Press review: strong criticism of Barroso

In 
Die Zeit

(Germany), Joachim Fritz-Vannahme hails the outcome of
the showdown as the opposite of an "institutional
crisis". Europe's institutions have even become
more mature and more democratic as a result. He blames
the new Commission President. Barroso's mistake was
not to recognise that the Commission needs the Parliament
in its positioning against the Council. "Where the
Commission sticks overly slavishly to the wishes of the
Council, it shrinks into a mere bureaucracy". As a
result Barroso "has lost out in terms of image and
standing and it is his own fault. The Portuguese can
console himself with the thought that for him, life in
Brussels goes on. And perhaps he'll even see that in
the end this unprecedented move will be a step towards
the much sought after democratisation and politicisation
of the institutions".

In France, 
Libération

's European editor, Jean Quatremer, says Barroso made
three mistakes. "By playing the small - and new -
member states against the Franco-German couple, the
capitals against the deputies, and the Vatican against
the liberals, the President elect of the Commission has
lost three times," writes Quatremer ["Jouant
les petits –et nouveaux– Etats membres contre
le couple franco-allemand, les capitales contre les
députés, et le Vatican contre les
libéraux, le Président élu de la
Commission a perdu trois fois"].

Financial Times 

commentator Wolfgang Munchau is even more outspoken about
the future Commission President: "Mr Barroso got
himself into this embarrassing position through a
combination of arrogance, incompetence and serious
misjudgement of European politics. Never in the history
of the EU has an incoming Commission president lost so
much credibility so fast. He has not even taken up his
post."

BBC

commentator Angus Roxburgh puts the emphasis on the
Parliament's victory. "Not since it helped to
bring down the European Commission led by Jacques Santer
in 1998 has the European Parliament felt such a surge of
power in its veins," writes Roxburgh. However, he
questions how the Barroso crisis will be perceived by the
general public. "For many EU citizens, the row will
not signify a victory for parliament - as many MEPs see
it - but simply another European mess," he
warns.  

The eurosceptic UK 
Telegraph

recognises the growing power of the European Parliament
but warns about the democratic implications: "The EU
is gradually taking on the style of a state, and one
which enshrines values that tend to be politically
correct and Leftish". According to the Telegraph the
EU's underlying values "are the creed of a
new European political class, aloof from ordinary people
but impatient for power and status". It concludes:
"the paradox of yesterday's events is that they
are a great victory for the European Parliament, but not
for democracy."

Le Monde

insists on the unprecedented nature of the crisis and the
uncertain consequences it will have, "casting a
shadow on the signature of the European Constitution
Friday in Rome". 

Writing for Italian current affairs magazine 
Panorama

, Fabrizio Coisson says "the lack of institutional
certainties, of power, has been put in the spotlight just
before the formal signing of the new European
Constitution in Rome" and that "time is running
out" to rectify this. Coisson refers to the
possibility that all this may lead to "worrying
scenarios for the very future of an EU that is being
called on to deal with major issues such as the accession
of Turkey and relaunching European economies".
Finally he says that "an ongoing battle between the
Parliament and the Commission would give Europe a poor
image among public opinion at a time when euroscepticism
is already gaining ground".

According to Ingrid Hedström, the European
correspondent of the 
Dagens Nyheter

(Swedish daily), the EU that just got ten new member
states needs a strong Commission. Paradoxically, she
comments, the current crisis can actually lead to a
strong Commission. A Commission accepted on Wednesday
with a small majority would have been weak because having
almost half of the Parliament against it would have lead
to a constant war with the MEPs. The weak Commission
would have become the puppydog of the member states
because it would only have had the support of the
governments. Now, if Barroso takes carefully into account
Parliament’s critique, the new Commission will be
strong, because it will have both member states’ and
Parliament’s support.

In an opinion piece written for 
Dagens Nyheter

, the 
Swedish Prime Minister Göran
Persson

warns that Wednesday’s events may well be the first
step towards building a European state if it means that
the European Parliament gets the power to handpick single
commissioners. "This kind of change in the principle
of the Union is unheard of and I deeply disagree with
that," he said. "I don't want, between the
Commission and the Parliament, a relation that gives the
Commission a status of a European government".
Neither does Mr Persson want the heads of member states
to solve Barroso’s problem. "This is about
Barroso’s relationship with the European
Parliament," he said. The Swedish Prime Minister
hopes for a brief and "very formal” discussion
when they meet in Rome on Friday.

In the US, the 
International Herald Tribune

's Graham Bowley goes back on the Buttiglione case
and religious issues in the EU. "Buttiglione's
views suddenly threw into focus the divide between a
modern, progressive Europe, largely non-religious and
tolerant of homosexuality and new lifestyles, and
another, older Europe that is not".

The vote on the new college of Commissioners
scheduled for 27 October has been postponed due to
fears that it would have been voted down by the 732-strong
European Parliament (see EURACTIV 
27 October 2004

). EURACTIV, provides a review of initial press
reactions.

Non-assigned links

• BBC:Analysis: EU Commission in
  turmoil(27 Oct. 2004)
• The Telegraph:EU is growing into a country
  apart(28 Oct. 2004)
• Die Zeit:Kommentar - Sieger ist das
  Parlament
• Libération:Les trois erreurs de Barroso(27 Oct. 2004)
• Le Monde:L'UE soulagée par la
  décision de José Manuel Durao
  Barroso(27 Oct. 2004)
• Le Figaro/AFP:Hollande : «une preuve que la
  démocratie à l'échelle de
  l'Europe s'installe
  enfin»(27 Oct. 2004)
• Nouvel Observateur/AP:Commission Barroso: les réactions
  en France(27 Oct. 2004)
• Nouvel
  Observateur/AFP:Une succession de ratages dans la
  gestion de la crise par Barroso(27 Oct. 2004)
• International Herald
  Tribune:Barroso backs down on EU team(28 Oct. 2004)