Prime Minister Janez Janša has said the French and Dutch rejection of the EU constitution spells the "end of the (EU) honeymoon", a time of great optimism in the bloc. Speaking on Thursday in Ljubljana, Janša said a new period was here in which progress in the EU would not be so natural any more.
We're in a time when we will have to invest a lot of energy in ensuring that European integration does not become a project of political elites but that of all people, he said.
According to him, the Slovenian government will form its standpoints on how to proceed from the current situation once "it becomes at least party clear what the proposals" for resolving the crisis will be.
Slovenia is most likely to advocate a solution by which parts of the provisions of the EU constitution would be broken up into separate agreements that would be implemented in the coming years, he added.
Moreover, Janša said that Slovenia, as a country that has ratified the constitution, would like those countries who have voted against the document to reconsider their decision. He admitted, however, that he doubted such a solution could be achieved.
The prime minister is convinced that the EU summit scheduled to be held on 16 and 17 June will focus on the challenges facing the bloc following the French and Dutch "no" votes.
However, Janša said he doubted a lasting solution to the issue could be found at the summit.
The rejection of the constitution could have several consequences for Slovenia, he added. According to him, attention will be diverted from talks on the bloc's budget arrangements for 2007-2013. This runs against Slovenia's strategic interests that an agreement on the budget be reached in the first half of this year.
The development could also prove to be an obstacle to expansion of the EU on to countries of the Western Balkans, another strategic interest of Slovenia's. The instability is also affecting Slovenian efforts to adopt the euro, Janša said.
The rejection of the constitution also means Slovenia will assume the EU presidency in the first half of 2008 on its own instead of as part of a presiding troika with Germany and Portugal, he pointed out, adding, though, that this does not necessarily mean a great change for the country.
The rejection of the EU constitution "represents an obstacle and alarm for the entire system of the EU and all member states, including Slovenia," Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said on Thursday in response to the Dutch "no".
He believes that the EU Council and, possibly, an inter-governmental conference will debate and decide on the future development of the EU. Since Slovenia has already ratified the constitution, "our positions will be quite close to the document."
Rupel sees one possible reason for the rejection of the document in an "excessive dose of Europeanism": the enlargement of the EU and excessive unification of European policies in some fields.
"The fundamental dilemma of the EU's development will be whether it will approach a supra-national system or whether greater emphasis will be placed on the inter-governmental system," he told the press.
According to him, Slovenia has so far been more supportive of the first model in which the selfish interests of larger countries in particular should not reign too prominent.
He stressed, however, that the country was concerned about the EU's efficient functioning on the global arena, especially in the field of common foreign and security policy.
The second "no" to the EU constitution is "a warning, yet it is also an opportunity for a more thorough turn to the future," European Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potočnik said in response to the Dutch rejection of the constitution. The first analyses show, according to him, that both countries rejected the document primarily due to economic and social uncertainties, so it is necessary to act in these two areas. "We have to revive the Lisbon Strategy and do everything to make the growth and jobs partnership spring into life," Potočnik said.
This should be kept in mind when the new budget framework is adopted: "Will we turn to the future or preserve the status quo," he wondered.
At the same time, economic and social issues must be better explained to the citizens, which also goes for integration and enlargement. According to him, the ratification process must continue as well, for all countries need to be given the opportunity to voice their opinion.
Ten countries, which account for 50% of the EU's population, have already ratified it; if 20 do it by November 2006 the Council will decide what to do next, he noted.
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