British Minister Praises Slovenian EU Presidency Preparations
British Minister of State for Europe Geoff Hoon praised on Wednesday Slovenia's preparations for its upcoming stint as EU president. He said that the country's spell would result in shifts in important EU issues as he met EU Affairs State Secretary Janez Lenarcic.
According to Hoon, the EU presidency is a "relay race and not a sprint to the finish", meaning that states have to be competent and clear as to their ambitions during their spells as EU president.
"This is a process of moving important issues, important questions from one presidency to the next. This is a team effort and that is why Slovenia is doing so well in looking at the experience of other countries, looking at the issues that are likely to arise and ensuring that it can move them through the presidency," Hoon told in and interview.
Moreover, Great Britain and Slovenia are very good friends and the British have offered some practical and technical advice as to how the presidency is organised, the minister said.
While previous EU presidents wanted to have a great set of achievements at the end of their six-month stints and resolve these matters, modern politics are more complex, Hoon said. This means that Slovenia should mainly try to be a team player and make sure that problems get solved during its spell, he added.
According to Hoon, Great Britain wants an amended EU treaty, something similar to the amendments to the Treaty of Rome. He said that the French were also increasingly calling for an ordinary treaty that would not require a referendum, however, the final result depended on the outcome of talks in Brussels.
Asked to comment on a call by Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi for a Europe of two tiers, Hoon replied that the eurozone and the Schengen agreement already allowed some states to integrate in different ways than others.
"But, the most important characteristic of the EU is that it has a single legal space and that we all signed up to essentially the same legal changes. That has allowed the single market to function and to flourish," Hoon said.
Asked how Great Britain supports Turkish endeavours to join the EU, Hoon replied that talks on Turkey's EU membership were taking place between Turkey and the EU.
"We want Turkey to make the necessary reforms in order to allow it to become a member of the European Union. We accept that there is still a long way to go in those negotiations. We need to continue the process and hope that Slovenia in the course of its presidency will see the opening of a number of new negotiating chapters", Hoon said.
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