Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-10-26-Speech-2-043"
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"en.20041026.5.2-043"2
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"Madam President, for the first time in the history of the European Union, the appointment of the new Commission has attracted a great deal of attention throughout the European media. This is partly due to the very particular way in which Mr Buttiglione has commented on the interpretation of fundamental civil rights in Europe and the wounding remarks he has made about large groups of people. My group is not alone in finding these remarks unacceptable and totally inappropriate for a future Commissioner who has the specific task of defending the fundamental rights of every European citizen. The way in which the next President, Mr Barroso, has so far defended Mr Buttiglione leads us to believe that the opinions held in large parts of this Parliament are of no great concern to him. As you stated this morning, a reshuffle is out of the question.
What threw into relief the problems surrounding Mr Buttiglione was the open and direct manner in which the European Parliament heard the new Commissioners. Bearing in mind the urgent need for clarity, and without any preconceived ideas, the Members of this House have tested the new Commissioners on their vision of the future and the functioning of the European Union. It is certainly true of my group that the work that has been carried out painstakingly over the past four weeks forms the basis for the ultimate judgment we will be passing about this Commission tomorrow. This is not just about the provocative statements Mr Buttiglione has made. It has become evident to us that a number of other candidate Commissioners do not always display sufficient knowledge and dedication for the roles they may be playing over the next five years. Thanks to the in-depth and serious manner in which Parliament has acquitted itself of its task in the hearings, the failings of a number of candidates have become apparent. I refer to the almost total lack of commitment to Europe on the part of the new Latvian Commissioner, Mrs Udre, and also to the various conflicts of interest that will make it virtually, if not totally, impossible for the Dutch candidate Commissioner, Mrs Kroes, to fulfil her role on a number of important issues.
The outstanding issues surrounding a few Commissioners and the weak performance of some others are not the only problem. At least equally important is the fact that, during the hearings, only a few of the future Commissioners appeared to have a clear vision of the role of the European Union. As a result, they were hardly capable, if not incapable, of setting clear priorities for the Commission’s coming term of office, or of setting a good example for Europe’s global role. The Social Democrats want the European Union to play a strong role in the world and apply effective multilateralism in order to reinforce peace and democracy. Europe should offer a clear and coherent alternative to counteract the unilateral approach of the United States. It is disappointing that during the hearings, few innovating ideas emerged from the Commission on this score.
The open and direct way in which the European Parliament has welcomed the future members of the Commission has given rise to great expectations. Over the past four weeks, we have shown the European public that we want a new Commission with competent and honourable governors who also have clear ideas about Europe’s future course. Tomorrow, the European public are expecting from us a clear verdict about the Commission presented by Mr Barroso. Although a number of the candidate Commissioners clearly meet the high requirements prescribed by us, our general verdict about the Commission cannot be positive at the moment, not even after this morning."@en1
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