José Barroso ‘Ne Regrette Rien’ and Neither Do Most MEPs Apparently…
Civitas, 17 September 2009
José Barroso exclaimed ‘Je ne regrette rien’ at the end of a statement to the European Parliament on Tuesday with which he secured his re-election for a second five-year term as the European Commission’s president, writes Ariane Poulain.
Barroso easily obtained unanimous support from the Council in June but ultimately it was endorsement from the European Parliament which would decide his future fate as president. With a majority of 382 MEPs voting in favour of Barroso at yesterday’s secret ballot in Strasbourg, it will be another five years before he shuts the Commission door on the way out.
Considering that Barroso has already been the Commission’s president for five years, the relatively minimal media coverage that his fight to retain his position has received in the UK, and the Guardian’s arguing that the Barroso ‘bouhaha’ bores the pants off everyone besides Brussels, I understand if you’re inclined to overlook its significance and to view his victory yesterday as predictable. However, I beg to differ.
The European Parliament was supposed to vote on Barroso’s fate back in July but pressure from the left-wing European parties (mainly the Socialist and Democratic group – S&D – but also the liberals and greens) led to the secret ballot being postponed until mid – September. The opponents’ main argument was that they needed more time to assess Barroso’s political mandate, and whether he will do enough to respond to the effects of the global financial crisis – such as the growing unemployment in Europe. Admittedly, Barroso’s determination to refuse to allow member states to ‘use the economic crisis to erode Europe’s rule book’ has frustrated politicians who see bail-outs as an the best option to re-boost their domestic economies and especially their labour markets. For example, France’s collapsing car industry was shown a red card by Barroso, perhaps explaining why Sarkozy reduced his previuosly overwhelming support for Barroso’s second term; he made it ‘conditional’ on the basis that Barroso would guarantee he would protect EU citizens better.
However, the real reason behind stalling Barroso’s electionwas actually what seems to be the answer to virtually every EU question or problem at the moment – the Lisbon Treaty.
Barroso had the support of the biggest grouping in the European Parliament (European People’s Party -EPP) as well as the newly-formed anti-federalist party (European Conservatives and Reformists – ECR) but this was not going to guarantee his second term, in fact, it was believed that he would only win by a narrow margin. The hope of Barroso’s opponents was that if they stalled his election until later in 2009 when the Lisbon treaty might be ratified following a second Irish referendum, then it would be harder for him to gain enough support from MEPs because, under the Lisbon Treaty, the post for President Commission would be decided by an absolute majority instead of a simple majority. With the upcoming Irish referendum and the economic tempest having yet to subside, the need from a strong and united Commission meant that the future of the executive’s presidency could not be postponed any longer. Hence, Barroso’s opponents in the Parliament sought to derail his image, from blaming him for the region’s rising unemployment to accusing him of being a puppet used by certain members states. Barroso’s rivals had hoped that even if he secured enough votes to win a simple majority, that it would be narrow enough to declare Barroso’s victory illegimate in the wake of Lisbon reforms (considerably reducing the President’s political clout). Barroso’s victory today was all the more sweetened because he not only won a second term, but he also won by a Lisbon (absolute) majority.
Nevertheless, Barroso does not have much time to celebrate because his critics will be watching incredibly closely as he faces the many challenges ahead. Most presently, Barroso is travelling to Ireland to encourage voters to support the Lisbon Treaty, and he must also steer his ‘party of Europe’ out of the recession. Barroso remains opposed to using state aid to aid ailing industries. His intention is to promote the EU as a competitive global actor, but whilst GDP growth rates are marginally improved in France and Germany, positive economic news from across the EU is sparse.
I’m no psychic but I predict contentions on the horizon, not least with Martin Schulz, S&D leader, who want Barroso’s Commission to ‘take seriously its role as protector of the little people… [m]ultinational concerns can stand their ground in global competition…however, the ordinary citizens…require protection’. Nevertheless, from the British perspective Barroso’s re-appointment is surely more welcomed. This is on the basis that the Conservatives secured the largest support from the public at the European elections in June and Barroso’s ideology is considerably aligned with the Tories. The Conservatives’ leader in the European Parliament, Timothy Kirkhope conveyed his support for Barroso’s election victory yesterday saying that he ‘impressed us … [with] his no-nonsense approach and his commitment not to be swayed by dogmatic socialist ideology’. But Joseph Daul, leader of the EPP, argued that whilst his party supports Barroso, his reinstatement is ‘not a blank cheque and [he] will have to fulfil our expectations’.
A telling example of the difficult expectations placed upon President Barroso is that he was, in fact, the only candidate for the Commission Presidency. Barroso himself said that there is no ideal candidate for the job because fulfilling the expectations of each member-state is impossible. Indeed, Barroso has ‘faced an uphill battle in recent weeks’ seeking to ensure that MEPs decided to keep him seated at the top of the Commission. Yesterday’s result bore the fruit of his efforts but it is definitely not going to be a downwards slope from here, especially if Barroso hopes to end his second term at the Commission’s helm still uttering ‘Je ne regrette rien’ …