Berlin: June 5, 2000

Demands of CDU and CSU for the present Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) (Courtesy Translation)

The political and economic unification of Europe is the biggest success story of the 20th century. It is directly linked to the politics of CDU and CSU. Today, we stand in Europe before a decisive turning point: the success of the eastward enlargement of the EU and the chance to overcome the unnatural division of our continent depends on a successful outcome of the IGC.

The IGC must improve the capacity of the EU to act. This is at the same time an indispensable contribution for producing the ability to enlarge the EU. A limitation to the so-called "left-over" of Amsterdam will not do. CDU and CSU therefore demand an extension of the IGC agenda by bringing in a clear separation of powers between the national and European level. There must be progress in creating the European order of powers now. It must lead to a constitutional treaty that was demanded by CDU and CSU as early as during the European election campaign of 1999 in order to give the federalism in Europe a solid form. Furthermore, the regulations on a more intensive co-operation must be simplified and extended especially to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The right to veto of single member states against a more intensive co-operation must be abolished.

CDU and CSU demand as a beginning to a fundamental separation of powers:

• Clear definitions of powers in the fields in which unanimous decisions of the council are replaced by majority voting
• The general rule of the subsidiarity principle
• The abolition of the General Empowerment Clause (art. 308 EC-Treaty)
• A limitation of the general clauses of art. 94 and art. 95 EU-Treaty to regulations that serve primarily and directly the creation and working of the single market
• A clarification by the treaty that partial powers of the EU alone do not authorise interferences in the powers of the member states to regulate how far the EU control of subsidies is applied to the field of public services (Daseinsvorsorge).

The German Federal Government must take account of the fact that CDU and CSU will link their approval to the results of the IGC at the ratification procedure in Germany also on how far substantial progress will be achieved in those fields mentioned above.

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