Brussels, 23/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - For many observers of the European institutions, Karel Van Miert, who died on Tuesday 23 June, after falling from a ladder in his much-loved garden, will always be a convinced European who was not afraid to speak his mind. Van Miert, the first leader of the Flemish Socialist Party, was elected to the European Parliament in the first election by universal suffrage in 1979, then again in 1984 (receiving almost 50,000 votes). As a European commissioner between 1989 and the end of 1999, he held the transport, consumer protection, competition and administration portfolios. He made his mark principally on European competition policy. His handling of the Crédit Lyonnais rescue, the Kirch-Bertelsman agreements, audiovisual rights to automobile sport and the proposed merger of Boeing and McDonnel Douglas won for him the sobriquet of “Europe's most powerful man”.
In a press release, the European Commission paid tribute to the “convinced and committed European that Karel Van Miert always was”. “He carried that commitment throughout his Belgian and European political career, from his early days as a 'stagiaire' at the European Commission through to the highest offices within that institution. As a European commissioner … he worked tirelessly and with a strong social conscience, obtaining lasting results. He always stressed the social role of the internal market, applying competition rules to protect the weakest from the possible abuses of the strongest, and the need for a common market to ensure fairness for all. He defended his vision of the internal market as a project that was at the service of European citizens. His work and his example continue to inspire the work of the European Commission,” the press release states.
Several political figures, such as former European Commission President Jacques Delors, current President José Manuel Barroso, European Commissioner and former Belgian minister Louis Michel, European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering and EPP President Wilfried Martens saluted this man of conviction and action who called a spade a spade, as may be seen by his interview with Agence Europe in February 2008. In it, Karel Van Miert, a staunch supporter of the collegiate system and the independence of the European Commission lamented the recent weakening of the Commission (see EUROPE 9602). (O.J./transl.rt)