Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-11-17-Speech-3-183"
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"en.20041117.9.3-183"2
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"Mr President, today sees us holding the second debate on the appointment of the new European Commission under Mr Barroso’s leadership. The first debate, three weeks ago, primarily concerned itself with problems around the nomination of a number of new Commissioners and with the lack of cooperation between Parliament and the incoming President where the composition of the new Commission was concerned. Then, the eyes of all Europe’s media were upon this House. Everyone was asking themselves whether a majority in the European Parliament would be prepared to accept the logical consequence of the work done in the hearings over the previous weeks. The specific question was whether a majority in this House would be able to summon up the discipline and the courage to deliver, in their final resolution, a substantial, fact-based weighing-up of the qualities of the individual Commissioners and of the new European Commission as a whole.
What eventually came out was the statement that ‘No, we do not have the confidence that the Commission, as at present proposed, will in the best possible way be able to defend the interests of the European public’, and this represented a manifest victory for Parliament. Through
the united stance of my own group, it became apparent that the European Parliament was prepared, and able, to make the best possible use of the options available to it to get Mr Barroso to make the necessary adjustments to the Commission he had presented. The hearings we have had this week with the candidate Commissioners have indicated that, in terms of quality, the Commission has been improved by this.
It has to be said that it appears that everyone has emerged stronger from the dispute surrounding the appointment of the new Commission. Parliament formulated its position in a serious and open debate, and in an open process of hearings. This enabled it to make clear that its position, having been reached openly and on the basis of consideration of the facts, deserves to be respected and to be taken very much to heart by the other European institutions, the Commission and the Council. Parliament’s position and prestige are thereby very definitely reinforced.
The Commission, and its future President, have, however, albeit at a very late stage in the proceedings, found a way to cooperate with this House and resolve the outstanding problems. This new way of cooperating will ultimately also mean that the Commission will be in a stronger position, something that will be useful to it in discussions and negotiations with the Member States over the years to come.
As we see it, one group, united, has been able to make it clear that it is not possible, in European politics, to push through resolutions with the support of just one political force in this House. We are prepared to take upon ourselves responsibility for the future policy of the European Union.
The actual core point that I want to make, though, is that the real winners are the European public. They have been able to see that this House is willing to take seriously the battle to make Europe as good as it can be. The debate, which was at times hard-fought, on the putting together of the Commission, has given their votes in the European elections a manifest added value. Parliament and the Commission also have, as I see it, the grave obligation to flesh out, over the coming years, the added value that we have gained for ourselves over past weeks; in my experience of contacts with people in the Netherlands who voted for me, these events have in any case considerably enhanced Parliament’s prestige."@en1
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