Brussels, 25/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - An overwhelming majority of MEPs at the plenary session on 25 May in Brussels on the censure motion presented by Nigel Farage (UK Independence Party), Co-President of the Independence and Democracy Group, against the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, confirmed rejection of the initiative largely considered as demagogic and populist. The signatories of the motion, to be voted at the June plenary in Strasbourg (from 6 to 9 June), state this is the only way to ensure that the president of the Commission appears at the plenary session in order to explain how he was able to accept a donation of several million euros from a very wealthy businessman who, one month later, received the Commission's go-ahead for granting regional aid worth EUR 10 million. The signatories state they are willing to withdraw the censure motion if a “reasonable explanation and clear rules” are given in plenary making it a requirement that all Commissioners declare all donations of value. The explanations given by President Barroso satisfied most MEPs, some of whom denounced the “political spectacle” afforded by their colleague, but certainly did not meet with the satisfaction of the eurosceptics of the UK Independence Party and the other signatories of the motion. In particular, José Manuel Barroso repeated (as he had already done in a letter to President Borrell in April) that one of the facts he is reproached with - the European Commission approval of State aid to a company owned by a friend from student days, Greek shipowner Spiros Latsis, who had allowed him to stay for a holiday on his boat for a few days - dated back to a period before he took up his duties as president of the European Commission.
Nigel Farage had from the outset recalled that, on 3 February, he had written to all Commissioners asking them how many free holidays or hospitality they had enjoyed. His letter was not answered. “Thank heaven”, he said, the German daily, Die Welt, revealed in August last year that Mr Barroso had taken part in a cruise on a yacht owned by Mr Latsis, who had received the Commission's authorisation for State aid one month later. It was also learnt that the Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, spent holidays on a “luxury yacht” owned by the Microsoft co-founder, he added, saying: “You obviously have a better circle of friends than I have”. Mr Farage then entered into an unusual little game of “question and answer” with British Conservative Roger Helmer, who signed the censure motion (and who was a member of the EPP-ED until today). He asked him: Is it normal for the presidents of large groups to put pressure on their members for them to sign the motion, or for them to withdraw their signature, as Mr Pöttering had done with the British Conservatives? These leaders “should be ashamed of themselves”, Mr Farage said, proud of being a “committed eurosceptic”. He concluded saying: this Parliament cannot be a legislator, but it can “hire and fire the bosses”, and should not fail to do so.
The censure motion is “obviously unjustified and totally unfounded” José Manuel Barroso proclaimed, saying he had nothing to add to what he had written to President Borrell, namely that, in August 2004, he spent one week with his family and other persons on a boat belonging to a friend of his that he had known over twenty years ago when he was a student in Geneva. (On a slightly lighter tone, Mr Barroso said: “I know no-one who would be brave enough to invite Mr Farage on a boat for one week”, which also seemed to amuse Nigel Farage). He went on to stress that their friendship began well before he entered politics and “the nature of our friendship has never changed”. He said he has never known any link between his friend's business and the Commission's decision, saying: the bad faith of the signatories of the motion is proven by the fact that the authorisation for State aid to Greece to which they refer had been taken in September 2004 by the Prodi Commission, at a proposal by Commissioner Monti. “This lapse of time, that Mr Farage forgot to mention in his text” shows the extent to which his initiative is “illegitimate and absurd” as it “is based on an abusive insinuation”, Mr Barroso said indignantly, recalling that “the current Commission has put the strictest rules into practice on the risk of conflict of personal interest”. This kind of attack and the groundless accusations target Europe and the credibility of the institutions in fact, exclaimed Mr Barroso, saying it crosses the “line between democracy and demagogy and, that, I cannot accept”. (the world “demagogy” provoked a strong reaction from Jens-Peter Bonde, Co-President of the Independence and Democracy Group, who grew red with anger). President Barroso, who denounced this style of “political spectacle” assured MEPs that he is willing to work for them to guarantee maximum transparency, and the proposals by the Commission in November 200 to create a “consultative group on standards in public life remains on the table”(this group will cover all institutions, including the Court of Justice, Court of Auditors, Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions).
Hans-Gert Pöttering, president of the EPP-ED group considered the censure motion indecent and noted that five British members of his group had signed it without consulting him. He also accused Roger Helmer and said that he had shown this “dear” colleague more patience than he had with others and told him he should consider himself outside the group. Martin Schulz president of the Socialist group also criticised the “calumnies” by the authors of the motion who had done it “just for show”. Graham Watson, president of the ALDE group told the signatories that they were ridiculous, “you claim to say j'accuse…but your are not Zola…what you want to do is to provoke the maximum of problems before the referendum in France and the Netherlands. Don't talk about transparency, why did four British sovereignists refuse to publish their private financial interests on the internet?” As for the friendships of president Barroso, the British Liberal Democrat said that all the major industries had to deal with the Commission at some point and if Barroso did not have any contact with industry “he would have as few friends as Mr Farage”. This motion is inopportune, stated Monica Frassoni, co-president of the Greens-EFA group, while noting that this affair is the consequence of the mistaken decision of leaving Commissioner Kroes in her place (the competition Commissioner is obliged to delegate some dossiers, notably maritime transport, to the president of the Commission because of the danger of a conflict of interest: Editor's note). Miguel Portas replacing Francis Wurtz as president of the GUE/NGL groups (in his absence he rejected Farage's initiative in a press release) explained that he had withdrawn his signature from the motion because his opposition to the Barroso Commission is based on a political plan and not a process of intentions. Brian Crawley, president of the UEN group said it was “opportunism of the most crass order” and said that the motion diverted them form important issues. Jens-Peter Bonde asked why they had not published a list of presents that cost more than 100 euro, whereas Hans-peter Martin the Austrian non-attached accused president Barroso of being distant from citizens and that he should “wake up!”