Brussels, 13/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - In his last speech to the European Parliament as President of the European Commission in Brussels on Wednesday, Romano Prodi took stock of his mandate, pointing out that the Commission he had chaired for five years had come a long way. In 1999, he said, some people wanted to restrict institutional reform to the leftovers from Nice, and only accepted enlargement to six new countries and with no "specific time-frame", and the Commission was in crisis, "shaken by the events of 1998-99" (which led to the fall of the Santer Commission: Ed). With no rhetoric, one can safely say that changes in Europe during your mandate were "historical", said Parliament President Josep Borrell, referring to enlargement and to the Euro: the monetary union "which was so long awaited will bear the name of the Prodi Commission", he said. He told Romano Prodi: my predecessor (Pat Cox) assured me that you always lent a very "careful ear to the Parliament".
This excellent institutional cooperation (between the Parliament and the Commission) was also recognised by several presidents of the political groups, including the president of the EPP-ED group, Hans-Gert Pöttering, who added at one point that in the last few months, President Prodi had been focussing rather too much on Italian national politics for his taste (the CDU MEP particularly thanked Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, who is responsible for relations with the Parliament). On this point, the President of the Socialist group, Martin Schulz, said to Romano Prodi (on his role within the Uniti nell'Ulivo coalition): now you are going back to Italy, and I do not know what decision you will make for your political future, I hope you will make the right one, and whatever happens we will be "by your side". We will measure your successor's behaviour towards us by comparing it with yours, warned Mr Schulz. Your successor would do well to follow your example, said Graham Watson, president of the ALDE group, adding (in an Italian accent): "Romano Prodi, bravo". Bravo to Romano Prodi and to several of his Commissioners, who were listed by the British Liberal, especially in terms of progress achieved on justice and home affairs matters, and for "the intelligent, inventive" legislation on the internal market. It is said that Augustus made Rome, a city of bricks, into a city of marble, and you have made Europe into a better Europe, said Mr Watson. In light of the hearing of the Commissioners designate for the future Barroso College, I fear that we will miss our Commission and most of all some of its members, said Monica Frassoni, co-president of the Greens/EFA group, whose judgement on the Prodi Commission was overall positive, despite a few regrets (especially on Cyprus, where the Greens were hoping for more decisive initiatives, or the Kyoto protocol, about which the Italian MEP had some criticism for Loyola de Palacio). The President of the GUE/NGL group, Francis Wurtz, was more negative, stating that he was not addressing his views to any one person, but to the policies: headlong liberalism, how transatlantic relations are carried out… Speaking on behalf of the Union for the Europe of Nations group, Alleanza nazionale MEP Cristiana Muscardini was harsh for other reasons, criticising Romano Prodi in particular for being incapable of playing a "super partes" role, for not having correctly prioritised the fight against terrorism and for failing to make the transition to the euro easy enough for the citizens. Marielle de Sarnez (ALDE, France) completely disagreed: "we were promised a shambles, but the Europeans quickly got used to their single currency". Another French MEP, Françoise Grossetête (France), on the contrary, laid into Romano Prodi: "your presence here is almost an event, we've hardly seen you at the parliament in the last couple of months", she said, accusing him of running out of steam and vision. Maciej Marian Giertych of Poland decided only to mention the resentment of the new Member States, which, he said, had been discriminated against: in previous waves of enlargement (he referred to Ireland, Portugal), newcomers had come straight in on an equal footing, but not us, said the Polish League of Families MEP.
Among the Italian MEPs who took the floor, Antonio Tajani (Forza Italia) stressed the "shadows" left on the table of the outgoing Commission (industrial policy, Lisbon process, and the "back-door entries" of officials at the Commission). He above all reproached Romano Prodi for having taken advantage of his "prestigious function" for political purposes in Italy, acting as if he were in the opposition to the Berlusconi government. Naturally, the speech by the president of Democratici di sinistra, Massimo d'Alema, was in quite a different tone. He recalled that, with Gerhard Schröder, he had proposed Prodi's candidature during the European Council in Berlin, as he had proposed that of Mario Monti. "To you, Romano, and to you, Mario Monti, I want to say that there is an Italy that feels honoured by the way in which you have been able to represent our better pro-European and democratic tradition", he said. Mr D'Alema (like DS member Lapo Pistelli, who said he could sum up his message by "mission accomplished"), above all welcomes the conception held by Romano Prodi of the role of the European Commission - a non-bureaucratic but political body able to be the driving force for supranational political matters.
Romano Prodi states there have been no groups of countries consistently pushing for greater integration
In his speech, Romano Prodi had also stressed the importance of the Commission's role, mainly citing the "innovative" initiatives that his Commission has taken on institutional matters. Never in recent years "have two visions of Europe been opposed", he admitted, noting that Europe and the attitudes held by Member States towards Europe have greatly changed and developed since the eighties and nineties. Thus, he commented, "in recent years, the alliances between governments have often been ad hoc alliances, pragmatic alliances, linked to specific proposals or to the political situation (…), and there have been no groups of countries that have consistently pushed for greater integration". Furthermore, in his summary but complete report, he willingly evoked two affairs in which his initiatives or his remarks have caused either a smile or fierce criticism before being implemented in the end. They are: the need to make the Stability Pact "more intelligent" and that of bringing Libya closer to Europe allowing it to take up its rightful place in the international community. Despite the criticism he has received on either of these points, this Commission has been a harmonious College, he concluded, adding: "We have never been nasty to each other"