The Foreign Policy Association and the European Courier spoke with the Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the United Nations, Ambassador Fernando Valenzuela of Spain, about issues impacting the EU at the UN. Watch the video below or read the transcript here.
The European Parliament rang in its 50th anniversary today, with a ’solemn ceremony’, in what FT commentator Andrew Bounds calls “an even more surreal session” in Strasbourg than usual. Since 1958 and with the growth of the Union the legitimacy (first appointed then directly elected), size (from 142 members to the current 785) and role in the legislative process (initially advisory only, now almost on par with Member States in the majority of issues) has changed to an almost incredible degree. Still, shortcomings are aplenty: A survey published last week revealed that 73% of Europeans feel ill-informed about what it is the parliament does, though generally speaking they think it wields more power than the other institutions. Two-thirds of those queried had no idea when the next elections for the EP would take place - no one dared to ask, of course, if they even cared.
And there we have it: the quintessential dilemma - most people still don’t care. The parliament’s president, Hans-Gert Poettering, had to go so far today as to issue a call to national European parties to nominate candidates who mattered to people for seats in Europe’s elected body. A German saying plays on that fact, implying that only the most passé or incomeptent get shipped off to Brussels (’Hast Du einen Opa, schick ihn nach Europa’), because wouldn’t you want to keep the best where they mattered most - at home? That thinking of course is inherently flawed, given the fact that nearly 80% of national legislation in certain countries is handed down directly from Brussels - so wouldn’t you want the brightest shaping policies there?
Naturally, the EP suffers through the same crises as national parliaments - questions over allowances, bonuses and other benefits are forever resurfacing in the press - and these are legitimate questions to ask. Then there is that whole ‘accountability’ thing: While citizens have trouble holding the Parliament accountable, largely because the voting districts and the electoral system for some countries is different from their national contexts, the EP itself has been successful in playing itself as the people’s advocate. It brought the Santer Commission down; it stopped an avowed homophobe from becoming EU Commissioner; it was instrumental in capping the cost of mobile telephone calls in the Union; it has ensured robust anti-discrimination legislation and prevented the liberalization of Europe’s harbors for fear of an unemployment wave. It sets the rules for multibillion Euro mergers and has a key role to play in the regulation of markets from telecomms to energy.
Yes, there are plenty of lame ducks in the Parliament, hiding amongst the extremely hard-working and committed men and women. For it to become a more relevant institution to the Union’s citizens, the Parliament as a whole must, however become more politicized. Parties must resemble what citizens are used to on the national level. There must be a qualitiative debate on policy issues in which transnational issues are made evident - and the issues have to mean something to the citizen.
Until that happens, the current divide will continue: important decisions for the future of each and every one of us will be made in a city far, far away, by people who (in the absolute worst of cases) were too irrelevant for the national political process to begin with. Hardly an ideal situation. Naturally, this has to come from within the parties themselves. First signs are there, as is evidenced by the European Socialist Party. But more effective strategies need to be developed for this nascent, true party formation ongoing with all big groups in the current EP to be transmitted to the voter. That must be the Parliament’s ongoing task, but for today - let its members sit back and revel in their accomplishments: Let them eat cake.
Commentators are speculating about the end of the Barroso Commission as we know it. It seems as if he resignation of EU health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou to take up the post as Cyprus’ Foreign Minister two weeks ago was only the beginning. Effective March 14 one of the arguably most successful Commissioners, internal policy head Franco Frattini will take a leave of absence to campaign for Silvio Berlusconi, as he puts in his bid for another term as Italy’s prime minister. Frattini’s return looks as unlikely as the likely Berlusconi victory, meaning he will have a plush cabinet post waiting for him. EU transport Commissioner, Jacques Barrot, will take over for Frattini during his announced one-month absence, but should speculations prove true, a permanent solution will have to be found.
This news comes only days after the Austrian press published articles insinuating that Members of the European Parliament would be unlikely to support a second term for current Commission President José Manuel Barroso. That might be the least of Barroso’s current worries, however, as his term runs until 2009. He might be fretting more over fishery Commissioner Joe Borg’s interest in returning to his home country of Malta, following recent elections there. Or, he might be concerned about how long it might take the European Parliament to approve the candidates set to follow in these Commissioner’s footsteps, recalling the Rocco Buttiglione crisis, which necessitated a reshuffle at the last minute.
