Brussels, 07/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - Ecologists and regionalists appealed on Wednesday for the EP presidency to be shared between Bronislaw Geremeck and Josep Borrell. Meeting up for a press conference to make official their new co-operation at the EP, Monica Frassoni and Daniel Cohn-Bendit for the Greens and Ian Hudghton of the European Free Alliance (ALE) consider that the Geremeck-Borrell ticket could get a majority. If the Socialists decide to join the Greens and the Liberals (in which Geremeck is a participant), the EPP-ED will not have the numbers to impose its choice. Daniel Cohn-Bendit often repeated during this meeting with journalists that they had to be able to count. He indicated that the problem was that Schultz, Barron Crespo and today Rassmusen and Borrell say there is no alternative.
Optimistic but lucid, Cohn-Bendit admitted that they had very little chance of reason winning out amongst the MEPs. The main argument of the German MEP lies in the choice and personality of Bronislaw Geremek. "If we want the constitution to become a reality, let's start with Poland, which would be an intelligence test". He added that the former co-founder of Solidarnosc was "a hero, a symbol of the struggle against totalitarianism".
Monica Frassoni said that there was a lack of consideration of the EP. The co-presidents of the Greens did not very much appreciate the fact that Bertie Ahern never thought about meeting heads of the political groups. On this score, Cohn-Bendit explained that the "EP has an unforgettable chance" of showing that Europe corresponded to the Commission, Council and Parliament" if we don't raise our heads, the EP will be left crying in five years", he announced.
Asked by a journalist on Paul Van Buitenen joining the Greens/AFE, Cohn-Bendit acknowledged that he had had a lot of contact with the Dutch MEP and explained that, "he told me that the would not join the Europe of Nations nor the new group of Jens-Peter Bonde as there were racists and anti-Semites in these groups". Satisfied that these moral values were "priorities" that he shared, Cohn-Bendit said that he would agree to the "risk of the debate" with someone who was fighting for a more transparent Europe. Nevertheless he explained to Van Buitenen that his public declarations were "totally independent from the Greens/ALE group".