The President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso on Wednesday urged European Union (EU) member states to reach agreement on the Reform Treaty and respond to globalization.
Barroso made the appeal at a press conference one day before the EU heads of state and government gather on Oct. 18-19 in Lisbon to expectedly approve the Reform treaty, a watered-down version of the rejected EU constitution.
"The informal Summit will address two crucial issues: the Reform Treaty and Europe's response to globalization," he said, adding "We need a decisive response on both."
On the treaty, he said, "My message is clear. We need to put this institutional debate behind us. We cannot spend all our time discussing institutions. We have spent six years discussing the institutional architecture. It is time to move on."
"We have a good agreement on the table," Barroso said, "I believe it is the best deal that is on offer."
He said the EU "needs the Reform Treaty to give our citizens a Europe that is equipped with strong and effective institutions that enhance our capacity to act. Not a treaty for the sake of a treaty, but an instrument to deliver policies for the 21st century."
"I therefore appeal to all heads of state and government to honor the commitment that they made in June," he said, "There are no reasons, no excuses not to solve this issue this week."
The informal EU summit in Lisbon is supposed to approve the treaty, but some problems and obstacles potentially blocking its approval have remained.
"I understand that there are still points to settle. But this will not be the Battle of Lisbon. Everyone has the potential to leave Lisbon as a winner this week," Barroso said.
He noted, "From the extensive contacts that I have taken, both in meetings and on the telephone, I believe there is no one that wants a failure."
The EU foreign ministers failed on Monday and Tuesday at a Luxembourg meeting, which was designed to make preparations for the summit, to solve problems mainly coming from Poland, Britain and Italy.
Poland demands a clause, the so-called "Ioannina" mechanism, that allows a minority group of states disagreeing with a resolution to freeze it for a considerable period of time, be written in the treaty text.
Italy is urging the EU leaders not to vote for the redistribution of the seats in the European Parliament because the distribution, based on each state's population, would give Italy fewer seats than France and Britain.
Britain would not give up its "red lines," which cover national sovereignty in justice and home affairs, insisting that it would not sign up to the part of the Reform Treaty that deals with security.
"A new Treaty should finalize the debate on changing institutions," Barroso said, adding that it would allow "us to concentrate on changing Europe and changing the world for the better."
"The question we face is how we can move on from the Reform Treaty to the Reform of Europe," he said.
On Europe's response to globalization, the commission president said that the Union's overriding purpose in 2007 "is clear - to shape and respond to globalization, in the European interest, in the interest of our citizens."
He said that it was the theme of the paper -- "the European interest: succeeding in the age of globalization" that his commission submitted for discussion by EU leaders in Lisbon.
Barroso said that he would focus on two issues in the paper at the summit: the recent financial market developments and climate change.
"Globalization touches every citizen. So our response to it must be about enhancing daily lives," he said.
Barroso said that the European interest "is about being open," as "the road towards protectionism may seem to some like an escape route from a complex world."
He noted that "protectionism does not protect" but "means impoverishment and instability."
Multilateralism was the only effective way to tackle global challenges like climate change, trade, development and migration, he said.
"Globalization and climate change are not separate issues" he said, "Fighting climate change is an integral part of our endeavors to shape globalization."
"We need the EU to speak with the single strong voice to deliver global leadership. We need more efficient and democratic decision-making to deliver policy results that benefit our citizens. That is why we need agreement this Friday or if possible this Thursday on the Reform Treaty," he concluded.
Source: Xinhua
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