Danish presidency: 1 July 2002 - 31 December 2002
Danes finalise enlargement process
The European Council met in Copenhagen on 12 and 13 December 2002. The accession negotiations with Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia were signed and completed. The Presidency Conclusions state: "Today marks an unprecedented and historic milestone in completing this process […] The Union now looks forward to welcoming these States as members from 1 May 2004. This achievement testifies to the common determination of the peoples of Europe to come together in a Union that has become the driving force for peace, democracy, stability and prosperity on our continent. As fully fledged members of a Union based on solidarity, these States will play a full role in shaping the further development of the European project".
See http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/ec/73774.pdf for the whole text of the document.
Results of Health Council, 2 December 2002
Ministers agreed on a Directive banning tobacco advertising (to be implemented in 2005) in print media, radio and on the internet as well as sponsorship of events with cross-border implications by tobacco companies. Ministers also adopted a recommendation on smoking prevention which complements the tobacco advertising directive. The Council adopted a resolution on the EU consumer policy strategy 2002-2006 welcoming and supporting the strategy. Ministers also agreed on Council Conclusions on obesity.
The Presidency presented a progress report on the human cells directive, the Commission had proposed a directive on quality and safety standards for human tissue and cells used in medical therapy in June 2002 (see IP/02/894). The European Parliament has not yet finished its First Reading so ministers could not reach any definitive conclusions. Commissioner Byrne gave an update on the High Level Reflection Process on Healthcare.
Full conclusions of the meeting : http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/lsa/73454.pdf
Greek presidency: 1 January - 30 June 2003
Greece presents its "five priorities" for the forthcoming Presidency of the EU
Presenting the Presidency’s five priorities, Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou said the aim was to "build a community that reflects our shared values and is capable of projecting them on the world stage". However, Papandreou cautioned against "creating new borders and walls in Europe". Athens aims to stick to the Copenhagen timetable on enlargement, and wants to "move ahead with the pre-accession strategy for Bulgaria and Romania" and to "make progress with a new partnership with Turkey".
The second priority is to meet the objectives set out in Lisbon in 2000 on economic competitiveness, employment, social cohesion and sustainable development. Third, Greece aims to control migration and deal with the problems presented by illegal immigration. "Progress has been made, but we want to complete this", said Prime Minister Costas Simitis. On Europe’s future, Greece’s aim is to promote the emergence of "new and effective policies" to boost the Union’s "democratic and social face" and "make it more powerful internationally. The fifth - and key - plank of the Greek Presidency would be foreign policy. "European foreign policy will be at a peak in the coming six months because of Iraq. The Greek Presidency must work hard on the unanimity and the image the EU will project on the issue", according to Minister Yiannitsis Tassos.
The Greek Foreign Minister George A. Papandreou will be taking the place of current Greek representative Giorgos Katiforis on the EU Convention’s Presidium committee. Mr Katiforis is also the Chairman of the Working Group on "Social Europe". He is recently quoted in the Financial Times as being in favour of a stronger role for health in the Convention. "There’s no reason I can think of why we can’t introduce some more competences on health," he said. It is still unconfirmed as to whether Mr Papandreou will be taking Mr Katiforis’ place here as well.
The working group is of particular interest to health advocates since its aim is to discuss the "values and objectives" of the EU and the Union’s competences in those fields. In the draft Constitutional text produced in November 2002, health is not listed as one of the core values of the Convention. Should Mr Papandreou succeed Mr Katiforis as Chairman of the Working Group, health advocates will be working hard to brief Mr Papandreou and his "Social Europe" team to ensure that health become a core value.
