Davignon report

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Davignon Report (also Luxembourg Report ) of October 27, 1970 was the basis for the creation of European Political Cooperation , which was established on the occasion of the Copenhagen Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the European Communities in July 1973. The report was prepared by a committee headed by Étienne Davignon , after whom it was named.

European political cooperation

“ The Luxembourg report of the foreign ministers of the six member states of October 27, 1970, on the basis of which cooperation was officially started, can be seen as the hour of birth of the EPC. "

European Political Cooperation (EPZ) was originally an intergovernmental coordination of the EC member states in the field of foreign policy, which took place outside the legal framework of the European Community. The EPZ was therefore only informal and voluntary and was at the Paris conference on 9/10 December 1974 moved to the European Council .

History (brief overview)

1950 to 1969

As early as the 1950s, attempts were made to create a European Political Community (EPG) as a "bracket" between the Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Defense Community (EVG). However, this did not succeed.

In the context of the Fouchet plans (1960/1962), (loose) intergovernmental political coordination was also to arise.

According to Walter Hallstein , the organization of the European Communities is “eavesdropped” on the federal state and “the European Economic Community is the first half of the so-called“ political union ”, namely the domestic political union; it is the economic and socio-political union. ”The EPZ is the beginning of the foreign policy component of the communities and has not yet been completed.

1969

Already at the conference in The Hague from 1./2. December 1969 , possibilities of approximating the foreign policies of the member states in a cooperation procedure were sought. The heads of state and government instructed the foreign ministers to examine the possibility of closer integration in the political sphere as well (Hague Communiqué).

1970

In their report of October 27, 1970, presented in Luxembourg, the foreign ministers of the EC member states proposed a resolution to the governments on cooperation in foreign policy. Through this the European Political Cooperation (EPZ) was founded.

Purpose and cause of foreign policy cooperation

purpose

The purpose of foreign policy cooperation is

  • by voting,
  • Information exchange and
  • common appearance of the member states

to gain more impact on foreign policy in international organizations, at conferences and negotiations.

Foreign policy cooperation should represent the same point of view and coordinate these in the event of a vote. Through the joint appearance and coordinated approach, the international “weight” of the European Communities towards the USA and Canada , Japan , the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc as well as China should be increased.

root cause

The cause of the foreign policy cooperation of the member states of the European Communities was mainly due to the common economic and political problems. Therefore, these topics were also dominant during the first years of the establishment of foreign policy cooperation:

  • trade policy coordination,
  • Energy problems (especially oil supply - energy crisis ),
  • Disarmament policy and the détente policy of the world powers (at that time the USA and the Soviet Union, for example within the framework of the CSCE ), the problem in the Middle East among others

The Davignon report

The first report by the foreign ministers to the heads of state and government of the EC member states of October 27, 1970 is understood as the Davignon report or the Luxembourg report.

The foreign ministers of the six EC member states had finally adopted the report of July 20, 1970 on behalf of their governments in Luxembourg on October 27, 1970, in accordance with Section 15 of the Hague Communiqué. The conference of foreign ministers was chaired by the German Federal Foreign Minister, Walter Scheel .

The Davignon Report was published on October 30, 1970.

Scope and content of the Davignon report

The report consists of four parts:

  • First part - preamble and three statements
  • Part two - measures
  • Third part - progress, further development
  • Fourth part - interaction, ministerial meeting, political committee

(verbatim rendering of all four parts :)

First part

1. The Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the European Communities were entrusted by the Heads of State or Government, meeting in The Hague on December 1 and 2, 1969, with examining the question of “how, in the perspective of enlargement” of the European Communities, “on best progress can be made in the field of political unification ”.

2. In fulfilling this mandate, the Ministers were careful to uphold the spirit of the Hague Communiqué. The Heads of State and Government noted in particular that the construction of Europe has reached “a turning point in its history” with the entry into the final phase of the common market; They declared that “the European Communities remain the original core from which European unity has developed and flourished”; they finally expressed their determination to "pave the way for a united Europe that can take responsibility for tomorrow's world and make a contribution that is in keeping with its tradition and its mission".

