Ambassador's Corner 

WEEKLY MESSAGE FROM CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES ANGELOS PANGRATIS

December 4, 2009

Lisbon Treaty Becomes Reality

With the Lisbon Treaty now in effect since December 1, the 27 countries of the EU have a new blueprint for a Union that is more democratic, more accountable and more efficient.

The key reason for putting in motion the process that led to this Treaty was the need to meet the challenges of an expanded Union in an increasingly interdependent world. As the Union has grown, so have our tasks and responsibilities, to our citizens and to our partners around the world, commensurate with the economic size and political importance of the EU. Member States increasingly recognize the need to put their collective weight together to tackle more successfully particularly global and cross-border problems, such as climate change, energy security, the fight against crime and terrorism and many other issues.

The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty is also important because it brings to an end the long deliberative process about the institutional arrangements of the European Union that progressed in fits and starts for much of the last decade - from the Convention on the Future of Europe to the Constitution to the Lisbon Treaty and its ratification in all Member States. Now that the Lisbon Treaty is in effect, the EU can concentrate all its energy and attention on its real mission – promoting and upholding the values and prosperity of our citizens, developing, in a growing number of areas, joint policies and actions where we are more efficient working together than as individual countries.

Earlier this week, Catherine Ashton took up her very important new function as EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission. Speaking to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, she said:

"We are the biggest provider of humanitarian aid and project funding, We are a superpower economy with half a billion people, but are still accused of not punching our weight politically. My job is to make our voice stronger and more unified still. As underlined in the European Security Strategy, the European Union should become a more capable, more coherent and more strategic global actor."

For her full statement before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, please visit: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/030-65814-336-12-49-903-20091202IPR65813-02-12-2009-2009-true/default_en.htm .

The Delegation of the European Union

The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on December 1 has also meant an immediate change here in Washington as we became the "Delegation of the European Union" after decades as the "Delegation of the European Commission."

To mark the occasion, we hosted a small ceremony to unveil a new name plate for the Delegation's offices in Washington, DC. It was an "EU family" event with Member State Ambassadors and other diplomats, Delegation staff and other friends of Europe from the US Administration, Congress, State Department and the District of Columbia. In my remarks, I said that December 1 will be remembered in the history of the European integration as a milestone and that the true potential of the Lisbon Treaty will not be fully visible today or tomorrow but will gradually unfold in the coming years.

We were particularly pleased to welcome Congressman Robert Wexler [to right of Angelos Pangratis in photo], Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Europe, who has been such a true friend and steadfast champion of the transatlantic relationship over several years. As he helped me unveil our new name plate, he reminded us all that "the success of the EU is America's success and only together can the United States and the European Union, as equal partners in a successful transatlantic partnership, address the economic, political and security challenges we face today."

President Barroso Presents New Team

Last week, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso presented his new team and their portfolios. The new "College" of Commissioners will have 27 members, including President Barroso: one from each EU Member State. In January, the Commissioners-designate will have hearings with the European Parliament and once the European Parliament has given its vote of consent, the College can take office.

The Commission's job is to represent and promote the common European interest. The Commission has the right of initiative in the lawmaking process and can propose legislation for the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers to adopt. The Commission is also responsible for putting the EU's common policies (like trade, the Common Agricultural Policy and the growth and jobs strategy) into practice and manages the EU's budget and programs.

President Barroso made it clear that he wants his new team of Commissioners to generate fresh thinking and new ideas on the biggest challenges Europe faces: "I have put together a strong Commission to fill the enhanced role of Europe, including on the world stage, provided by the Lisbon Treaty."

For his second mandate, President Barroso has announced a number of new portfolios (for example Climate Action; Home Affairs; Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship), and has reconfigured others (for example, Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth; Health and Consumer Policy; Industry and Entrepreneurship; Research and Innovation; International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. There will also be a Digital Agenda portfolio.) To find out more about the next Commission, please visit http://ec.europa.eu/commission_designate_2009-2014/index_en.htm .

Afghanistan

President Obama announced his new strategy on Afghanistan earlier this week. The EU promptly welcomed the announcement "at a time of renewed focus and engagement by the international community as a whole." As Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfelt pointed out during the EU-US summit in Washington on November 3, there are around 35,000 European troops in Afghanistan, and Europe (EU and its Member States) provides assistance of around one billion euro per year to the development of Afghanistan. Please read the entire Presidency statement online at: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/cfsp/111660.pdf .

Copenhagen Conference

With the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen starting next Monday, the countdown to this important gathering has entered its final stage.

The EU's position is very clear: We need a global, ambitious, comprehensive and legally binding international treaty that will prevent global warming from reaching dangerous levels. In concrete terms, this means that the global warming average temperature must be kept from rising more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels in order to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.

The EU has shown leadership by unconditionally putting in place policies and legislation to cut our emissions to at least 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. And we are committed to cutting emissions by 30 percent provided that other industrialized countries agree to comparable reductions and developing countries contribute adequately to a global deal.

New projections released last month show that the 15 EU Member States that collectively signed up to the Kyoto Protocol will meet their 8 percent emissions reduction target compared with their level of emissions in 1990. Ten of the 12 Member States that joined the EU after Kyoto also have individual commitments under the protocol, and it is projected that they will reduce their emissions to 6 or 8 percent on the same basis.

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso this week reminded people that the Copenhagen Conference "…is also an historic opportunity to draw the roadmap to a global low-carbon society, and in so doing unleash a wave of innovation that can revitalize our economies through the creation of new, sustainable growth sectors and 'green collar' jobs."

According to a new Eurobarometer Survey, Europeans remain highly concerned about climate change and they believe that fighting it can help boost economic growth. [http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1858&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en]

We have also issued this week a number of other interesting publications including:

Explaining the Treaty of Lisbon
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/09/531&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

The EU Road to Copenhagen: Key Objectives
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/09/534&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

High Representative Catherine Ashton Condemns Terrorist Attack in Somalia http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cmsUpload/091203%20Mogadishu%20Terrorist%20Attack.pdf

Please send me your comments about this or any of my weekly messages or other EU matters. I look forward to hearing from you!