„It is necessary to give a new impulse to institutional reforms and to our most important common policies,” including climate change and energy policy, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano told journalists after the discussions. The talks, which opened on Tuesday afternoon and ended at noon on Wednesday, were hosted by Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga. The Austrian, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish and Portuguese presidents took part in the gathering. At a time in which the EU’s purpose, direction and role have been subject to intense and often acrimonious debate, all eight were keen to stress the union’s positive achievements.

„European integration is a history of success … We (in Europe) don’t appreciate enough what we have achieved,” German President Horst Koehler said. Their informal discussions were programmed to deal with Europe’s future, its role as a global player and the institutional changes necessary to improve its decision-making capacity. „We regard the Constitutional Treaty (on the EU’s decision-making structure) as a very important task. We support the German (EU) presidency in trying to promote this project, giving the EU a stable basis for the future,” Austrian President Heinz Fischer said. The debate on the treaty has been stalled since French and Dutch voters rejected the original text in referenda in 2005 – and not all EU states are wholeheartedly in favor of the document.

Poland, one of nine countries which have not yet ratified the treaty, „is ready to work on the text, but we believe that certain changes are necessary,” said Polish President Lech Kaczynski. No detailed discussion of such changes was held, however, he said. The idea that the EU should play a leading role in fighting global warming, on the other hand, met with unanimous support. „The environmental debate is crucial, and this year may be a breakthrough … There is no longer a sense of an irreconcilable divide between the demands of the economy and those of the environment,” said Hungarian President Laszló Sólyom.

Despite reports in the Russian media that the meeting threatened to degenerate into an anti-Russian gathering, neither EU relations with its giant neighbor nor the fate of a controversial gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany were discussed in detail. „The item was not on the agenda. The name of Russia was mentioned in passing” as a strategic partner, as were China, India, Africa and South America, Vike-Freiberga said. It is the fourth time that the leaders of the eight countries – known as the Arraiolos Group, after the Portuguese village where they first met in 2003 – have gathered to debate European topics. Its members were chosen to represent the widest historical, economic and geographical variety of European states, said Daina Lasmane of the Latvian president’s press service. (earthtimes.org)