3. The heads of state or government emphasized: “If an unusual source of development, progress and culture is not to dry up, if the balance of the world is to be maintained and peace is to be preserved, then, according to their common conviction, a Europe is indispensable, the states united in itself, whose essential interests coincide while preserving national characteristics, a Europe which is certain of its own cohesion, which stands by its friendships with other states and which is aware of its task, international detente and understanding among peoples - primarily between the peoples of the whole European continent. "

4. Aware of the responsibility which it owes due to its economic development, its industrial potential and its standard of living, a united Europe is willing to increase its efforts for the benefit of the developing countries in order to establish relationships of trust between peoples.

5. A united Europe must be based on the common heritage of respect for freedom and human rights and must unite democratic states with freely elected parliaments. This united Europe remains the ultimate goal, which must be achieved as soon as possible through the political will of the peoples and the decisions of their governments.

6. In order to preserve the continuity and political objectives of the European plan so strongly affirmed at the Hague Conference, the Ministers therefore took the view that their proposals should be based on three observations.

7. First observation: In the spirit of the preambles of the Treaties of Paris and Rome, the will for political unification, which has relentlessly promoted the progress of the European Communities, must take shape.

8. Second observation: the practical implementation of the common policy already being pursued or emerging in certain sub-areas requires corresponding developments in the actual political area in order to move closer to the point in time when Europe can speak with one voice; That is why it is important to build Europe in successive stages and gradually develop the most suitable method and the most suitable instruments that enable a common political approach.

9. Last observation: Europe must prepare itself to assume the responsibilities which it is not only obliged but also obliged to assume because of its increased cohesion and its increasingly important role in the world.

10. Current developments in the European Communities require the Member States to step up their political cooperation; in a first stage they must create the practical conditions so that they can harmonize their views in the field of international politics.

It seemed to the ministers that concrete efforts were required, primarily in the field of foreign policy coordination, in order to demonstrate to the whole world that Europe had a political mission. The Ministers are convinced that progress in this direction would be suitable for promoting the further development of the communities and giving Europeans a more lively awareness of their shared responsibility.

Second part

The ministers propose the following:

In an effort to make progress in the field of political unification, governments resolve to cooperate on foreign policy.

I. Goals

This cooperation has the following goals:

  • to ensure better mutual understanding on the major problems of international politics through regular briefing and consultation;
  • the harmonization of points of view, the coordination of attitudes and, where this seems possible and desirable, encouraging joint action and thereby strengthening solidarity.
II. Ministerial meetings

1. At the initiative of the incumbent President, the Foreign Ministers meet at least every six months.

A conference of heads of state or government may be convened in place of the ministerial meetings if, in the opinion of the ministers, serious circumstances or the importance of the issues at issue justify this.

In the event of a serious crisis or special urgency, an extraordinary consultation is held between the governments of the Member States. The President-in-Office will liaise with his or her colleagues to determine the best methods of ensuring this consultation.

2. The Foreign Minister of the State presiding over the Council of the European Communities presides over the meetings.

3. The ministerial meeting prepares a committee consisting of the heads of the political departments.

III. The Political Committee

1. A committee made up of the heads of the political departments meets at least four times a year to prepare the meetings of the ministers and to carry out tasks assigned to it by the ministers.

Furthermore, the incumbent president can, after consulting his colleagues, call the committee to an extraordinary meeting on his own initiative or at the request of a member.

2. The chairmanship of this committee is regulated in accordance with the chairmanship of the ministerial meetings.

3. The committee can set up working groups for special tasks.

It can appoint a group of experts to collect material on a specific problem and point out possible solutions.

4. Any other form of consultation may be envisaged if necessary.

IV. Topics for consultation

Governments consult each other on all major foreign policy issues.

Member States can propose any question for political consultation.

V. The Commission of the European Communities

If the work of the ministers has an impact on the activities of the European Communities, the Commission is invited to comment.

VI. The European Parliamentary Assembly

In order to give political unification a democratic character, the public and its representatives must participate in it.

