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Tom Spencer from the European Centre for Public Affairs says the struggle in Council that led to the nomination of José Manuel Durăo Barroso as next Commission President was "undignified". "My worst fears for the transparency and credibility of the system have been confirmed," he said.
On June 19th, the day after the adoption of the Constitutional Treaty, the Financial Times published the following letter from me:
The opaque and undignified inter-governmental fight over the nomination of the next Commission President is the flip side of the slap in the face delivered to ruling parties in last week's European Election. Both seem designed to confirm the electorate's darkest fears that voting changes nothing and closed-door deals prevail.
A transparent solution could be to let the people of Europe choose the President of the Commission with the vote that they cast in European Parliamentary elections.
Next time, candidates for the President's job should have to declare themselves by January 1st 2009. US style primaries could then be held in all twenty five countries. I suggest starting with the five smallest countries (Malta, Luxembourg, Estonia, Cyprus & Slovenia) for a visually satisfying echo of New Hampshire. The five biggest countries (Germany, UK, France, Italy & Spain) would hold their party primaries on the last weekend of March. From the beginning of April, the campaign would be focussed around the policies and personalities of the six or so party-endorsed individuals aspiring to lead the next Commission.
The impact would be positive. The electorate could judge both the individuals and their policies. Issues could be debated over a six month period, rather than crammed into six days. The political Groups in the European Parliament, and their trans-national political parties, would have to define themselves and their alliances before, rather than after, the elections. National political leaders would have to invest real, rather than token, effort into the campaign, but could thereafter concentrate on choosing the new President of the Council.
If the current system remains un-reformed, we must resign ourselves to European Elections in which the voters alternate between damaging apathy and euro-sceptic anger. The problem is not the much talked about absence of a European 'demos', rather it is the weakness of the current arrangements by which the democratic will of the people of Europe is supposed to manifest itself.
Tom Spencer, (MEP 1979-84 & 1989-99) Executive Director, European Centre for Public Affairs, School of Management, University of Surrey.
Since that date, my worst fears for the transparency and credibility of the system have been confirmed. After an undignified struggle, the European Council have nominated the Portuguese Prime Minister having set aside stronger candidates.
In the race for the European Parliament Presidency, the situation is no better. Frightened by the prospects of an enlarged centrist grouping, the EPP-ED and the PSE have moved back to the old safety blanket of "co-habitation".
As Hans-Gert Pöttering has a preference for being President in the second half of Parliament, it seems certain that the Socialists will take the Presidency in July. Setting aside well-known Parliamentary personalities such as Terry Wynn and Michel Rocard, the Socialist Group have nominated a little-known Spaniard.
One can understand why much of the electorate is reluctant to vote in European Parliament elections. However they vote, the dark arts of horse-trading prevail. Before Parliament settles into business as usual, it should take time to review the 2004 elections and come up with a programme for a genuine, transparent contest in 2009.
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