Strasbourg, 22/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - After having been heard by the various political groups (see EUROPE of 14 and 15 July), the president-designate of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, urged once more on Wednesday afternoon in Strasbourg for MEPs to vote "yes". "You are the voice of the people. I need your support. Europe needs a Commission that is strong, credible and independent (…). I hope Europe will also be social and cultural (…). Let us, together, open up a new chapter on European integration and clearly express our joint resolve to work in the interest of the European citizens", the former Portuguese Prime Minister said concluding his speech. Attacks against him, however, have not been lacking, with Daniel Cohn-Bendit being his harshest critic. More moderate criticism came from other left-wing MEPs, mainly concerning the way the candidate had been designated rather than the person himself.
Speaking in Portuguese, English and Spanish in turn, Mr Barroso felt that "a strong Commission must be open. It must consult and listen in the context of permanent dialogue with civil society, social partners and regions". Mr Barroso confirmed his determination to preside a Commission which "will work as a team and associate with the diversity of talents and competences the very best that national traditions have been able to produce: a Commission that should meet the highest criteria of excellence in public life". He went on to add that one must make the Council understand the need for the next Commission to include "a higher proportion of women than any previous Commission". In response to the concerns of those who fear pressure from Member States on the president-designate (mainly those of Germany to obtain a "super-Commissioner" responsible for economic issues, Mr Barroso said: "I shall fully carry out the powers conferred upon me by the treaty concerning the choice of future Commissioners, the repartition of portfolios at the beginning and during the mandate and the direction of the College's work (…). But one thing must be clear. There will be no first and second-class Commissioners in the Commission that I preside". Mr Barroso hoped there would be "positive complicity" between the Commission and Parliament and promised that, if a Commissioner "is manifestly not up to his task or fails in the obligations conferred upon him by the treaty, then I shall not hesitate to ask for his/her resignation". Mr Barroso also undertook to provide MEPs with all necessary information and documents and to maintain regular dialogue with them.
In the part of his speech devoted to his political vision, Mr Barroso insisted on the values of solidarity, social justice, equality, and the quality of public services. In response to MEPs' questions (see below), Mr Barroso mainly urged them not to make a "caricature" of his position on social Europe, and said: "I am a centre reformist", in favour of solidarity, mainly between regions and social classes. He said he was not "sectarian" as proven by the fact that he had supported the candidature of a socialist to the Commission presidency (initially the candidature of Portuguese Commissioner Antonio Vitorino). On the subject of Iraq, he recalled that this conflict caused division between European countries, within countries and even within political families. He insisted that an Iraq at peace with itself and with the region is in everyone's interest and, if they accept him, he shall endeavour to see this ensured. In this context, Mr Barroso spoke of relations with the United States saying that one can be a good European and have good transatlantic relations and that he will not allow Europe to be treated as "a second-class power".
Hans-Gert Pöttering confirmed the EPP-ED Group's support for Mr Barroso, while urging him to exercise true leadership. "We no longer want to have the impression that the president of the Commission plays a subordinate role", he said. The president of the Socialist Group, Martin Schulz, put questions to the president-designate: Are you the person able to defend the Constitution if it comes under attack? Are you the person to guarantee that the European social model is preserved? Are you the person who can look the United States in the eye? Mr Schulz ended by saying jokingly: "Of course you cannot satisfy all these conditions at 100% if you are not a member of the Socialist Group". The Liberal Group President, Graham Watson, geared his speech to the metaphor used some years ago by Mr Barroso, that of a Union similar to a pilot without a plane. The British Liberal member called on the president-designate asking: "You now want to be the pilot but do you have a flight plan and what is your flight plan ultimate destination?" He asked what sort of aircraft he wished to pilot saying he hoped it would be an Airbus rather than a Boeing.
