Briefing the Brussels press on the outcome of the one-day seminar of the Commission on 20 September, President Barroso confirmed that his Commission has given up on the idea of having a new Constitution in place within the next 2-3 years. "We don't need a philosophical debate on the future of Europe," said Mr Barroso, "we need to get Europe back to work".
He urged the UK Presidency to do its utmost to broker a deal on the budget planning for 2007-2013 (the 'financial perspective') before the end of the year and warned that failure to do so would have serious social consequences for the new member states.
Putting Europe's challenges in the context of globalisation, the Commission President highlighted the need for Europe: "The member states cannot act alone," he said.
He also insisted again on the need to legislate less. "Bureaucracies have a tendency to legislate for the pleasure of it," he stated. Next week, the Commission is expected to withdraw 70 legislative proposals currently in the pipeline. On the other hand, the commission wants to "unblock" two important dossiers: the service directive and REACH, the EU's new chemicals legislation.
Last but not least, the Commission agreed that Commissioner Wallström should put her "plan D" into operation and help member states organise national debates on European policies (see EurActiv 21 September 2005).
