A number of heads of state or government and representatives of European institutions and bodies have reacted positively or sceptically to the state of the union speech made by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, on Wednesday 13 September (see EUROPE 11861).
The Estonian Primer Minister, Jüri Ratas, felt that Juncker's proposals coincide with the priorities of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU, and politely hailed the “honest discussion” that took place in the hemicycle at Strasbourg. The current President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, welcomed a speech that focuses on unity and on resolving the real problems: migration, security and the economy.
Juncker's idea of merging the posts of Presidents of the Commission and of the European Council was welcomed less warmly. “Let's not mix roles and competences”, tweeted the Danish Prime Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who stressed that the President of the European Council is a vital spokesperson for the member states. This view was shared by the serving Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, who also opposes the idea of European finance minister, going so far as to describe Juncker as a “romantic”.
There is by no means unanimity on the former Luxembourg Prime Minister's calls to see as many EU countries as possible joining the Eurozone, via the creation of a euro pre-accession instrument. In an interview with the public radio station Ö1 on Thursday 14 September, the Austrian Chancellor, Christian Kern, firmly opposed this idea, dismissing the concept as “ill thought out” (our translation). “The Eurozone and the Schengen zone are open to everyone who meets the criteria. If the criteria are not met, nothing can be done. We don't want to see any more situations like that of Greece”, he said.
This was echoed by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, who told an interview with radio station ARD that all criteria had to be met before a country could join the Eurozone.
Hungary, for its part, unsurprisingly reiterated its opposition to transferring any more competences to the EU. “I definitively do not share the approach that the less sovereignty on the level of the member states, the stronger the EU will be. I think it is a dead end street”, Peter Szijjártó, the Hungarian Foreign Minister, told Reuters on Wednesday.
Discourse on equality between states pleasing to the East
The countries of Central and Eastern Europe were very responsive to what Juncker had to say about the need for equality between all member states, “big and small, East and West”. For instance, he called for an end to double standards in the quality of foodstuffs in the EU.
The Czech Prime Minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, welcomed the Commission President's support for cohesion between member states of the East and West. His Bulgarian opposite number, Boïko Borissov, appreciated Juncker's calls for Bulgaria and Romania to join the Schengen zone immediately.
Many governments, such as Slovenia or Spain, also welcomed the Commission President's words on the rule of law, reiterating that respecting democratic standards in the EU was an obligation, not an option. The Polish Secretary of State for European Affairs, Konrad Szymański, on the other hand, said that a “lack of understanding on the question of the rule of law continues”, the news agency PAP reports (our translation). “The dispute has nothing to do with the principle of the rule of law, but its interpretation. The Commission is pretending not to understand this”, he added.
'Transparency' plank hailed by European Ombudsman
In a press release, the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, welcomed the new code of conduct for Commissioners, particularly the extension of the cooling-off period, the publication of information on the travel expenses and the publication of the opinions of the Independent Ethical Committee on positions held by Commissioners after their term in office - measures for which she herself has previously called.
“EU politicians and public officials must be held to the highest transparency and ethical standards. It is important that the public sees that the checks and balances the Commission has in place are working”, she said.
Warm welcome from the European regions
The organisations representing the regions and municipalities of Europe unanimously welcomed President Juncker's intention of creating a working group responsible for verifying the respect of matters of subsidiarity and proportionality.
On behalf of the Committee of the Regions, Karl-Heinz Lambertz warmly welcomed the speech, adding that the regions are the “wind in our sails” referred to by the Commission President. He believes that the EU can progress only by working more closely with the regions and cities in the framework of their respective competencies. The President of the CoR called for the regions to be involved in this task force.
This was echoed by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), with Director Angelika Poth-Mögele describing the measure as “useful and relevant” in improving European legislation and European governance.
The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), however, was more critical. It regrets the fact that in his speech, Juncker did not acknowledge the need for Europe to be refocused on social, economic and territorial cohesion. “It is at the regional and local level that solutions will occur, and where President's Juncker's vision can be effectively implemented”, it states in a press release. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana with Pascal Hansens)