Brussels, 13/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - Eight months away from the European elections, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has called on pro-European forces to win the war of words by clearly supporting the continent's integration project, without falling into the temptation of imitating the eurosceptic movements in order to seduce an angry electorate.
“People are disappointed because they think the elite has not been able to solve their problems”, Barroso told a few European media, on Thursday 12 September, in a follow-up to his speech on the state of the Union at the European Parliament the previous day (see EUROPE 10919). And he added: “When they see that after what happened in the financial sector there is resistance to cap bonuses for bankers and at the same time there is resistance to a financial transaction tax (…), I understand they are angry”. He criticised the tendency of pinning the blame for any difficulties on Europe when “it is the national capitals that are putting obstacles”, picking up the refrain of the leaders who “nationalise successes and Europeanise failures”.
The draft financial transaction tax (FTT) for 11 countries has been dealt a hard blow with the recent opinion of the legal service of the Council of the EU saying that the FTT would breach the treaty (see EUROPE 10918).
Leaving the comfort zone. In Barroso's opinion, it is natural that extreme forces are on the rise at this time when the Parliament comes to be renewed. The reason for this is the crisis, Barroso says, which is an ideal moment for populists to manipulate people with simplistic speeches, and also the fact that the European elections are generally used to express a protest vote against incumbent governments. Nevertheless, pro-European forces will remain well in the majority, Barroso believed.
However, although the existential fear with regard to the euro has disappeared, this is not the time for complacency. Barroso called on pro-European forces to leave their comfort zone in order “to win the debate on Europe”. He said he was pleased at the statements from the main leaders of the political groups at the European Parliament after his speech, who promised to defend the values of Europe.
Such an attitude should enable received wisdom in Europe to be fought. Barroso believed that Europeans had more of feeling of the “interdependence” of their destinies which sometimes comes out, wrongly, through laying faults at other people's doors. “Some people from the North think the people from the South cannot deliver, so some people of the South think that people from the North are, by definition, a little egoistic”, Barroso noted - hence the importance for the pro-European forces not to ignore this situation but to become involved in the debate and explain the whole path taken to fight the crisis.
Barroso advised the European political parties to follow his recommendation of nominating their leader for the European elections - a leader who would become (in the case of victory and respecting the prerogatives of the European Parliament and European Council) president of the European Commission in November 2014. Barroso said that it was not this which would make the elections a true European event, but that this could contribute to giving the elections a more European nature. He spoke of the idea of a European debate between all the candidates. Until now, no party has officially nominated its candidate. The ecologists have designated two people - Rebecca Harms from Germany, and José Bové from France. Olli Rehn from Finland has expressed interested in leading the Liberal family.
Ten years is enough. Regarding the possibility of being a candidate himself, Barroso believed that it was too early to decide, while implying that he had done the rounds of his job: “What I can tell you, is that two mandates, ten years, is already not bad in terms of responsibility”.
Barroso furthermore tried to limit the impact of his words on the attitude of the British Conservatives to the EU. Currently in power in the UK, the Conservatives' attitude apparently attempts to imitate the attitude of europhobic parties like UKIP. “It was not premeditated. I have been saying it on many occasions - at debates in France, in Germany, in Greece. If they give up and try to follow pressure of clear europhobes or anti-EU forces, then people may prefer the original to the copy.”
These statements were not to the liking of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who has advised Barroso to respect the point of view of Cameron's party instead of giving lessons.
Renegotiating the treaty? In Barroso's view, the member states want the UK to remain in the EU provided that London also agrees. Nevertheless the question of renegotiating the treaty is posed with a view to redefining the competences of the EU. This will constitute “one of the main issues for the next legislature”. If this means ending up “a kind of Europe 'à la carte'”, or creating “a system of renationalisation of competences”, “then frankly I don't think there is support for that”. On the other hand, if this means a “reasonable” initiative to address specific concerns of the UK or some other countries, then “yes, why not?” (MB/transl.fl)