Brussels, 30/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - An “historic” moment for European democracy and a turning point in relations between European leaders and the citizens, whose “voice has been heard”. On Friday 27 June, the European Parliament and its various representatives did not spare their words when describing the nomination by the European Council of Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker for the presidency of the European Commission, an event which also marks their victory over the Council.
Gianni Pitella, the acting President (and member of the S&D family) of the European Parliament, said that, by proposing Juncker, European leaders had recognised the “double democratic legitimacy stemming, on the one hand, from the results of the European elections and, on the other, from the election of the president of the Commission by the European Parliament”. This “unprecedented” appointment process is an historic turning point for the European Union, said the Italian, adding that Juncker, who received the backing of 26 member states (all except the United Kingdom and Hungary), now has a mandate to form a majority at the Parliament, a majority which he already seems to have acquired.
In the words of Manfred Weber, the new head of the EPP Ggroup the Parliament, the “voice of the citizens has been heard”. “By proposing the candidate who was the face of the European People's Party throughout the European elections campaign, the heads of state and government have taken an important step towards democracy and transparency in Europe”, he said, adding that the “nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker is a success of the EPP”.
In the view of Jo Leinen (S&D, Germany), this move, a long way from “agreements made behind closed doors”, “opens up a new chapter in European politics”. He added: “From now on, only those who successfully took part in the European elections as head of list of their party will be able to secure this post”. As the wording of the Treaty of Lisbon is vague and only asks the European Council to take account of the results of the European elections, five political families of the Parliament decided in 2013 to interpret this paragraph as they saw fit and to personalise the campaign, by adopting a “face” aiming to represent the party.
This was precisely the logic the British Prime Minister David Cameron rejected, and which did not go down all that well with everybody. The Hungarian and Swedish prime ministers, Viktor Orban and Fredrik Reinfeldt respectively, described the procedure as alienating as it necessarily excludes figures who could also be contenders. The conclusions of the European Council also provides for this “Spitzenkandidaten” procedure to be reassessed once the new Commission is in place.
No going back, say Socialists
For French Socialist Pervenche Berès, however, “there will be no going back in this democratic leap forward”. And although the French MEP “continues to believe that Martin Schulz embodied the best-placed person to fight the crisis”, she can only “welcome the respect for European democracy”, also commenting that this nomination of Juncker spells the end of arrangements made behind the scenes.
For his part, the leader of the European Liberals and Democrats, Guy Verhofstadt, welcomed “this decision, which enshrines the procedure for candidates to be selected by the European political parties”. For the first time, “European voters can actually see that their vote has had an impact on the political direction of the EU. This is an important stage in European integration and an historic precedent. First and foremost, it reinforces European democracy and there is still a long way to go to plug the gap between the EU and its citizens”, he noted in a press release. His ALDE Group will also vote for the Luxembourger “as long as his programme to lead Commission over the next five years contains fundamental reforms such as deepening the single market in the strategic sectors, improving economic governance, more effective administrative management and reinforcement of the fundamental rights, particularly the protection of privacy”. A few dissident voices aside, the S&D Group also pledged its support to Juncker.
This is the great irony of the story: whilst the European Parliament called on the member states to put an end to the logic of the “inner sanctum'”, the three main families of the EP: the EPP, the S&D and the ALDE, agreed in advance to divide up the posts within the institution, in particular the Presidency of the EP, which is to be split between the S&D and the EPP. These agreements came in for criticism from the other political families, such as the Greens/EFA Group.
For their part, the heads of state and government were not slow to react to the nomination of Juncker, “a man of experience” said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, even though she was at one point considering putting IMF boss Christine Lagarde forward to take over from José Manuel Barroso. “A committed European” was how José Manuel Barroso described Juncker. The Greek prime minister, Antonis Samaras, described the former Eurogroup boss as a man with a “real commitment to helping the citizens”. Belgium's prime minister, Elio di Rupo, described him as “a European of conviction” with “all the qualities needed to take this position”.
David Cameron telephones Juncker
The two no-votes of 27 June, Viktor Orban and David Cameron, also seemed to soften their stance towards Juncker's candidacy, with the Hungarian describing him as a “reasonable” man with whom it will be possible to work. Even Cameron made a telephone call on Sunday 29 June to the “man of the past”, as he has been known to describe Juncker, to tell him that he was prepared to work with him. Cameron congratulated him on his nomination and welcomed the fact that Juncker will undertake to propose the United Kingdom a fair deal. The two men will continue their discussions on 16 July at the forthcoming informal summit on the posts of high representative of the EU and president of the European Council. A sincere act of contrition or one based purely on vested interests? According to certain media sources, the British prime minister is mainly concerned that the United Kingdom could come out a loser in the race for the major commissioner portfolios, with the British particularly interested in Trade, according to a number of sources. (SP)