On 6 December 2000, at a round table organised by the Nice Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nicole Fontaine, President of the European Parliament, discusses the political, institutional and economic implications of the Nice European Council of 7, 8 and 9 December 2000.

In its Summer 1999 issue, the Federalist journal L'Europe en Formation criticises the weaknesses of the Treaty of Amsterdam in the area of European Union institutional reform which is, after all, required to allow the enlargement of the EU to include the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs), and identifies the implications of the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference (IGC).

On 6 November 2000 in Dublin, one month before the Nice European Council, Bertie Ahern, Irish Prime Minister, delivers an address in which he outlines the political and institutional implications of the forthcoming enlargement of the European Union.

On 3 and 4 June 1999, the Cologne European Council reaffirms the need to convene an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) aimed at resolving the institutional issues which were not settled in Amsterdam.

On 10 and 11 December 1999, the Helsinki European Council confirms the mandate of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) and sets out its objectives.

In an independent report on the institutional implications of enlargement submitted to the European Commission on 18 October 1999, Richard von Weizsäcker, Jean-Luc Dehaene and David Simon propose a comprehensive reform of the institutional system of the European Union on the basis of a reorganisation of the Treaties.

On 14 February 2000, in Brussels, Jaime Gama, Portuguese Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, signs the official document which marks the opening of the 2000 Intergovernmental Conference (IGC).

On 14 February 2000, Nicole Fontaine, President of the European Parliament, delivers an address at the opening of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in Brussels on the reform of the institutions of the European Union.

On 14 February 2000, Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, delivers an address at the opening of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in Brussels on the reform of the institutions of the European Union.

Schedule for the meetings of the Conference of the representatives of the Governments of the Member States (Intergovernmental Conference - IGC) which started work on 14 February 2000, culminating on 10 December 2000 with the adoption of the draft Treaty of Nice.

Michel Barnier, Member of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 with special responsibility for regional policy and the reform of the institutions and responsible, ad personam, for the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC).

Dimitris Tsatsos, Greek member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs and European Parliament representative at the 2000 Intergovernmental Conference (ICG).

Elmar Brok, European Parliament representative at the 2000 Intergovernmental Conference.

On 11 April 2000, Michel Barnier, European Commissioner with special responsibility for regional policy and responsible, ad personam, for the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), delivers an address to the European Parliament in which he comments on the report drawn up by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs on the reform of the institutions.

On 19 and 20 June 2000, the Feira European Council confirms its determination to reach an overall agreement on a comprehensive reform of the institutional system of the European Union in accordance with the timetable previously laid down at the Cologne and Helsinki European Councils.

On 12 July 2000, following the feasibility study on a reorganisation of the treaties carried out by the Robert Schuman Centre at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, the European Commission considers that such a reorganisation is achievable at the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC).

On 3 October 2000, in Strasbourg, in the run-up to the Biarritz European Council on 13 and 14 October, Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, argues in the European Parliament in favour of the Community method, underlining the importance of the summit in preparing for the forthcoming enlargement of the European Union and for the reform of the Community institutions initiated at the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC).

On 13 and 14 October 2000, the Heads of State or Government of the Fifteen meet for an informal European Council in Biarritz in order to consider various issues relating to the reform of Community institutions, in particular qualified majority voting, the weighting of votes and the number of European Commissioners. They also approve the text of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

On 20 March 2000, Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, praises the Portuguese Presidency for having taken the initiative to hold a special European Council in Lisbon on ‘Employment, Economic Reforms and Social Cohesion — Towards a Europe based on Innovation and Knowledge’.

On 23 and 24 March 2000, the Lisbon European Council defines for the European Union a new strategic goal in order to create more jobs and strengthen economic reform and social cohesion as part of a knowledge-based economy.

On 23 March 2000, Nicole Fontaine, President of the European Parliament, congratulates the European Council on having taken the initiative to define for the European Union a new strategic objective in order to create more jobs and strengthen economic reform and social cohesion as part of a knowledge-based economy.

On 23 and 24 March 2000, the Heads of State or Government of the Fifteen, meeting at the Lisbon European Council, set a new strategic objective for the European Union aimed, in particular, at strengthening employment, economic reform and social cohesion as part of a knowledge-based economy.

