The European Union(←click!) is an important cornerstone of Belgian foreign policy. After the two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th Century, the European Union formed the framework for the development of a well-balanced, prosperous and democratic Europe. The European institutions established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 guaranteed a balance between large and small member states and ended the hegemonic tendencies of the nations of old Europe. The development of the European Union thus continues to be a fundamental leitmotif of Belgian foreign policy.

After the German reunification, the need for a complete reorganisation of the European union house soon became apparent. The Maastricht Treaty constituted the blueprint for a new European Union. The Internal Market was completed with the establishment of economic and monetary union (with a common currency, the EURO), to which 11 of the 15 member states in the first group have since acceded. The powers of the Union were extended to include foreign policy (the so-called Common Foreign and Security Policy-CFSP) and foreign affairs and justice. These powers are still based on intergovernmental co-operation, but establish a clear framework for the activity of the Union.

On May 1st, 1999, the second institutional review of the Union during this decade has become into effect, following the ratification of the Treaty of Amsterdam by the parliaments of the 15 member states.

The Treaty :

- explains the basic rights on which the Union is based (freedom, security and justice)m

- adds matters which affect the daily life of the citizen (social policy, internal market rules with a bearing on the environment, public health, consumer protection);

- makes the external policy of the Union clearer, more consistent and more effective;

- includes some institutional changes – which nevertheless do not go far enough as far as Belgium is concerned.

In the next few years, the Union will be faced with a very ambitious agenda, in which Belgium will also play an active role. The end of the Cold War opened up new horizons for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe – firstly, there was the need to catch up with the West by means of radical reforms. Membership of the European Union seemed to them to be a vital part of this catching up process. Belgium welcomes this historical breakthrough. A period of preparation must make it possible for there to be a dramatic increase in the social and economic convergence of the candidate member states with the EU, so that their accession to the Union contributes to the welfare of both the citizens of the 15 member states as well as those in the candidate countries.

At the Special European Council held in Berlin in March 1999, the fifteen EU Member States made an important step towards EU enlargement by agreeing on Agenda-2000. This package contains legislative proposals on reforming the two main policy areas of the European Union, i.e. the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Structural Policy (which together represent approximately 80% of European expenditure), as well as on a financial framework; providing the Union with sufficient financial means for remaining active during the coming 7 year-period in the many different fields which it is competent for. Certain competencies have been added after the treaty of Amsterdam came into force on 1 May 1999, particularly in the areas of employment, environment, public health, consumer protection, visa, asylum, immigration and other policy areas related to the free movement of persons, etc.

Even for financial burden sharing between the various different countries, which had become a main preoccupation for a number of Member States, a solution acceptable to all has been worked out.

In the wake of the agreement reached in Berlin, the Union can now concentrate on preparing enlargement negotiations and deal with the institutional reforms that are still to be implemented prior to the first accessions.

At the European Council in Cologne in June 1999, the EU Heads of States or Government agreed on a procedure for implementing these institutional reforms. The European Council of Nice (France) in December 2000 approved a “Declaration of the Future of the Union”. This declaration calls for a wide and profound debate on the future of the European Union. The Belgian Presidency, which covered the second half of the year 2001, was given the task to draw the parameter of this debate. The European Council of Laeken in December 2001 decided to establish a Convention which received the mandate to prepare a new Intergovernmental Conference at the latest in 2004.