Brussels, 14/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - At the opening of the EP plenary in Brussels on Thursday, the President of the Socialist group at the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, slammed statements recently made by the President Designate of the European Commission, José Manuel Durao Barroso, about the members of the new Commission before reading the letters by the Presidents of the EP committees which have been holding hearings of the new Commissioners (see yesterday's Europe, p.3). The German Social Democrat warned that his political group was not prepared to be treated in this way, adding that it was not just about Rocco Buttiglione, but also about Barroso himself (see below).
At a press conference during a visit to Estonia, José Manuel Durao Barroso said he greatly respected the European Parliament and had full confidence in Buttiglione, believing him to be perfectly suited to his job. His personal views will not interfere with his work, said Barroso, noting that Buttiglione had been approved by the EP's Legal Committee (see Europe of 8 October, p.9). Following a meeting with the Swedish prime minister in Stockholm, Barroso is reported by Reuters as saying that he thought the EP would eventually approve his team of Commissioners. (Reuters notes, however, that before his meeting with Barroso, Goran Persson commented that Buttiglione's comments on homosexuality and women's role in society displayed a 'sensational lack of judgement'.)
Barroso warned the ALDE to be careful. The President of the ALDE group, Graham Watson, is reported by the Financial Times as saying: 'I don't think we should force any one solution on Mr Barroso when there could be a number of possibilities (to settle the rejection of two candidates by the EP committees, Ed.). but if he came up with nothing, it would be very difficult to support (the proposed line-up) when we vote.' From the same political grouping, British Liberal Democrat Chris Davies explained in a press release: 'The ball is in Barroso's court. We don't want blood but we do require that our position is respected. If he wants to put his head in the sand and suppose that he can ignore the Parliament he should not be surprised if MEPs vote down the entire Commission.'
The President of the EPP-ED group, Hans-Gert Pottering, is happy with the outcome of the Conference of Presidents, noting that the EP committees' assessments of the various Commissioners Designate had been very varied. In a press release, Pottering said that it was now up to José Manuel Durao Barroso to draw conclusions. At the same time, Pottering said that they were awaiting concrete concessions from Barroso about future cooperation with the EP.
In an interview with the BBC repeated by Reuters on Thursday, Buttiglione said that he didn't know if he had enough faith to be decapitated for his beliefs, but I have enough faith to say no to a job at the Commission if I have to. Buttiglione said he had not discussed his own fate with Barroso, adding that he though it would be preferable for the European Parliament and for Europe to have a man of conscience, but if he had to fall victim to discrimination because he's a Catholic, he would opt to remain a Catholic. As we have already reported, the EP committees have only rejected two candidates - Buttiglione and Kovacs - but have also expressed serious reservations about three other candidates, Kroes, Fischer Boel and Udre.