term of office of the Commission should coincide with each parliamentary term, so as to prevent serious institutional instability;

8. Draws attention to its proposals concerning the hierarchy of legislative acts and considers that the introduction of the term 'Community law' to designate multiannual programmes, whilst keeping the terms 'directive' and 'regulation' for other legislative acts, is unsatisfactory;

9. Notes the absence of any agreement as regards the fundamental elements of the common foreign and security policy; regrets that the questions of decision-making procedures and the role of the WEU have still to be resolved and that the question of European defence was held over to the final stage of the proceedings and points out that the achievement of a common foreign and security policy must be based on a fixed timetable laying down effective and democratically controlled Community procedures;

10. Notes the objectives laid down for establishing joint action in the area of internal and legal affairs and asks that such action be incorporated in the creation of a European legal area and conform to the fundamental principles and components of European citizenship; calls, however, for more information on the role to be assigned to the Commission, the Court of Justice and the European Parliament;

11. Deplores the fact that the Council has merely issued vague declarations of intent with regard to social policy, demonstrating its inability to provide the impetus needed to achieve progress in this area;

12. Deplores the absence of any explicit decision on the essential aspects to be included in the Treaty in the field of environmental policy, notably the principle of ecologically sustainable development and responsibility for a 'common policy' on the environment;

13. Notes the willingness shown by the European Council to strengthen economic and social cohesion, a vital aspect of the EMU's credibility, which will be embodied in the Treaties;

14. Recalls its proposals for the revision of the Euratom and ECSC Treaties and considers that these treaties should conform to the new Treaty's decision-making procedures;

15. Reiterates that the development of the Community's democratic legitimacy requires the adjustment of budgetary procedures and Parliament's role in these procedures as well as the adoption of the necessary financial resources;

16. Agrees with the statement by the Commission that the process of implementing the Single Market cannot be dissociated from implementation of the five other objectives in the Single Act, which are economic and social cohesion, social policy, the environment, research policy and the enhancement of economic and monetary cooperation;

17. Draws emphatic attention to the fact that, in the context of establishing Economic and Monetary Union, convergence between countries and regions must cover the whole range of economic and social aspects, and considers that the means employed to bring about such convergence in all its dimensions remain inadequate;

II. As regards the Conference on Economic and Monetary Union

18. Considers that the Treaty on Economic and Monetary Union should respect the prerogatives of the Community Institutions and, in particular, those of the European Parliament and Commission in the drafting of the legislative framework and the definition of general economic and monetary policies; draws attention, in this connection, to its resolutions of 14 June 1991 and 10 October 1990 on Parliament's role in appointing Members of the Board of Directors and the need for parallel coordination of economic policy, economic, social and regional cohesion and monetary integration;

19. Considers that the Treaty on EMU must be finalized in line with the conclusions of the European Council of 27 and 28 October 1990 on the basis of the following points:

- a precise and binding timetable for the beginning of the second stage and for the procedures for the beginning of the third stage;

- the creation at the beginning of the second stage of a European system of central banks enjoying the powers necessary to attain the objectives laid down in the Treaty;

- the creation at the beginning of the third stage of a single currency, i.e. a strong and stable ECU;

- the attainment, starting now and by way of the first stage, of satisfactory and lasting progress on economic and monetary convergence with particular reference to price stability and the restoration of sound public finances;

III. As regards the approval of the new treaty

20. Recalls that its approval of the new treaty will depend on the following minimum objectives being met:

- introduction of the co-decision procedure involving Parliament and the Council for the adoption of Community legislation;

- enshrinement in the treaty of Parliament's involvement in the appointment of the Commission (vote of confidence) and its President;

- extension of majority voting in the Council, particularly to all social and environmental matters;

and welcomes the fact that the Belgian Chamber of Representatives has joined the Italian Parliament in declaring that it will not approve ratification of the new treaty unless it is approved by the European Parliament;

IV. As regards federalism

21. Recalls that the federal objective has been present right from the creation of the Community when, in the Schuman Declaration, the French Government proposed the establishment of a Coal and Steel Community as the first step towards a European Federation, and is still supported by an overwhelming majority of Europe's major political parties which, in the European Parliament, have called on the IGCs to establish a 'union of federal type';

22. Points out that the Community already possesses a number of federal characteristics, but does not yet have the full range of powers which should, under the subsidiarity principle, be allocated to it, and exercises its responsibilities in a manner which is neither sufficiently efficient nor sufficiently democratic;

23. Confirms its endorsement of a federal structure for Europe, stresses that federalism does not imply the creation of a unitary super-state, but rather the establishment of a federation of states and nations, each retaining its own identity and with powers distributed in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, and recalls its undertaking to draw up a draft Constitution;

V. As regards external relations

24. Welcomes the declarations made at the Summit on human rights, improved arrangements for providing emergency aid via the United Nations, the non-proliferation of weapons and arms exports;

25. Notes the increasing number of statements concerning external relations with reference to the USSR, the European Economic Area, Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, the Middle East, the Western Sahara, Algeria, the United States, Canada, Japan and Southern Africa, which demonstrate that the European Community is increasingly coming to play a genuine role in international relations, but deplores the lack of proposals on Ethiopia and Cyprus;

VI. As regards the Dutch Presidency

26. Urges the Dutch Presidency of the Council to do its utmost to ensure that the impetus provided at Rome in December 1990 is amplified at Maastricht at the end of the year by taking greater account of the legitimate demands of the European Parliament, which represents the interest of the Community's citizens, and to achieve a proper balance in Community legislation between the liberalizing measures needed to complete the single market and the social measures needed to ensure that that market operates to the benefit of all European citizens; without the latter, the former will be jeopardized;

27. Supports the request of the President of the Commission for the European Environment Agency to be taken out of global negotiations on the seats of the Community Institutions because of the urgent need to make this body operational;

28. Calls on the Presidency to take steps to ensure that the conditions for reaching an agreement within GATT are finally met at the summit of industrialized countries in London;

29. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the Heads of State or Government of the Member States.