Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-11-18-Speech-4-042"
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"en.20041118.6.4-042"2
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".
Mr President, Mr Barroso said: 'I think my team is of high quality'. Well, let us conduct a human audit. I am mindful that audits are not very popular in the European Commission and that auditors – if they do their job properly – get fired, but nonetheless here goes:
Ask yourself a question: would you buy a used car from this Commission? The answer simply must be 'No'! Even if they were competent and even if this were a high-quality Commission – sorry, Mr Barroso, but I do not think it is – we would still vote 'No' on the political principle that the Commission is the guardian of the Treaties; the Commission is the motor for integration; the Commission initiates the legislation that is damaging our businesses across Europe so badly; the Commission is the embodiment of all that is worst in this European Union; the Commission is the government of Europe and is not directly accountable to anybody.
Please, when you vote, take note that 20 of these Commissioners have already said that they intend to attempt to implement the Constitution even before it has been ratified by Member State governments. In the face of such breathtaking arrogance, nobody in the Independence and Democracy Group will vote for this Commission.
From France we have Mr Barrot, who will take on transport. In 2000 he received an eight-month suspended jail sentence for his involvement in an embezzlement case and was banned from holding public office for two years.
From Hungary we have Mr Kovács, who will take on taxation. For many years he was a Communist apparatchik, a friend of Mr Kádár, the dictator in Hungary, and an outspoken opponent of the values that we hold dear in the West.
His new empire will produce taxation policy and he will look after the customs union from Cork to Vilnius. Are the PPE Group and the British Conservatives really going to vote for that?
From Estonia we have Mr Kallas, who for 20 years was a Soviet Party apparatchik until his newly acquired taste for capitalism got him into trouble. However, to be fair, he was acquitted of abuse and fraud but convicted for providing false information. He is going to be in charge of the anti-fraud drive! You could not make this up!
From the UK we have Mr Mandelson, who will take on the trade portfolio. He, of course, was removed twice from the British Government, but to be fair, he is one of the more competent ones!
From the Netherlands we have Mrs Kroes, who will take on competition. She is accused of lying to the European Parliament. These may be only allegations, but they are made by Mr van Buitenen and should be listened to."@en1
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"(Laughter and applause from the IND/DEM Group)"1
"(Loud applause from the IND/DEM Group)"1
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