THE UK PRESIDENCY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Presentation by Jeremy Hill, British Ambassador, on 1 July
Minister, Your Excellencies, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,


Tributes


I would first like to pay a warm tribute to the outgoing Luxembourg Presidency, which has been led in Bulgaria by the Dutch Embassy and their Ambassador, Baroness Henriette van Lynden. I congratulate them on their efforts. Baroness van Lynden herself will shortly be leaving Bulgaria. I wish her every success for the future. It is a pleasure to share this platform with Mrs Meglena Kuneva. I would like to pay a warm tribute to her as well for her tireless efforts on behalf of Bulgaria.


Programme of the UK Presidency


It falls today to the United Kingdom to assume the Presidency of the European Union.
I am grateful for the opportunity to present to you our programme.


Accession of Bulgaria and Romania


We will continue strongly to support the process of accession of Bulgaria and Romania.
The next six months will mark a critical stage in that process. The Commission will produce its next Monitoring report in late October. Most member states will start their procedures for ratification of the Accession Treaty in the autumn. It remains particularly important for Bulgaria to press ahead urgently with the necessary reforms. The Commission's letter to Bulgaria on 9 June highlighted areas of particular priority. These included judicial reform, agriculture, intellectual property rights, the environment and services.

It also emphasised the importance of strengthening administrative and judicial capacity to ensure the implementation and enforcement of European rules after accession.

Once a new government is formed, these issues will need to be urgently addressed. The agreed deadlines will need to be met.


Spreading information


We will work with a new Bulgarian government and the European Commission to provide more information to people about the European Union. The outgoing Presidency, the Bulgarian government and the Commission have been extremely active on this. We will continue that work.

Immediately after this meeting today, I will be travelling to Rousse. We are launching there this evening an information project, which will run throughout our Presidency. It will spread information, through the media, about the Presidency and the European Union.

In addition, on Friday, 15 July, I will join the launch of the EU travelling exhibition called "Europe on Wheels". This is an initiative of the Commission delegation, which forms part of their programme on information and communication.

Spreading information and expertise in Bulgaria about European funds will be a particular priority. We will work hard with the European Commission and the other Member States to meet that need. This need is perhaps particularly felt in the regions. I have been impressed by the commitment of the regional towns to prepare for entry into the European Union. I have also been impressed by the growing links between the regions of Bulgaria and regions in the rest of the European Union. We will seek to strengthen those links as well.


Turkey, Croatia and the Western Balkans


The agenda of enlargement not only concerns Bulgaria and Romania but also Croatia and Turkey. We will take the process forward with these countries on the basis of the agreed European Council conclusions. We hope that this will lead to the opening of negotiations with Turkey in early October.

We note that the last European Council also confirmed a European Union perspective for the other countries of the western Balkans.


Internal Agenda


We are aware that we inherit from the Luxembourg Presidency a challenging internal agenda.


Future Financing


We were disappointed by the failure of the last European Council to reach agreement on the budget for the period 2007-2013. We will do our best to reach agreement on Future Financing under our Presidency.


The Constitutional Treaty


Following the "no" votes in the French and Dutch referenda, there will be a period for reflection on the future of the Constitutional Treaty. Although some Member States may continue with their ratification procedures for the Constitutional Treaty, others have put their process on hold.


Response to Global Challenges


In this period of reflection, there are many issues to reflect on. One important issue is how Europe responds to globalisation. This is not just a question for the European Union. It is a question for every country in the world.

European countries face challenges not just from the large established economies such as Japan and America. They also face challenges from China, India and the South Asian economies.

China's trade is doubling every three years. World trade is rising nearly twice as fast as world output. This is not a matter of low skilled, low wage, mass production manufacturing. The universities of India and China are producing 4 million graduates a year.

As Presidency, we will press ahead with the debate on how Europe should respond to these challenges.

We will actively pursue what is called the Lisbon agenda - the programme of the European Union, which encourages economic reform, the creation of modern employment policies, greater investment in research and innovation, balanced by social policies fit for the 21st century. We welcome Bulgaria's commitment to the Lisbon agenda.
 
As Winston Churchill once said - Those who try to build the present in the image of the past will miss out entirely on the challenges of the future. Now is not the moment for nostalgia.


Better Regulation


We will seek to promote other reforms in the internal agenda of the European Union, many of which would create jobs and increase competitiveness.

We will work with the Commission to implement the agenda set out in its Communication on Better Regulation. In practice, this means testing European legislation for its impact on the EU's international competitiveness and the extent of its burden on business. We want to reduce the volume and complexity of European legislation.


The Services Directive


We also want to make progress with the Services Directive. Services account for two thirds of the GDP of the European Union. The Directive is an opportunity to make one of the biggest improvements to the Single Market since its original creation.


Europe's Role in the World


We want to enhance Europe's role in the world.


World Trade Talks


During our Presidency there will be a further round of world trade talks - a Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December. We want an outcome which leads to global economic growth and better access to markets for developing countries, in particular for the poorest nations of the world.


Africa


We want to tackle global poverty in other ways. The poorest continent is Africa. The European Union's target is double its aid to Africa by 2010. We will work to relieve debt, improve governance and combat disease.


G8 Presidency


We share the Presidency of the G8 group of countries at the same time as our Presidency of the European Union. There will be a summit of G8 countries in Scotland on 6 July.

Our Presidency of both international groupings will provide a unique opportunity to make progress with global issues.

We won't be the only ones concerned with world poverty. I am aware that campaigners for World Justice will tomorrow start a series of protests and pop concerts "Live 8" - entitled the Long Walk to Justice. They will take place in London, Berlin, Paris, Rome and other places across the world, with artists like Coldplay, the Scissor Sisters, Robbie Williams and the Stereophonies.


Climate Change


Among global issues, climate change will be another priority for both our UK and G8
Presidencies.

In short, the problem is this. The earth's temperature is rapidly increasing. Even if the minimum estimated trend takes place, the increase in the earth's temperature in this century will be higher than any trend in the last ten thousand years.

The principal cause of this is industrialization over the last 150 years: the burning of ever-greater quantities of oil, gasoline and coal, the cutting of forests, and unsustainable farming methods.

We want to discuss a long-term strategy for the next decade and ways of cutting emissions. We will address urgently the problem of aircraft emissions.


The External Agenda


In addition to enlargement, the European Union has a substantial external agenda - including relations with Iran, support for Iraq, the Middle East Peace Process, relations with Russia and the Ukraine, relations with the United States, relations with China, and relations with North Africa, including Libya.

One advantage of the European Union is that we carry much greater weight together than we do separately. As individual countries, we could not carry the same global influence.

Relations with Libya

Relations with Libya are of particular importance. We are profoundly aware of the suffering of the Bulgarian medics and the Palestinian doctor. We will work closely with the Bulgarian authorities for a resolution of their case. We will actively promote the EU Action Plan to assist the AIDS victims in Benghazi.


Terrorism, crime and security


Finally, we are conscious of the concerns of European citizens about terrorism, crime and security.

We will make progress on the Hague Work programme, the EU Counter Terrorism Action Plan and the European Evidence Warrant.

It is in the interests of all European countries to work together to combat crime and terrorism. We want to enhance the security of the external borders of the European Union. Here Bulgaria can be of particular assistance.


Working together


So we will have a busy agenda. Bulgaria now has observers in all formations of the Council of the European Union. So we are already consulting you and working together with you, in Brussels and here in Sofia. We each face challenges. Perhaps we should wish each other mutual success.