Brussels, 25/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 25 April, Jean-Claude Juncker received the full backing of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. This was in the spirit of reciprocity, as the EPP Group head of list for the European elections of 25 May has spoken out in favour of the idea put forward by the Polish government to set in place an energy union to negotiate joint gas contracts with Russia (see EUROPE 11065).
In his speech to the summit of local and regional political leaders of the EPP, which was held in Poznan (Poland), Juncker had nothing but praise for the current head of the Polish government, and expressed a confidence in his own victory scarcely troubled by doubts. He said that the next time he came to Poland, it would be “as Commission President”. The reason for this confidence is simple: “The EPP is the strongest European party and we will win these elections”, he told an audience already on his side.
This audience was naturally the main target of the summary of his programme as a candidate. There is no question, he said, that a Commission under his presidency would put political and regional leaders out to grass, as he “wants a European Union that only assumes responsibility in areas in which it can really improve our lives”. “All other policy areas shall be left to national, or preferably regional or local leaders, to decide”, he said, offering no further clarification as to any distinction between “the needs of today and tomorrow” and “the needs of the past”. However, this does not mean that these leaders will take a back seat on the European political scene. Quite the reverse: they will be given greater involvement, through a strengthening of the role of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), he proposed.
On economic issues, his speech mainly consisted of praising his group's approach in recent years to the economic and financial crisis. “EPP governments are leading European countries out of the crisis one by one”, which simply shows that the “EPP economic recipes are bearing fruit”, with a good dose of “solidarity”, he said. This is equally true for Ireland as for Portugal or Spain, not forgetting Greece, he listed. He believes that the main priority is to “win back the trust of investors”, with particular focus on “private companies, SMEs, family businesses, entrepreneurs in the regions and cities of Europe”.
However, the EU is not without means of action to promote growth. And it is cohesion policy which plays a key role here, he said. However, although this must recognise the differences between the countries in the regions, it must, he argued, be “united around the goal of becoming more competitive, of strengthening the European economy and making Europe the most attractive place to invest in”. He added that this region must be equally attractive to young people. In order to achieve this, “the European Commission, under my leadership, will give more support to young entrepreneurs; we will create and extend programmes to facilitate the exchange of best practices across Europe's regions; we will encourage young Europeans to bring their ideas to the market”.
The concern caused, in Poland in particular, by the situation in Ukraine and the activities of the Russian Federation, meant that Juncker did not remain silent on this point. With Tusk pointing out on many occasions since the start of the year that the EU is by no means prepared for the worst-case scenario, the EPP candidate argued for the EU to be in a position to carry out its threats of sanction beyond just targeting individuals. “We need to step up - if Russia does not change its behaviour - the level of our sanctions and extend their scope, including cutting the financial channels to and from Russia”, he said, going on to add that, at the same time, the EU must “provide financial support to Ukraine”.
During a joint press release on the sidelines of the summit, the two men were in almost complete agreement. One is the leader of the only European country which has managed to avoid the recession and the other is the most experienced politician on the European scene and the best candidate for the job of Commission president was how they described each other, the Polish media reported. (JK)