Brussels, 04/04/2000 (Agence Europe) - With an unusual tone and especially harsh that the European Commission spokesperson denied the information published in Germany on the so-called plot to evict President Prodi. The Head of "press and communication" service, Jonathan Faull, quoted the newspaper in question - the frankfurter Allhemeine Zeitung - in expressing the Commission's regrets to see a newspaper of such good standing publish such absurdities and its deep "indignation" on reading this psedo-information.
The article expects a "form of regicide" asserting that Commissioners are taking part in the plot are proposing to make Romano Prodi leave and choose a president among themselves; they are not yet agreed on the name to put forward, but, the paper adds, the two British Commissioners Neil Kinnock and Chris Patten have ambitions. Furthermore, the paper asserts that Vice-President Kinnock is working to nominated British civil servant to the highest posts.
President Prodi, who is in Cairo for the EU/Africa summit, simply responded: "Your joking?" to the person questioning him on the information and a close source announced: "we are not a banana republic where the Commissioners are in a position to organise putsches."
According to German EPP MEPs, it would be irresponsible to provoke a crisis in the Commission
Several German Member of the European Parliament's EPP group have immediately reacted to this information in asserting that it would be irresponsible to provoke a crisis in the European Commission.
The CSU member Ingo Friedrich Vice-President of the Parliament, asserts that, even if the Commission President has not until now satisfied the initial expectations the European Parliament must not "act as a barrier to Prodi"; if the Commission and the Parliament weaken each other, it is the Council who will benefit, he said while noting that the Lisbon Summit already sketched-out such a development. The CDU member Hartmut Nassauer reminded that the Commission President may be overturned, with the entire Commission, only through a Parliamentary censure motion, which is presently unjustified: the capacity of the Commission to function must not be put into question by rumours, he feels. The CSU member Markus Ferber noted that until now Prodi did not justify his "laurels," which he was "generously given in advance" by the Council, but there is no definite reason to distance him from his post (Mr. Nassauer and Mr. Ferber especially criticised, with Mr. Prodi, his "precipitated offer" of meeting with President Kheddafi, and his letter of protest to the EP Presidency for the attitude of the budgetary control committee).