The conclusions of the spring European Council meeting held on 13 and 14 March 2008 will be presented by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia and the current President of the European Council, Janez Janša, at an extraordinary part-session of the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday 26 March 2008.
With the adoption of decisions in three key areas, the Slovenian Presidency is convinced that Europe’s leaders have given the European Union the wherewithal to continue to tackle global challenges and have again demonstrated the EU’s leading role in combating climate change.
At the spring European Council, the EU Heads of State and Government confirmed the timetable for the adoption of the climate and energy package (agreement on the content of the package by the end of 2008, enabling the package to be adopted as early as possible in 2009) and the fundamental principles which should be the basis for agreement (economic performance and cost-effectiveness; solidarity and equity in burden sharing; transparency). The climate and energy package represents a major, but feasible, step forwards and an appropriate starting point for an agreement by means of which Europe can prove it still has a leading role in international negotiations on a global agreement for the post-2012 period.
The European Council also launched the new cycle of the Lisbon Strategy, on the basis of which more than 6 million new jobs have been created in the European Union and the unemployment rate has reached its lowest level in the last 25 years. The EU leaders emphasised that the Lisbon Strategy was working well but pointed out that, given the increasing uncertainty in the international economic environment, we need to proceed resolutely with reforms.
At its spring meeting, the European Council also stressed that the timely disclosure of risks and losses by banks and other financial institutions was essential in order to restore confidence in the financial markets; it called upon the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) to focus on the following four areas when taking regulatory and supervisory actions: enhancing transparency for investors, markets and regulators; improving valuation standards, in particular the valuation of illiquid assets; reinforcing the prudential framework and risk management in the financial sector; and improving market functioning, including the role of ratings agencies.
The European leaders were also acquainted with the proposal for the establishment of a ‘Union for the Mediterranean’ and, in this connection, undertook to pursue the European Union’s upgrading of the previous Barcelona Process and to include all the EU Member States and the non-EU coastal Mediterranean States.
Discussions at the European Council were dominated by environment and energy issues. The Member States and the European institutions have made a commitment to set an example by reducing energy consumption in their buildings and reducing their vehicle fleets. The President of the European Council, Mr Janez Janša, invited all the citizens of Europe to undertake ‘environmental commitments’. The Slovenian Presidency believes that every individual can, with very little effort or cost, help reduce their own carbon footprint through simple methods such as using energy-saving light bulbs, turning down the heating somewhat or turning off the tap while cleaning their teeth.
Programme:
Wednesday 26 March 2008
14:00–16:30 | Extraordinary Session of the European Parliament
- opening address by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia and President of the European Council, Mr Janez Janša
- questions from the political groups and MEPs
- closing speech by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia and President of the European Council, Mr Janez Janša
Venue: European Parliament, Brussels
Live broadcast of the session on: European Parliament Website.
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