Alternatively, he could be seeing this as a warm-up for the changes to come. Once the Lisbon Reform Treaty is ratified by all Member States, the EU Foreign Minister will be introduced. Only candidate for the post: the current EU chief diplomat (official title: High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy - what a mouthful), Spaniard Javier Solana. His post will necessitate an institutional change, as Solana will move from the Council to the Commission. This in turn might cost two current Commissioners their job: fellow Spaniard and monetary affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia and Austrian external relations head, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who has already taken a back seat to Solana in terms of driving that policy area.
Commentators are seeing the recent developments as a sign of instability, while Commission spokespeople are quick to paint the story in a different light, speaking instead of the distinctive leadership capacity these men and women have that they are called back to ‘national duty’. Naturally, these changes are cannot be compared to the Santer fiasco. Yes, these shifts don’t make the Commission seem like the most stable administration, but they are a part of the European political process. Yes, the approval hearings might be drawn out, as the European Parliament flexes its muscle as and holds new candidates to account. Is that likely? No. The Member States have a vested interest in putting forth candidates that will win the support of the parliament and the latter has no interest in stalling the legislative process. The hearings will be another opportunity for the parliament to prove its legitimate role in a ‘normal’ EU political process, however, and if it retains its critical capacity to discriminate and weed out the good from the bad, it will bolster its significance and highlight the normalcy of change in a functional supranational, democratic entity.
Europeans took to the polls over the weekend, with perhaps unsurprising results: Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Zapatero was reelected against a bland looking Mariano Rajoy, despite an economic crisis that still has to fully play out and France’s governing UMP was given a shake-up in communal elections, serving as a warning sign that the electorate is unhappy with the ‘Hyper-President’s’ globe-trotting, star-marrying, self-aggrandizing ways.
What will this change for EU policy making? Not much. In fact: probably nothing. The Zapatero government is, as all post-Franco Spanish governments very pro-European. Difficulties arise over fisheries policies and minority issues, among other things, but that is ‘normal’ EU business. What the Economist points out, however, is that Zapatero’s reelection could mean bad news for a prime minister who is already out of office: Tony Blair.
Where’s the connection, you (rightly) ask? Well, according to the Economist’s Europe blog, officials in the Council of Ministers are ruminating whether this vote means Mr. Blair’s chances of becoming the Union’s first standing president have fallen back to, well, nil. Because of their similarity in leadership style and their same political family, both men could come up against each other, but with Blair’s anti-European (think Iraq war) stance, Zapatero could win out. The air in Brussels is rife with speculation on the entire presidency issue and of course nothing is set and done, as the Lisbon Reform Treaty is still in the ratification process, but these rumors will be interesting to watch. These two might not be so friendly with each other as the months drag on.
You might think you are reading the synopsis of a comic book, for all the talk of ‘heroes’ and ‘villains’, but instead it’s just the newest edition of the Centre for European Reform’s (CER) Lisbon Scorecard. Published with smooth regularity ahead of the Union’s annual Spring Summit for the eighth consecutive year the report highlights the most effective actors in the Lisbon reform process and castigates the ‘villians,’ those falling short of desired progress. Though the authors praise Europe’s overall economic recovery, the team is critical of the complacency that seems to be sneaking in the back door and is already affecting the largest economies in the Union. Continued economic reforms are surely needed in light of what promises to be a year of overall slowing global economic growth, with a weakened dollar and the reverberations of the earlier sub-prime crisis which keeps markets lurching both forward and back.
To the CER, however, this year’s heroes and villains are:
“Austria– which has done well in copying the Nordic model of ‘flexicurity’; Estonia – a small, nimble newcomer that has moved ahead quickly; and the Netherlands – the only EU country that combines high employment with high productivity. Our ‘villains’ are Greece and Italy, which continue to combine poorly functioning markets with mediocre social outcomes. Some of the new member- states also need to raise their game if they want to cope with competition from emerging Asia.”
Britain leads the ‘brat pack’ of large European economies, given its competitive product markets one of the Union’s most flexible labour markets. And while Germany moves up a spot in the ranking, the authors caution that large economies have to keep the reform pressure up, as they still bring in 75% of the Union’s GDP. They criticize Germany’s over-dependence on exports as much as they do France’s low employment rate.
The entire report, compared with earlier versions, gives a well-rounded perspective on whether (or NOT!) the Member States are making good on the lofty ideals once agreed to in Lisbon. Its concrete and factual discussion is surely more than we can expect from the EU Spring Summit next week.
The FPA recently spoke to Serbia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Pavle Jevremovic, on Kosovo’s declaration of independence. Jevremovic discusses the impact the reaction by Serbia might have on negotiations for his country’s EU membership bid, as well as the role of Russia and the U.S.