(2004/C 70 E/172)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2915/03

by Francesco Speroni (NI) to the Commission

(29 September 2003)

Subject:   Prodi's partiality during the referendum campaign in Sweden

Why, in the course of the recent referendum campaign in Sweden, did Romano Prodi, the President of the Commission, come down clearly in favour of that country's accession to the euro, adopting a partial stance with scant regard for the sovereign will of the Swedish people, whose task it was to choose between two alternatives which were both compatible with Union law?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(6 November 2003)

At Parliament's part session on 16 January, the President of the Commission stated that ‘for millions of European citizens, the euro notes and coins in their pockets are a tangible sign of the great political project of building a united Europe. As a symbol of that unity, the euro is having an even greater psychological impact than the abolition of passport controls at Europe's internal borders. The euro is thus becoming a key element in people's sense of a shared European identity and a common destiny, just as it is tangible evidence that European integration is now irreversible. (…) We must take this as a valuable lesson and apply it in the preparations for all stages in the process of integration’.

There was no reason to change this well-known position of the entire Commission during the referendum campaign for the adoption of the euro in Sweden.