The EU joint policy should be adapted to the development in the world, Czech Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra and French State Secretary in charge of European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet agreed on Tuesday.
Vondra and Jouyet are attending a conference on the priorities of future joint EU policy, EU future and territorial borders that opened in the Czech Senate on Monday, the Czech news agency CTK said.
Jouyet said that in the interest of preserving the EU dynamics, the reassessment and delimitation should specifically concern the policy of solidarity.
It is necessary to try to bring in harmony, solidarity and competitiveness, in the spirit of territorial cooperation, Jouyet added.
He considered that it necessary to define precisely how this policy could contribute to the fight with climate change or the growing energy prices.
The EU common agricultural policy also requires changes so that it is able to react to the shortage of foodstuffs in certain parts of the world and reflect the production of crops for non-food purposes, Jouyet said.
He also stressed the need of the improvement of the environment, reforms in the areas of security and justice and strengthening a knowledge-base economy.
The freedom of knowledge could become, along with the free movement of persons, goods, capital and services, the EU fifth fundamental freedom, he said.
Vondra added that the full opening of the labor market of Germany and Austria was a condition for the implementation of the current four freedoms.
Vondra stressed that the EU joint policy should maximally express its common interest.
However, the "path of mutual recognition of national standards and not the path of their unification" is more effective, Vondra said.
(Xinhua News Agency May 28, 2008)