The ministers and the members of the Political Commission of the European Parliamentary Assembly meet every six months for a colloquium on issues that are the subject of consultations in the context of foreign policy cooperation. This colloquium is being held informally in order to give parliamentarians and ministers the opportunity to express their opinions freely.

VII. General provisions

1. As a rule, the meetings take place in the country whose representative is chairing the meeting.

2. The host state provides the secretariat and the material organization of the conference.

3. Each state appoints an official from its foreign ministry as an interlocutor for its colleagues from the other states.

third part

1. In order to ensure the continuity of the work begun, the Ministers intend to continue examining how best to make progress towards political agreement; they intend to submit a second report.

2. This examination also extends to improving external cooperation and identifying other areas in which progress could be made. It will have to take into account the work undertaken within the framework of the European Communities, especially those aimed at consolidating their structures and, if necessary, repairing them in this way to cope with the expansion and development of their tasks.

3. To this end, the Ministers instruct the Political Committee to organize its work in such a way that it can carry out this task and to report to them at each of its six-monthly meetings.

4. Once a year the President-in-Office of the Council sends a communication to the Parliamentary Assembly on the progress of this work.

5. Without prejudice to the possibility of submitting interim reports, if they deem it appropriate and the state of the investigation permits, the Foreign Ministers shall submit their second general report no later than two years after the start of the foreign policy consultation. This report aims to assess the results of the consultation.

fourth part

Proposals for the participation of the applicant countries in the work dealt with in Parts II and III of the report.

1. The Ministers emphasize the link between membership of the European Communities and participation in activities aimed at facilitating progress in the field of political unification.

2. Since the applicant countries will be consulted on the objectives and procedures described in this report and will have to adopt them once they have become members of the European Communities, it is necessary to keep these countries informed of developments in the work of the Six .

3. In view of these objectives, the following procedures are proposed to ensure that the applicant countries are informed:

a) Meetings of Ministers

The ministers set the time of their next meeting at each of their six-monthly meetings.

At the same time, they determine the date to be proposed for a ministerial meeting of the Ten. This should be as close as possible to the time of the six-day session, usually afterwards; the occasions on which the ten ministers or some of them meet anyway should be taken into account.

After the ministerial session of the Six, the President-in-Office shall communicate to the candidate countries the questions that the Ministers propose for the agenda of the Ministerial Session of the Ten and provide any further information that may be appropriate to make the exchange of views of the Ten as fruitful as possible.

In view of the fact that this information and exchange of views must be characterized by a certain degree of flexibility, it is assumed that they will be deepened after the signing of the agreements on the accession of the applicant states to the European Communities.

b) Meetings of the Political Committee

This provides the applicant states with the information that might interest them. The information is transmitted by the incumbent President, who also receives any reactions from these states. The President reports on this to the Political Committee.

See also

Web links

Davignon report (Luxembourg, October 27, 1970) CVCE

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On this report, see also the Bulletin of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government 1970, pp. 1589 ff. See also the Viterbo Conference of May 19, 1970.
  2. ^ So Hans von der Groeben and Hans Möller in " The European Union as a process ", p. 131.
  3. ^ Walter Hallstein in Europäische Reden ", p. 140, lecture of November 18, 1959 under the title" North America and European Economic Integration ".
  4. ↑ See also Walter Hallstein in " Europäische Reden ", p. 524, lecture of January 29, 1965 " The real problems of European integration ".
  5. ↑ The mandate of the heads of state and government to the foreign ministers of the EC member states was to examine the question of " how, in the perspective of enlargement " of the European Communities, "can best be achieved in the field of political unification ".
  6. ↑ The heads of state and government set up two commissions to examine the further development of the community. A commission was headed by the Belgian diplomat Étienne Davignon and was supposed to develop proposals on how the foreign policy of the EC states could be coordinated. The second commission was led by Luxembourg Prime Minister Pierre Werner and should a phased plan for the introduction of a common European currency elaborate Werner Plan .
  7. ↑ However, security and armaments issues remained outside the scope of foreign policy cooperation. The member states of the European Community, with the exception of Ireland, operated this within the framework of NATO and WEU .