Press Release

Feira, Portugal
19 June, 2000


EPP Summit debates Austria, the IGC and enlargement

Meeting in Feira, Portugal, on the eve of the European Council, EPP Government and party leaders welcomed the reintegration of the Austrian Peoples Party into their ranks and called for the Intergovernmental Conference to be successfully concluded at Nice this year so that the European Union will be ready to welcome new Member States from January 2003.

Speaking at a press conference following the EPP Summit, Mr.Wilfried Martens, Chairman of the EPP, said, ' the method we have used to address the Austrian question could be an example for the European Council. On the basis of a detailed report on the situation in Austria we have been able to ask our Austrian Party to resume its full Membership of the EPP. For the future, we have established a Standing Committee to monitor respect for human rights, xenophobia and racism throughout the EU. Mr.Martens welcomed the presence of Wolfgang Schüssel, Chancellor of Austria, at the EPP Summit.

The EPP leaders also had a lengthy debate on the agenda of the European Council and, in particular, the IGC and the prospects for enlargement of the Union.

'The EPP leaders believe that it is absolutely essential that the IGC successfully and comprehensively resolves the issues of Commission reform, extension of qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers with parallel codecision with the European Parliament and the weighting of votes in the Council of Ministers meetings, ' declared Mr.Martens. He concluded, 'a successful IGC is a prerequisite for enlargement of our Union'.

Turning to enlargement itself, Mr.Martens said that the European Union should be ready to accept new Member States from January 2003. Actual accession dates would depend on the readiness of the applicant countries.

The EPP leaders also agreed on an initiative to create a statute for European political parties. Mr.Martens welcomed the positive comments of Commissioner Michel Barnier when he recently addressed this subject in the European Parliament. The need for a statute has been made more urgent following a recent Court of Auditors Report on financing political groups in the European Parliament.

Concluding his remarks Mr.Martens welcomed the relaunch, by the German Foreign Minister and others of the debate on the future of European integration. He said this debate would be a central theme at the next EPP Congress scheduled for the 9 -11 January, 2001 in Berlin.

Further information from Bob Fitzhenry, phone: +32 75 493356

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List of those invited:

Wilfried MARTENS, EPP President/ Président du PPE (B)
José Maria AZNAR, Prime Minister/ Premier Ministre (E)
Jean-Claude JUNCKER, Prime Minister/ Premier Ministre (L)
Wolfgang SCHÜSSEL, Chancellor/ Chancelier (A)
Loyola de PALACIO, Vice-Chairman of the EU-Commission/ Vice-Présidente de la Commission UE (E)
Nicole FONTAINE, EP President/ Présidente du PE (F)
Sauli NIINISTÖ, Vice-Prime Minister - Minister of Finances (SF)/ Vice-Premier Ministre - Ministre des Finances (SF)
Pierluigi CASTAGNETTI, President of the PPI, party in Italian government/ Président du PPI, parti au gouvernement italien
Lamberto DINI, President of the RI, party in Italian government/ Président du RI, parti au gouvernement italien
Margareta AF UGGLAS, EPP Vice-President / Vice-Présidente PPE (S)
John BRUTON, EPP Vice-President - Opposition Leader (FG, IRL)/ Vice-Président PPE - Chef de l'opposition (FG, IRL)
José Manuel DURÃO BARROSO, EPP Vice-President - Opposition Leader (PSD, P)/ Vice-Président PPE - Chef de l'opposition (PSD, P)
Kostas KARAMANLIS, EPP Vice-President - Opposition Leader (ND, GR)/ Vice-Président PPE - Chef de l'opposition (ND, GR)
Karl LAMERS, EPP Vice-President - Vice-Président PPE (CDU, D)
Nadezhda MIHAILOVA, EPP Vice-President - Minister for Foreign Affairs (BG)/ Vice-Présidente PPE - Ministre des Affaires Etrangères (BG)
Wim VAN VELZEN, EPP Vice-President / Vice-Président PPE (NL)
Hans-Gert POETTERING, President EPP/ED Group / Président du Groupe PPE-DE (D)
Ingo FRIEDRICH, EPP Treasurer / Trésorier PPE (D)
Alejandro AGAG, EPP Secretary General/SG du PPE (E)
François BAYROU, Opposition Leader / Chef de l'opposition (Nouvelle UDF, F)
Bendt BENDTSEN, Opposition Leader / Chef de l'opposition (DKF, DK)
Stefaan DE CLERCK, Opposition Leader / Chef de l'Opposition (CVP, B)
Jaap de HOOP SCHEFFER, Opposition Leader / Chef de l'opposition (CDA, NL)
Josep DURAN i LLEIDA, President of the UDC, E / Président de l'UDC, E
Bo LUNDGREN, Opposition Leader /Chef de l'opposition (MOD, S)
Angela MERKEL, Opposition Leader /Chef de l'opposition (CDU, D)
Joëlle MILQUET, Opposition Leader/Chef de l'opposition(PSC, B)
Jan PETERSEN, Opposition Leader/Chef de l'opposition(HOYRE, N)
Edmund STOIBER, President of the CSU,D / Présidentde la CSU, D

Invited by the President / Invités du Président:

Andrej BAJUK, Prime Minister / Premier Ministre (SI)
Michel BARNIER, EU Commissioner / Commissaire Européen (F)
Elmar BROK, Member of the European Parliament/Membre du Parlement Européen (D)
Jerzy BUZEK, Prime Minister / Premier Ministre (PL)
Mikulas DZURINDA, Prime Minister / Premier Ministre (SK)
Andrius KUBILIUS, Prime Minister / Premier Ministre (LIT)