Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-10-27-Speech-3-070"
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"en.20041027.5.3-070"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, it turns out that Mr Barroso needed to be given a fright in order to resign himself to withdrawing his Commission. It is a victory for European democracy and a great encouragement to all those who helped create the conditions for this decision.
I would point out that when, under the pretext that it was criticising his team, the President-designate accused half of this House of siding with, and I quote, ‘the anti-European extremists’, he yesterday revealed himself once more to be precisely the person he not long ago maintained he did not want to be: a President of the Right in conflict with the Left and, indeed, the liberals.
The Commission did not believe that we could agree upon a common position, but we succeeded and we won. Now, the next stage has to be prepared and, with that in view, lessons learned from what has just happened. How did such an unprecedented situation arise? Yesterday, I drew attention to the disaffection felt by the majority of people and to some of the symptoms of the evil that is eating away at our institutions. In this context, the challenge to be taken up by European leaders at all levels was, and remains, that of daring to carry out a critical evaluation of what is now lacking and of showing that they are determined to invest the European adventure with meaning again, for, contrary to what you said, Mr Barroso, I, for my part, believe in Europe. I am convinced of the need for Europe, so do not go on classifying me among the anti-Europeans.
Mr Barroso did the opposite of taking up this challenge. Not only did he accentuate the most controversial features of European economic and social policy by placing champions of liberalism in strategic posts, but he also fuelled fears of a return to the moral and patriarchal order of times gone by and of people uniting behind a vision of the world closer to that of American neo-conservatives than to the expectations of Europeans. That is what, in our view, must change in the future Commission, not just the identity of the person responsible for a particular portfolio.
In this troubled context, I shall single out one very good piece of news. Others have said it before me: what we have here are fresh stirrings of political confrontation in the European Parliament, finally replacing half-heartedness and feeble consensus. A real debate about the civilised order has begun that may have far-reaching consequences for the greater good of Europe. In this sense, these historic moments constitute a genuine milestone. May their promise be fulfilled!"@en1
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