Strasbourg, 14/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - The EPP-ED are pleased as punch, the European Socialists are on their guard, the Alliance of Democrats and Liberals for Europe and the Greens/EFA want to wait and see, while the GUE/NGL is more hostile. These are, in brief, the reactions from the different political groups at the European Parliament to the ideas expressed on Tuesday 13 November in Strasbourg, by Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of the French Republic.
Joseph Daul, the president of EPP-ED, said he was “very pleased” with Nicolas Sarkozy's speech, which did not hesitate in demanding a debate on the real issues for 500 million Europeans: respect for identity, defence of human rights, implementation of a defence policy and immigration policy, protection without protectionism in a globalised world, refusal of social and ecological dumping. Mr Daul welcomed the influence of Mr Sarkozy on “the need for more security” and also welcomed the freedom of tone chosen by the French president, for whom “no subject can be taboo”. The EPP-ED gave its support to the determination of the French head of state to initiate and nourish reflection on the future of Europe, with the “Committee of Wise Men”.
The Socialist group expressed concerns about Mr Sarkozy's “no” to Turkey's accession to the EU. In a press release, the PES explained that the French president declared during the conference of presidents of groups at the EP, on Tuesday 13 November, that he would oppose full Turkish membership of the European Union. The PES says this declaration “raises concerns” about how relations between the EU and Turkey would evolve during the French presidency in the second half of 2008. According to Martin Schulz, the president of the PES, the position of the French president is one where Europe has very clear borders and where Sarkozy “considered the territory of Turkey to be predominantly in Asia Minor”. Schulz indicated that the prospect of EU accession had, however, enabled the Turkish government to initiate “far-reaching reforms in the country already, and will produce further advances…The very fact that the EU is negotiating on Turkish membership gives an important signal to the whole of the Muslim world. To end those talks abruptly under the French presidency would be a damaging step backwards”. He concluded that it remained to be seen whether this French point of view on Turkey is shared by other members of the European Council. The PES also finds it worrying that the French president “did not mention the word 'social' once in his speech”.
Graham Watson, the “leader” of the Alliance of Democrats and Liberals for Europe (ALDE), declared: “For me, the strongest part of his speech was his firm commitment to building a political Europe”. Watson said that this commitment should enable the European Union to implement the new treaty in 2009. However, Watson did criticise the lack of coherency in Mr Sarkozy's economic policy ideas and advised the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, to keep his hands firmly on the reigns of EU economic policy. Watson explained that the French president reminded him of a “locust in a field of corn” - he defends economic competitiveness and then in the next breath hides behind Community preference, national champions or even guaranteed subsidies to farmers. The president of the ALDE group concluded that Mr Sarkozy did not see how these principles were incompatible, whereas he himself saw something that was indeed incompatible.
Daniel-Cohn Bendit, the co-president of the Greens group, declared that Mr Sarkozy had said that he would be “intransigent on keeping the European Parliament in Strasbourg” as well as in Brussels, despite recurring criticism of this situation. Last May, the French president warned that the Strasbourg site was “not negotiable” because this was “part of the founding balance of Europe”. According to the Greens, the multiplicity of European Parliament sites costs European taxpayers more than €200 million a year. Cohn-Bendit said that the position of the French president on Turkey is not clear. The leader of the Greens explained on the question of whether Turkish accession to the European Union is on the agenda or not, that Mr Sarkozy says “no”, but on the future he says “we'll see” and in the meantime he says, “let's develop a special partnership with this country”. Overall, Cohn-Bendit said that he was neither disappointed nor surprised by Mr Sarkozy's “European tremolo”.
Francis Wurtz, the president of the GUE/NGL group, said that on the big questions the French president had made “statements that correspond to the expectations of the people he is speaking to but, when it comes to acting on these words, he does not hesitate to be at odds with his own analyses”. In this way he says Europe will be constructed with its people, not without them or against them but refuses to organise a referendum to approve the new treaty. Mr Wurtz said that “it is this permanent contradiction that must be brought to light so that a real democratic debate becomes possible”. (O.J.)