Strasbourg, 16/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - Pat Cox told the press after his election as the tenth President of the European Parliament, since the 1979 election by universal suffrage (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.4), that Parliament has seen a "wonderful display of democratic choice" and that it has reached a result that "celebrates democracy" and gives the Parliament "real legitimacy". Mr Cox had briefly expressed his emotion in plenary, also with a few words in Gaelic, and restated to the press that it was significant that, for the very first time, the Parliament had an Irish President (Ireland is the second smallest country of the EU, he recalled), as this demonstrates that the EU is able to "draw to the centre of European policy people who are at the periphery". Mr Cox gave his assurance that he hoped to cooperate with all those who wish to contribute to the Parliament's work, whether they had voted for him or not. In response to questions on what had happened regarding the candidature of Jean-Peter Bonde between the second and third round (Ed.: when votes went from 76 to 33), he pointed out that not only himself but also the Socialist candidate, David Martin, had spoken with Mr Bonde on Tuesday afternoon. He said that he had not been able to make any promises but had said in particular that the presidents of the groups were willing to examine application of the D'Hondt rule in the future (whereby different functions are attributed according to the size of the groups). The consensus was to apply the rule in decisions taken over recent days, but to create a working group and examine the possibility of elaborating a report on this subject, as it is a "real political problematic", he said. In addition, he pointed out that he had said they had examined "ways in which we can associate" in the work of the Parliament's Bureau (formed of the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Quaestors).
In response to questions put to him, Mr Cox confirmed that priorities will include enlargement, the work aimed at introducing a new "institutional constitutional order" in the Union, and efforts aimed at allowing the Parliament to better "express overall strategy" on the Lisbon Agenda, on which it is co-legislator (he said he hoped to rapidly consult the committee chairpersons on this subject). Regarding the statute of MEPs, he confirmed his personal interest in this issue, repeating: "it is not simple, but must be done. I should like to have a statute for MEPs". Furthermore, in answer to questions on the Corbett Report proposing major changes to the Parliament regulations (see EUROPE of 14/15 January, p.6), which has already been strongly criticised by the Italian Radicals, he acknowledged the fact that there is not yet consensus on this subject, and added that "talks must be opened without delay" in order to see what the small groups are asking for, in particular.
Harmony in plenary after the vote
Like Pat Cox, the leaders of the various groups and the other candidates expressed their views in plenary after the vote, beginning with Hans-Gert Pöttering, who said he was proud that the EPP-ED Group had contributed to Pat Cox's election. He also paid tribute to the Socialist candidate, David Martin. Enrique Baron, President of the Socialist Group, stressed the importance of participation of the work of the Parliament at the Convention (he also noted that Jens-Peter Bonde was successful in "polarising" the outcome of the vote). The Greens candidate, Gérard Onesta, hoped, like the new president, that Europe would come closer to its citizens, and the leader of the Group, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, told Pat Cox to always bear the interests of Europe in mind in his action. He went on to say that "without bearing in mind those who voted for or against you - that is what we have always expected of Ms Fontaine, and she almost always did so". Mr Cohn-Bendit, whose group gave a large part of its votes in support of Pat Cox, after the first round, told the president: "If you need allies, the Greens - whether they voted for you or not - are at your disposal". He encouraged him to remain independent of the overwhelming tutelage of the large group that took him to the presidency. The president of the Union for a Europe of Nations group, Charles Pasqua, who referred to the diplomatic sense and finesse of the new President's proposal, which undoubtedly goes together with a "certain firmness". He also asked Mr Cox to be the President of all MEPs and safeguard the diversity of European culture. Francis Wurtz, United Left/Nordic Green Left presidential candidate, described Pat Cox as a democrat who enjoyed the respect of MEPs. Mr Wurtz said there was no reason to believe that his group could not co-operate with Mr Cox, just as they had done with Nicole Fontaine. Danish Liberal, Karin Riis-Joergensen said that Mr Cox's sense of humour would be missed, and hoped he would "help them make their dream come true". Jen-Peter Bonde presidential candidate for the EDD group said that his friendship with Pat Cox had not weakened and he was, "no longer part of the deal" (with the PPE-DE Editor's note). The leader of the Socialist group, David Martin, described Cox's victory as being well-deserved and that he had, throughout the campaign, demonstrated all the qualities he would need to be a "first class president". Richard Balfe from Britain (who had left the Socialist group) spoke on behalf of the "refugees" from other groups who often feel marginalised and who are looking for fairness and reasonable treatment. He admitted that some of them could at times be "awkward" but they were all democrats and wanted to be treated with respect. French member of the United Left, Sylla Fodé, pointed out that the Parliament did not exactly reflect the countries of the Union and that there were not enough women or people from immigrant backgrounds. She also referred to the many people who looked after their wellbeing, such as the cleaning and maintenance staff. MEPs should spend more time helping them with their problems, she added. Alluding to Mr Cox's having spoken in Gaelic, Ms Sylla, who is of French-Senegalese origin, also expressed her wish to be able to speak her mother tongue, Bamambra, one day.
President Romano Prodi brought the congratulatory speeches to a conclusion and described Cox as a "loyal and convinced" European and hoped that the "exemplary" and co-operative rapport that he had shared with Nicole Fontaine would continue, given that co-operation was the crucial factor in ensuring that the institutions functioned well.
Jens-Peter Bonde withdrew in the third round
Jens-Peter Bonde withdrew in the third round of the presidential elections but Mr Soares had already opened the third round of the ballot before he received Mr Bonde's letter. Mr Bonde stressed the importance of the assurances obtained on equality between MEPs and the manner in which the Parliament worked (the D'Hondt Rule and Bureau decisions). He also emphasised that reports on him receiving votes from members from other groups, as well as his own, was not the result of political alliances but rather, the desire for further democracy in the Parliamentary process. EUROPE also believes that Jens-Peter Bonde has obtained the promise of being one of the 16 European Parliament representatives at the Convention that will prepare the next round of EU reforms. The Conference of President on Thursday afternoon is due to designate these 16 representatives.
Mr Cohn-Bendit's comments on support from the Greens
In a statement to the press on Monday before the voting had come to a close, Daniel Cohn- Bendit defended the decision of his group to vote for Pat Cox, while stressing the fact that for him, the election of a Parliamentary President was not essentially a question of political criteria (as opposed to the elections of the Presidents of the committees). Mr Cohn-Bendit said that it was a matter of choosing the person to best represent Parliament and ensure that pluralism was guaranteed. He explained that the "moral agreement" they had concluded with the Liberals would oblige the Liberals to defend pluralism, something which the Socialists had never done. He said that to have supported the Left would have to have gone down on one's knees and the Socialists should know that the Greens were their equals. From a strategic point of view, Mr Cohn-Bendit regards the election of Mr Cox as a means of changing perspectives in connection to the hegemony of the large groups. Mr Cohn-Bendit sharply denied that a "deal" had been struck with the Liberals. He said that in Parliament they were used to "dealing" with everyone all the time and if they said they "did not do deals", that would mean that they had "already done deals". He said there were no Greens in Mr Cox's Cabinet, which would not have made any sense. Commenting on the good results obtained by Mr Cox, Mr Cohn-Bendit asserted that there was a group of around a hundred separatists in Parliament, of whom Mr Cox had had the good sense to reorganise. Therefore, certain British Conservatives who didn't want to vote for either pro-Europeans or an Irish candidate took shelter behind the Danish Euro-sceptic.