Brussels, 19/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 19 November, European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said that the Commission was “calm” and preparing for the debate planned in Strasbourg next week on the vote of no confidence lodged by the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) Group. He added that the Commission's mode of representation at this debate had not yet been decided, although he seemed to suggest that respect for the logic “of what has been done in the past” would imply that it be Juncker himself who takes part.
MEPs from the EFDD Group of Nigel Farage (UKIP, UK) and Beppe Grillo (Five Star Movement, Italy) succeeded in rallying enough signatures from MEPs to lodge a vote of no confidence in the Juncker Commission on 18 November. Aided by 32 non-attached MEPs, including from the French National Front, the group managed to rally the 76 signatures required. The GUE/NGL Group had last week tried to launch an identical initiative but had not succeeded in rallying the sufficient number of signatures. The most recent tabling of a vote of no confidence in the Commission dates back to 2005, the European Parliament states, and then too it was initiated by Farage - on the subject of a donation of several thousand euro from a very rich business person. Since 1979, there have only been nine votes of no confidence brought by the Parliament - which does not make the event completely anodyne for the current Commission.
This year, the Parliament's europhobes and eurosceptics justify their action by the LuxLeaks scandal that has made life difficult for European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker since his first days in office. In the view of Marco Zanni MEP, from the Five Star Movement, this scandal “shows that Juncker has always acted to enrich his country to the detriment of his European partners”, defying the European spirit, as Zanni stated in a press release. The MEPs who signed the vote of no confidence criticise the loss of millions of euro in tax revenue and they stress Juncker's responsibility for this as the former prime minister of Luxembourg. They say they find it “intolerable” that Juncker can be president of the Commission.
To succeed at the European Parliament, a vote of no confidence must be approved by a two thirds majority of the votes cast, representing a majority of the members of the Parliament, the Parliament states. This vote of no confidence has very little chance of being approved, but it will be interesting to observe the voters' behaviour a few weeks after the vote approving the Juncker college.
The European Parliament is expected to set the timetable for the vote and debate planned in Strasbourg next week during the afternoon of Wednesday 19 November.
Elsewhere, the Parliament's GUE/NGL Group said in a press release that it would not support the motion of the europhobes and eurosceptics - although it has called on Juncker to resign. The European radical left believes that the members of the EFDD Group and the non-attached members are quick to criticise
Luxembourg's tax avoidance, but do not criticise the “United Kingdom's tax havens”. The GUE/NGL Group also criticises the fact that the S&D and Greens/EFA Groups refused to sign its draft vote of no confidence to force Juncker to resign, as the three groups are opposed on how to attack the issues raised by LuxLeaks. (SP)