Brussels, 01/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - The ALDE is not happy about the idea of having a deadline for the appointment of the president of the new European Commission foisted upon it. The day after his election as head of the European Parliament's liberal and liberal democrat group, Guy Verhofstadt set out his group's conditions on Wednesday 1 July 2009 for their support for a candidate designated by EU heads of state. While the list does not in theory rule out the approval of Barroso by the EP this month, the clock is ticking and pressure mounting on Barroso.
Before anything else, the European Council must formally designate a candidate, said Verhofstadt, the erstwhile Belgian prime minister, after a meeting of the ALDE group. The political support given by the EU27 to José Manuel Barroso is an 'original but not normal' procedure that does not really enable the EP to move forward, he told reporters. Once the decision had been formalised (which, it seems, may still be possible in the very near future using the written procedure), the designated candidate should present a full, ambitious action plan for the next five years.
The action plan, a genuine 'statement of EU policy,' should be published and debated with members of the European Parliament, and should show whether the new Commission will be able to change course. The action plan would need more than a handful of phrases and a list of measures to be taken by the Commission, which is, after all, the focus of the institutions, explained Verhofstadt. At heart, this is a question about substance, not individuals, argued Verhofstadt, calling on the future president of present a different programme from the past and to develop a new strategy to tackle the economic crisis. On Wednesday 8 July 2009, the ALDE will finalise a memorandum on the issues to be put on the next European Commission's agenda, particularly to combat the financial and economic crises. Verhofstadt argued that the European Commission had to develop an economic recovery strategy and move beyond the current situation of simply coordinating the 27 Member States' national policies and their 27 state plans and 27 approaches to supporting the banking industry.
As far as the ALDE is concerned, which does not want to submit to a deadline imposed by the European Council or the EPP, the important thing is to strengthen the new European Parliament's credibility by using a democratic and open procedure. In order to achieve this, it is vital that a wide coalition is organised at the EP between the various pro-European political movements. Such a broad alliance could cover a number of formations but the Eurosceptics would not be allowed to join, including the UK Tories and their new political group the 'Conservatives and European Reformists'.
Verhofstadt said that it was not possible at the moment for the ALDE group to back Barroso at the 14-16 EP plenary session, but things might change when the EP Conference of Presidents decides by a simple majority vote whether to put the appointment of the president of the new European Commission on the agenda for the plenary, as long as Barroso acts fast and effectively. (A.B. trans fl)