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novembro 02, 2004

West meets East for an historic EU signing

Fonte: The Times


West meets East for an historic EU signing
By Richard Owen
Leaders from the 25 states of the enlarged Union met in Rome to put a seal on its Constitution



TO THE soothing strains of Enya and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, leaders from the 25 states of the enlarged European Union put aside the turmoil over the new European Commission yesterday to sign the EU’s first constitution.
At an historic and lavish ceremony on Capitol Hill, in the room where the EU’s founding treaty was signed by just six nations in 1957, presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers celebrated the reunion of East and West against a backdrop of Roman statues and Renaissance frescoes.



Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, media tycoon and summit host, declared: “Never before in history have we seen an example of nations voluntarily deciding to exercise their sovereign powers jointly in the exclusive interests of their peoples, thus overcoming age-old impulses of rivalry and distrust.” President Ciampi of Italy, recalling the great wars of the 20th century, told the elite gathering: “It is a birth of a political union, not only an economic and social union; an event unique in the history of our Continent, a turning point in the history of humanity.”

Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, which currently holds the EU presidency, said integration had turned Europe into “a realm of peace and co-operation that is the envy of nations worldwide”. Only Tony Blair, the last leader to arrive and first to leave, look ed as if he wished he were somewhere else .

After the signing ceremony he posed for the “family photograph” of EU leaders — the largest ever assembled — but skipped the lunch, heading straight back to London instead of tucking into stuffed crêpes, lamb and chestnut dessert.

The Italian press complained of a snub to President Ciampi. A British Embassy spokesman, however, said that Mr Blair had never intended to stay after the signing ceremony, and had been represented at the lunch by Mr Straw. A Downing Street spokesman called the ceremony a significant moment, adding: “We were not there in 1957, and the feeling is that we have spent a lot of the time since playing catch up.”

He said Britain was “very comfortable with this Constitution”.

The Constitution, a cumbersome document which took over two years to negotiate, must be ratified by all states to take effect, and nine nations — including Britain — have pledged to hold a referendum.

Signor Berlusconi, who had persuaded EU leaders to hold the ceremony in Rome for reasons of history despite failing to conclude the constitutional negotiations during Italy’s gaffe-filled EU Presidency last year, vowed that Italy would be the first to ratify the Constitution, using a parliamentary vote instead of a referendum.

He faces a post-summit row, however, with the Northern League, his troublesome coalition ally, which is demanding a referendum not only on the Constitution but also on eventual Turkish membership of the EU.

He was also left to deal with the fury of RAI, the state broadcasting company, which protested that for the first time a private network, Euroscena, had been given the rights to the ceremony, with Franco Zeffirelli, the film director and a member of Signor Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, in charge of the direction.

In a lengthy statement read out on the television news RAI said this was “a slap in the face for RAI’s autonomy and an insult to its ability”. The opposition Centre Left said it was was the latest sign of Signor Berlusconi’s control over the media.

Mr Blair apart, most of the leaders revelled in the ceremony, as did the Prime Ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Croatia, who attended as candidates for EU membership. They went home clutching their summit gifts: a magnum of Amarone, a 15 per cent proof wine from the Valpolicella region, a leather document case and — rather less portable — a 30kg “symbolic sculpture” made of crystal, bronze and travertine marble representing Europe.


Publicado por esta às novembro 2, 2004 01:10 PM