Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-21-Speech-1-081"
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"en.20050221.13.1-081"2
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"Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the speech we have just heard was not a speech from the European People’s Party, but from the French Gaullists. Mrs Grossetête, given the substance of your speech, I cordially invite you to join us, and we shall quickly secure majorities for socially responsible policies in the European Union. I saw the profound shock in the eyes of my fellow Member, Mr Poettering, and it was a real treat to observe his reaction.
President Barroso, I am delighted that you have managed to be with us in spite of the present demands on your time. I want to make that very clear. We are all aware of the problems you experienced in London with your flight. Your presence here augurs well for cooperation between the Commission and the European Parliament. Let me emphasise that. But enough of these pleasantries, for I also have one or two remarks to make that I believe you will be less happy to hear.
I do not wish to return to the issue of whether it was right or wrong for you to appear in an advert for the PSD in Portugal. That is in the past now. I would like to make a serious proposal, however, with regard to the negotiations on the framework agreement. We must make a decision. There is a provision in the framework agreement between Parliament and the Commission which clearly states that Commissioners are not forbidden to engage in political activities in their home countries, provided they discuss the activity beforehand with the President of the Commission, who either gives his consent to whatever is necessary for the performance of the activity or expresses his misgivings.
There is no rule, however, for the President, although his conduct should, of course, be exemplary. I personally have no problem whatsoever with the principle that the Commissioners, or you as President of the Commission, have a set of political views and can air those views in public. I am well aware of where your political affiliation lies. It goes without saying that you are not required to go around hypocritically pretending that your election to the presidency of the Commission has made you politically neutral. I believe it is only right that you should continue to uphold your views, but the same rule must apply to the President and the Commissioners alike, whether it authorises or forbids all of you to engage in national politics. Saying ‘yes’ to some and ‘no’ to others is unacceptable. This is why I suggest that we clarify this matter in the framework agreement.
A second remark, Mr President; in our most recent discussion of your work programme, I said on behalf of our group that we saw the glass as half full. I said this because we had seen encouraging signs that you were heeding the appeals which we Socialists had been making to you and your Commission.
Then, a few days later, I found an interview with you in the
in which you took a completely different line from the one you had presented when you addressed this Parliament. ‘Economy is in the front seat’, you were now saying. No! Social coherence is in the front seat – at least for us Socialists, Mr President – and we shall not release you from your obligations on this score. You presented a work programme with Socialist elements but then gave an interview in the
which went in the very opposite direction. Later, Mr Špidla presented a paper to which we Socialists can heartily subscribe, but this was followed by comments in the press by Mrs Hübner which we find absolutely impossible to accept.
You made it to the Berlaymont building, Mr President, but I have the impression that, whenever you arrive at the Schuman roundabout, you are no longer sure which exit to take. For this reason, let me suggest that you follow our Socialist proposals, because the problem with the European Union is this: if we do not make it clear to the public that this Union of ours offers them social security, and allow them to carrying on thinking that Brussels is out to destroy their social security, the risks we incur will outweigh the opportunities we create. Until we stop conveying that impression, citizens will continue to turn their backs on Europe.
This has to do with the fact that the neo-liberal approach is presented – perhaps not by you, Mr Barroso, but by many of your Commissioners and, what is far worse, by a great many of your officials within the Commission as a fact of everyday life; all will be well with Europe, so the theory goes, when it is deregulated, made more flexible, and locked into a downward social spiral. As long as this is the main thrust of your Commission’s policies, the climate will never change in favour of the EU. We Socialists have not been elected to support the sort of neo-liberal policies that are enshrined in the Bolkestein directive, but to guarantee both sides of the coin on which our discussions have long been focused. On the one hand, we need competition and flexibility, but this increase in competition and flexibility must serve to promote the achievement of the other goal, namely social stability.
For this reason, I ask you to stand by what you said in your strategic guidelines and what you presented to us, together with Mrs Wallström and Mr Verheugen, in the Lisbon strategy, which formulates these very principles: greater flexibility and more competition, certainly, but also an enduring commitment to the social structures that are Europe’s greatest achievement. If you read our resolution, you will see that we are willing to engage in constructive cooperation with you, but only if you, along with your Commission, are willing to build a social Europe. Then we shall gladly give you our backing."@en1
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