Graz / Brussels, 11/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commissioners for Institutional Affairs, Michel Barnier, and for External Relations, Chris Patten both welcomed several aspects of the speech British Prime Minister Tony Blair made in Warsaw on Friday (see EUROPE of 7 October, p.7).
Thus, in a speech he made at the University of Graz, Michel Barnier observed that Tony Blair had backed a strong and independent Commission (which, said Barnier, would men a limit to the number of Commissioners). Mr. Blair clearly demonstrated, at the right time, that the EU was fully engaged in the debate on the EU's future direction, said Barnier, adding that he was satisfied "with the new emphasis" placed in this speech on the need to allow for enhanced cooperation between countries wanting to move ahead together (at the same time, Mr. Barnier repeated that enhanced cooperation had not to be seen as a magical solution to a lack of agreement, in the IGC, on the extension of qualified majority voting).
As for Chris Patten, in a speech before the "Association of Private Client investment Managers and Stockholders", in Brussels on Saturday, especially welcomed Blair's proposal of giving the European Parliament a role by creating a second chamber of the European Parliament made up of national parliamentarians, so as to "more rigorously control what is done at national and what is done at European level". "I happen to share the view, also, that we do now need to address more definitively the question of who does what at what level in our Union, and the decision of responsibilities between the EU institutions and national and in many cases regional governments. You can call it a constitution if you like, or by any other name: but the purpose would be the same"", said Patten, while noting that "th nation-State is - and will remain - the major focus of loyalty" for citizens, but "to thrive and indeed preserve real rather than mythical independence, European nation states need and in most cases want to do certain things together". "And those things that are done at Community level will usually require a competent, independent and authoritative Commission to oversee them", which Blair acknowledged, notes Patten. He then added: "We have a huge amount to do to reform the way we work in Brussels - and Neil Kinnock and I, one time political adversaries, today work hand in glove, with our Commission colleagues, to try to make the Commission more efficient (…) We've got our hands full doing that, believe me, without battling to expand the Commission's role".