Address by
the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
Ms. Sandra Kalniete,
representative of the Latvian government to the European Convention

Brussels, May 31, 2003

concerning the draft articles of the Constitutional Treaty
on enhanced cooperation

Mr. President

Colleagues,

I would like to begin by expressing support for retaining the mechanism of enhanced cooperation in the draft Constitutional Treaty. I think it is very important to preserve certain flexibility in the operations of the Union. Moreover, I believe that enhanced cooperation will assist further progressive integration within the European Union. We must take into account the growing number of Member States, their different objectives and specific needs.

There are some points to which I would like to draw your attention.

Firstly, I strongly welcome the abolition of the current pillar system, which will entail placing enhanced cooperation within a single framework structure. I believe that this will ensure greater clarity and simplicity in the Union's operations and, as well as the more precise application of enhanced cooperation.

Secondly, support should be given to strengthening the role of the Commission in enhanced cooperation. The Commission should play the role of arbitrator between participating and non-participating states. Furthermore it should guarantee that the interests of the Union as a whole are protected. Therefore I welcome the establishment of a single decision-making procedure for actions falling within the current first and third pillars. In accordance to this single procedure, the Commission would have discretionary power to initiate and take decisions on subsequent participation.

Finally, I think that the principle of the minimum threshold number of the Member States initiating enhanced cooperation should be maintained as set out in the Treaty of Nice. Therefore, I would like to propose that a minimum threshold of one half instead of one third of the Member States be fixed, as proposed in the draft Constitutional Treaty.

Thank you for your attention!