Agreeing with Mr Schultz, Mr Watson said: this must be the last time the President of the European Commission is chosen like this, behind closed doors, "in the Justus Lipsius [the building that houses the Council in Brussels] carpet market". The co-President of the Greens/EFA group, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, virulently described Mr Barroso as a "third spare wheel". If you were the best candidate, why wait so long to choose you? he exclaimed. He continued: you want to be a pilot, but are you going to change direction each time your passengers (the MEPs) or the control tower (the Council) ask you to? Mr Cohn-Bendit criticised Mr Barroso's rosy speech: to hear you, anyone would think that we are on the verge of paradise, "the Commission will be strong but prudent, growth will be sustainable and the environment respected". The German Green concluded by exhorting his colleagues not to be the Council's "doormats" and vote against Mr Barroso: this will make the Council finally respect the Parliament. The President of the GUE/NGL Group, Francis Wurtz, was more moderate in his tone but just as severe: at the head of the Portuguese government, you significantly cut the budget for education and hospitals, and you organised the "unfortunate" Azores Summit, the French communist reminded him. Europe needs men and women who are "ready thoroughly to question the trends which propel Europe into crisis", said Mr Wurtz, who told Mr Barroso that "if we refuse to support you, it is to ask you to change course". Jens-Peter Bonde (Independence and Democracy) called upon the future President of the European Commission for maximum transparency, and Cristiana Muscardini (UEN, Italy) asked him to be a pilot who knows his job, and also how to "walk, and become known throughout Europe". Jean-Claude Martinez (Front National, France) announced his support for Mr Barroso, but noted that the future President of the Commission has inherited dossiers he will not be able to do much with: the "dismantling of the CAP", for example (Portugal is one of the victims of the new sugar policy, he pointed out). Marielle de Sarnez (ALDE, France) called for Mr Barroso to answer questions about "the nature of the Europe we want": we need a "genuine political Union with weight in the world", insisted the UDF MEP, convinced that "the citizens want more from Europe, better from Europe". Time is pressing, the European people will soon be called upon to ratify the European Constitution, said Ms de Sarnez. Alessandra Mussolini (Lista Mussolini, independent) stressed the importance of equality and the defence of children's rights, and, referring to Mr Cohn-Bendit's words, said: some people say that we must not be the Council's "doormats", but what "I am interested in its Europe not being the Council's doormat". Pasqualina Napoletano (Democratici di sinistra) asked Mr Barroso whether, as president of the Commission, he would be prepared to propose a directive on the plurality of the media, which is under threat in Italy from the "conflict of interests" of the President of the Council. As for Joao de Deus Pinheiro (EPP-ED, Portugal, former European Commissioner for Development), he told Mr Barroso "I know you well, I know your skills, your good sense, your moderation", and added "I am sure that we will be able to work well with you". Jean-Luc Dehaene (EPP-ED, Belgium), pointed out that as a member of the European Convention, he had acknowledged the need for a smaller European Commission: in a Commission of 25 members, a strong Presidency is even more vital, he said. Furthermore, he stressed the need for an ambitious financial package: with an "overly restricted framework", Europe will not be able to keep its promises, he warned. He concluded, in response to those who described Mr Barroso as a "second choice": Jacques Delors, too, was a "second choice" (appointed after Margaret Thatcher's veto of Claude Cheysson, French Foreign Minister, whilst Mr Dehaene was subjected to John Major's veto, which paved the way for Jacques Santer to be appointed).
The debate continued on Thursday morning, with much criticism. Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (EPP-ED, Poland) said that he was convinced of Mr Barroso's strong leadership, and the Danish Social Democrat Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said that he was sceptical about the assurances of the president elect on economic growth and social protection, and a "first class education system for all Europeans". On the right, there was the rejection of the European institutions advanced as an argument to reject Mr Barroso: Philippe de Villiers of the Independence and Democracy party said that "for us, the Commission cannot be anything other than an administrative college", and "we object to the Commission's programme, Turkey's accession and the Constitution of a federal super-State". Even more virulently, Robert Kilroy-Silk (UKIP, UK) of the same party criticised a Europe which is "inward-looking and restrictive". Italian Green Monica Frassoni asked Mr Barroso about GMOs, without getting a definite answer (see Mr Barroso's response on page 4).