B3-0498, 0500 and 0510/94

Resolution on the European Council in Corfu

The European Parliament,

-having regard to those provisions of the Treaty on European Union which have not yet been implemented, and in particular Articles 138c, 145 and 8b(1) of the EC Treaty, and the provisions concerning the implementation of the common foreign and security policy, of Economic and Monetary Union and of cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs,

-having regard to its resolution of 21 April 1994 on the investiture of the Commission,

A.whereas unemployment, social exclusion, threats to social security achievements, the increasing strength of extremism, xenophobia and racism are undermining the European Union from within; whereas the Union must tackle these problems with determination,

B.whereas the EU should respond to the challenge of instability in a number of regions and the savage wars at its gates and elsewhere in the world,

C.whereas the EU should assume the consequences of enlargement by taking the necessary steps to strengthen the Union and should play its role in the world economic order,

D.whereas the EU is based on the values of democracy, human and individual rights and tolerance,

E.whereas the Parliament to be elected will be called upon to deliver its opinion on the person whom the governments of the Member States intend to appoint as President of the new Commission,

1.Insists that the Member States of the EU make it quite clear to the President of the Italian Republic that his government must remain faithful to the fundamental values underlying the creation of the European Community;

A.regarding the Institutions

2.Looks to the European Council to nominate without delay a candidate for appointment as President of the Commission so as to enable Parliament, at its July part-session, to respond to the consultation provided for in Article 158 of the EC Treaty;

3.Insists that the decision on the new President of the Commission should be taken on the basis of criteria aimed at guaranteeing the Commission's total independence of the governments of the Member States and a lasting commitment to a more democratic Union, with particular regard to the next reform planned for 1996;

4.Reiterates its belief that the preparations for the 1996 IGC should be entrusted to a Committee of Wise Men made up of persons nominated by the three Institutions and working on the basis of proposals emanating from the European Parliament; the role of the Committee of Wise Men should be to deliver an opinion on the timescale and method of reforms, which cannot remain purely intergovernmental, and on the political objectives of the Union; calls for a delegation which reflects the diversity of opinions within Parliament to assist in the work of this group;

5.Stresses that the provisions of the Treaty on European Union should enter into force as soon as possible, particularly those on which an interinstitutional agreement is required (e.g. committees of inquiry, commitology); condemns, in this respect, the negative attitude of the Council;

B.regarding the economic situation

6.Calls on the Heads of State or Government to instruct the ECOFIN ministers to adopt, as soon as possible, the budgetary and financial measures to implement the proposals contained in the White Paper, in particular those relating to major networks, and small and medium-sized undertakings: the conclusions of earlier European Councils should be effectively implemented as soon as is reasonably possible; calls for genuine cooperation as a means of better coordinating economic policies while respecting the rights of the European Parliament, and calls for the adoption of measures designed to implement a global strategy to enhance European competitiveness;

7.Calls on the European Council to remind the ministers meeting in Council, and the ECOFIN Council in particular, not to oppose full implementation of the decisions taken at the Brussels European Council in connection with the Commission's White Paper, particularly with regard to borrowings;

8.Calls for the adoption of those measures currently before the Council, in order to complete the internal market, with particular reference to:

-the directive on European works councils,

-the statute for a European company, cooperative society and other undertakings in the mutual sector,

-measures in support of women's rights (for example parental leave and atypical forms of employment),

-the action programme against social exclusion;

9.Calls for a joint meeting of EU ministers of finance and of social affairs to coordinate and implement the White Paper's recommendations;

C.regarding the People's Europe

10.Calls for a precise calendar to be drawn up for the Union's accession to the European Convention on Human Rights and for:

-ratification by all the Member States of the Dublin Convention on the right of asylum,

-finalization of the work on the conventions on the crossing of external frontiers, the European information system and the regulation on visas,

-implementation by the Member States of measures intended to create an area without internal frontiers;

11.Calls on the European Council to issue a clear mandate for a proposal for a directive against racism and xenophobia;

12.Calls for a joint meeting of EU ministers for home affairs and of justice in order to achieve genuine and specific progress in line with the expectations of the citizens of Europe;

D.regarding external relations

13.Calls for action to be taken in respect of the appropriate enlargement procedures in respect of Cyprus and Malta in order to maintain the geopolitical balance of the European Union;

14.Calls for an evaluation of external policies and hopes for a more ambitious form of EU action, the creation of a stability pact and the setting up of agreements with the countries of the Mediterranean basin, and for the World Trade Organization to take account of environmental and social aspects;

15.Calls on the European Council to take emergency joint action under the CFSP in order to cope with the humanitarian disaster in Rwanda and calls on the Member States to put pressure on the UN Security Council to respond to the appeal launched by its Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali;

16.Insists that, in cooperation with the UNCHR and the Government of Tanzania, the EU should mount a joint action to provide relief for the refugees in Tanzania which is commensurate with the scale and urgency of the problem;

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17.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and governments of the Member States and of the countries about to join the Union, and to present it to the European Council in Corfu.