Steven Vanackere meets European Parliament delegation
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Steven Vanackere and the State Secretary for European Affairs Olivier Chastel today received a delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO), headed by the Committee’s chairman Mr Carlo Casini.
For Minister Vanackere, this informal discussion was an important step in preparing for Belgium’s European Presidency, since the Lisbon Treaty has conferred on the European Parliament substantial new powers.
Belgium is committed to working as effectively as possible with the European Parliament, taking full account of the new prerogatives acquired by the latter under the Lisbon Treaty. Several of the topics due to be discussed at the European Union’s General Affairs Council, which is chaired by Steven Vanackere with Olivier Chastel representing Belgium, will also be dealt with by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs. These include the new European diplomatic service (European External Action Service), led by the High Representative Catherine Ashton, which is designed to make the EU’s external action more coherent and dynamic. The European Parliament, Council and Commission are currently discussing how the Service will operate in practice, but all those involved agree that it must be up and running as soon as possible.
A second key topic of discussion was the role of the future Belgian rotating Presidency in relation to the new institutional players, namely the permanent President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and Catherine Ashton. Minister Vanackere made it clear that during its Presidency Belgium would act in complete accordance with the new institutional set-up resulting from the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and would assist Mr Rompuy and Lady Ashton in whatever way possible.
A third issue addressed was the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), an innovation introduced by the Lisbon Treaty which will allow Europe’s citizens to petition the European Commission to draw up proposed legislation in areas for which it has responsibility. Minister Vanackere and State Secretary Chastel stressed that Belgium would cooperate constructively to give substance to the ECI.
Belgium’s domestic political situation was also discussed briefly during the meeting. Steven Vanackere assured the parliamentary delegation that preparations for the Presidency were on track. For its part, the European Parliament delegation confirmed that it had every confidence in the success of the Belgian Presidency.