Brussels, 03/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - After the exchange of views with the enlarged conference of presidents of EP political groups on the proposals made by the Barroso Commission for revitalising the Lisbon Agenda (yesterday's EUROPE, pages 5 to 7), conflicting comments come from several MEPs on the Commission's communication on a new strategy for growth and jobs: some are very positive, others cautious or even negative.
From within the EPP-ED Group, CDU member Werner Langen urges the Barroso Commission in a press release to show resoluteness in keeping on track. He was mainly adamant about review of the existing legislation which hampers competitiveness (but also challenged the REACH project on chemical products). Langen above all urged the new Commission to find its right place in the power game between European institutions and not just to become a supplement to the European Council. In his view, the next five months will show whether this Commission can be a driving force for Europe's success. Markus Ferber (CSU), in the same group, placed emphasis on the responsibility of Member States, and seizes the opportunity to criticise the Schröder government (while opposing any attempt to increase an EU budget to which Germany would cover one fifth). FDP members (ALDE Group) are very positive, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff assures, speaking of the “clear line” bearing the “Verheugen and Barroso signature and the support of the FDP and all the Liberals”.
From the PES, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen regrets in a press release that the Commission sees social policy as a burden for society and environmental policy as a burden for industry. Eighty percent of its plan focuses on initiatives for industry, he stressed. From the Greens/EFA, Pierre Jonckheer and Claude Turmes consider that the Commission's approach “resembles the priorities of the Thatcher years”. They say they share the goals of job creation and innovation but the instruments proposed are not appropriate. They reproach the Commission, moreover, for not showing “enough leadership” and waiting for governments to assume their responsibilities.