About: German presidency
Time to move on – The EU after the German Presidency
In this July 2007 online dossier, Marco Overhaus and Hanns W. Maull of Deutsche-Aussenpolitik.de take ''a first systematic stock'' of Germany's EU Presidency - which ended on 31 June 2007 - by comparing the ''stated goals before the presidency'' with ''the actual results at the end of the term''.
Portugal set to wrestle with energy, climate proposals
With climate change high on the agenda, the Portuguese Presidency will take a first stab at the Commission's package of legislative proposals on energy, scheduled for release in September.MEPs hail Merkel’s Reform Treaty success
The European Parliament gave a broadly positive verdict on the Reform Treaty deal struck by the German Presidency at the EU Summit on 21-23 June.CEPS proposal on weighting votes in the Council
A double-majority system with a safety clause could overcome Poland's request for a square root voting system in the Council, claim Daniel Gros, Sebastian Kurpas and Mika Widgren in a June 2007 paper for the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).The EU needs a new Treaty
The EU is in urgent need of a new Treaty, argue Richard Baldwin and Mika Widgren in a June paper for the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) in London. The new Treaty simply must reform the current EU decision-making system, whatever other 'filler' items it may contain, the paper insists.Institutional deadlock and the June Summit
It should be possible to reach an agreement over the stalled Constitutional Treaty at the June Summit if two sets of conditions are satisfied, write Sebastian Kurpas and Stefano Micossi in a May 2007 paper for the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS).Poland threatens to block EU Treaty negotiations
Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski dismissed EU leaders' hopes of finding a swift solution to the institutional impasse, saying that new treaty negotiations could take up to a year. European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering warned that a Polish veto would 'put Europe into a crisis'.Brown, Blair and the Constitutional Treaty
Prime Minister Tony Blair believes that no referendum on the Constitutional Treaty would need to be held in the UK if, instead of attempting revive the original wide-ranging Treaty, the members states now simply agreed on a series of amendments, writes Brendan Donnelly of the Federal Union.Parliament pushes for ‘Treaty plus’
MEPs have threatened to vote down a new EU Treaty that would fail to preserve the key elements of the draft EU Constitution, as Parliament struggles to make its voice heard ahead of the June Summit on institutional reform.Poland urged to ease Treaty stance
European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi have called on the 'naysayers' to drop their resistance to institutional reforms ahead of a decisive EU Summit on 21-22 June.
‘Amato group’ puts forward new Treaty proposal
Ahead of the June Summit, which is set to put the Union on the road for a new Treaty, a group of high-level politicians and EU officials has put forward its own optimised, streamlined version.Europe’s future – a road map to a new Treaty
A solution to the EU's Constitutional crisis is within reach if leaders concentrate on a short treaty designed to make the Union work better, claims a Friends of Europe discussion paper, published in May 2007. A divided Europe is the risk of failure on the constitutional issue, the report declares.Italian and Czech PMs clash over EU Constitution
The two heads of government exposed their opposing views on how to proceed with the Constitutional Treaty and clashed on the issues of voting rights, division of competences and symbols in the current text.
Portugal urges progress on new Treaty at EU ‘mini-summit’
At an informal EU meeting in Portugal, Prime Minister José Sócrates urged Germany to obtain a 'precise mandate' under its presidency in order to advance institutional changes for the enlarged EU.Steinmeier: June Summit will be ‘solidarity test’
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier pleaded for more solidarity within the EU ahead of the European Summit, as the Czech government teams up with the Poles to open up the voting-rights issue in the new treaty.
Barroso backs down on informal EU Treaty ‘Summit’
Commission President José Manuel Barroso changed his plans to hold informal talks with a hand-picked group of key EU leaders on the stalled EU Constitution, after controversy broke out over the number of invitees.Turkey frustrated over EU-accession talks
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has underlined the need for the EU and Turkey to 'edge closer', following Ankara's harsh criticism of the current Turkish EU-membership talks.
Barroso presses for new EU Treaty by 2009
Commission President José Manuel Barroso has called on EU leaders to follow an ambitious road map to put a new treaty in place by 2009 and has warned against reopening issues already agreed in the Constitutional Treaty.
Merkel wants EU leaders to stick to 2009 treaty deadline
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has exhorted European leaders to overcome internal problems in order to make the EU fit to face the challenges of globalisation, after an EU Summit in Berlin had agreed to institutional reform by 2009.Europe set for constitutional revamp?
The Berlin Declaration has set out a timeline for an institutional renewal of the EU by 2009. However, opinions differ as to what should be included in the new EU Treaty.
EU leaders set 2009 deadline for institutional reform
Celebrating the EU's 50th anniversary at an informal summit in Berlin, EU leaders on 25 March 2007 vowed to have a new treaty in place by 2009.