Brussels, 21/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 21 November, the European Parliament approved the appointment of Tonio Borg to the post of European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection (see EUROPE 10734 and 10732). In the secret ballot at the plenary session, Borg, who is currently foreign minister for Malta won 386 votes in favour of his appointment, 281 against and 28 abstentions, although the positions taken in advance by the various political groups of the Parliament indicated a narrower result. It is now up to the Council to finalise the procedure which will allow Borg to replace John Dalli, who was obliged to step down following accusations of selling influence related to the revision of the 'tobacco' directive. A few days should be enough. Through his Twitter account, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, welcomed the positive opinion of the Parliament.
On behalf of the EPP group, the French MEP Joseph Daul said that “common sense” had prevailed over the “double standards of those who used their ideological narrow-mindedness to attack” Borg. “His professional record, his convincing performance at the hearing before the EP and his personal engagement qualify him to take up such an important post”, he added.
The ADLE, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL groups initially rejected Borg's application. On Tuesday evening, the S&D advised its members to vote the same way by a two-thirds majority. Taking note of the vote, Chris Davies (ADLE, UK) called on the new Commissioner to make sure that “his personal views do not get in the way of rational judgement on sensitive issues related to health and reproductive rights”. He reproached him for never having expanded on his rejection of homosexuality, divorce and abortion. The co-presidents of the Greens/EFA group, the German MEPs Rebecca Harms and Daniel Cohn-Bendit, said that the vote was clearly “not a consensual approval” of Borg's appointment, as he had failed to dissipate the concerns arising from his personal beliefs. They call on him to promote “policies based on the fundamental values of the EU, such as respect for minorities and women's rights”. They urge Borg to present a revised proposal for the “tobacco” directive, favouring public health over the interests of the industry, as soon as possible. The President of the GUE/NGL group, Germany's Gabi Zimmer, who was disappointed by the results, pledged that her group would make sure that Borg respects the commitments taken at his hearing and acts in a non-discriminatory way. (MB/transl.fl)