In this interview, António Vitorino, Member of the European Commission with special responsibility for justice and home affairs from 1999 to 2004 and Special Adviser in 2007 to the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union, considers the extent to which the methods of the Lisbon Strategy are in line with its objectives and assesses the results of its application in the Member States.

In a speech delivered on 12 May 2000 at the Humboldt University in Berlin, Joschka Fischer, German Foreign Minister, speaks in a private capacity in the debate on the future of the European Union. He proposes that a constitutional treaty be concluded which establishes a European Federation based on the principle of subsidiarity.

On 13 May 2000, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro comments on the address given by Joschka Fischer, German Foreign Minister, in which he proposes, in a personal capacity, the conclusion of a Constitutional Treaty establishing a European Federation based on the principle of subsidiarity.

‘As long as the Chemistry works…’ On 15 May 2000, the German cartoonist Mohr comments ironically on the European vision of Joschka Fischer, German Foreign Minister, who, during an address given at the Humboldt University of Berlin on 12 May 2000, outlines his personal views on the future of the European Union.

On 10 June 2000, commenting on the address delivered by Joschka Fischer, German Foreign Minister, on the ultimate goal of European integration, the historian, Rudolf von Thadden, Head of Franco-German relations in the Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), outlines in the French daily newspaper Le Monde the different connotations of the word ‘federalism’ in France and Germany.

On 11 June 2000, Hubert Védrine, French Foreign Minister, gives his response to the proposals submitted the previous day by his German counterpart, Joschka Fischer, on the aims of the European Union and gives his own views on the notions of federation and a Federation of Nation States.

In an address given in the Bundestag on 27 June 2000 in Berlin, Jacques Chirac, French President, announces the start of a transitional phase towards an institutional recasting of the European Union. Chirac proposes that an initial consideration seeking the restructuring of the treaties, open to all, might pave the way for the first European Constitution. The French President also suggests the setting up of a ‘pioneer group’ of countries which, together with Germany and France, would take part in all forms of enhanced cooperation.

On 28 June 2000, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung comments on the French President Jacques Chirac's address to the Bundestag on the future of the European Union and refers back to the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer's speech given on 12 May in Berlin.

On 29 June 2000, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit compares the French President Jacques Chirac's speech on the prospects for the European Union with the speech given by the German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, in Berlin on 12 May 2000.

‘The Franco–German locomotive.’ In May 2000, the German cartoonist Mohr comments ironically on the real effectiveness of the Franco–German duo (President Jacques Chirac and Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder) as the driving force for European integration.

On 13 November 2000, Pierre Moscovici, French Minister for European Affairs, reviews the state of negotiations on the reform of the European institutions and replies to questions from journalists on the action taken by France and Germany.

On 29 November 2000, referring to the debates being held on the future of the European Union, the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the nature of the new tensions between France and Germany.

On 1 December 2000, with a view to the Nice European Council, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro outlines the tensions between France and Germany with regard to the weighting of votes in the Council.

On 24 December 2000, in an article in the daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Oskar Lafontaine, former Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and former Finance Minister, analyses the reasons for the tensions between France and Germany.

On 8 May 2001, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the scope of the European plan devised by the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, and outlines the reactions in French political circles.

On 9 May 2001, Hubert Védrine, French Foreign Minister, delivers to the Committee on European Affairs of the Bundestag an address in which he criticises the German proposals for reform of the Community institutions and calls for an institutional balance in the European Union to be maintained.

In a speech delivered in Paris on 28 May 2001, Lionel Jospin, French Prime Minister, expresses support for the vision of the European Union as a ‘Federation of Nation States’ and for a proposed European Constitution, the drafting of which would be entrusted to a Convention, following the method used to draw up the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

On 20 November 2001, at the Congress of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) held in Nuremberg, the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, delivers an address in which he outlines his vision of the future of the European Union and of the reform of its institutions.

On 19, 20 and 21 November 2001, at its National Congress held in Nuremberg, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) reaffirms its support for the European policy of the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, and outlines the future challenges for the European integration process.