Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-31-Speech-3-052"
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"en.20040331.1.3-052"2
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".
I shall be very brief because I identify completely with the replies given by Mr Ahern and the energetic policies developed on all the subjects covered by the European Council.
I should just like to make an observation on what Mr Barón Crespo said in his speech. He expressed a keen concern for the way certain members of the Commission have left to take up important government positions. I cannot deny that this may cause some problems, and I cannot deny that it requires quick decisions to ensure the effectiveness and continuity of the delicate job of the Commission in these last months of its term.
The first, truest and strongest reaction for me is one of great satisfaction. The fact that national governments are time and again headhunting Commissioners to get through times of crisis or to prepare for re-election is clear, official recognition of the great political role that this institution has played throughout this term of office. I have always maintained that the Commission is a political body, and I have always consistently asked Commissioners to assume their own political responsibility for what they say and do. If you see how former Commissioner, Anna Diamantopoulou has taken on the main role in the Greek political campaign, how Mr Solbes Mira is very likely to be responsible for managing the Spanish economy, and how Mr Barnier will probably be given foreign policy in France, you will understand the role that the Commission has played over the last five years.
When the first change happened, Commissioner Dimas was quickly and efficiently brought in and he has already started his excellent work. I shall be just as quick so as not to interrupt the Commission’s work for a moment and will take full responsibility for making these interim periods as short as possible. It will be the same with the other two cases ahead of us and any others that occur in future, since there probably will be other cases; there will be other Commissioners standing in the European elections, something that I consider a highly positive sign. I just hope that this will prove to be a two-way process, and in the end there will be Members of this Parliament who can join the next Commission. These are in fact the rules of democracy, the ways in which Parliament and the Commission reinforce each other. This speech is certainly very general, but it is a serious and truly necessary one, and those speeches about a bureaucratic, technocratic body are talking about the past: the facts have shown what the real situation is.
As for my Commission, it will continue to operate with collegiality, efficiency and continuity, and I shall vouch for this continuity until the end of our mandate, that is, until the night of 31 October to 1 November. Could you also let our friend Mr Poettering know, Mrs Doyle? I am sure he will be very pleased."@en1
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