THE INCOMING European Commission was overwhelmingly endorsed by MEPs yesterday as European Central Bank chief Jean Claude Trichet cut short a visit to Australia to attend a special economic summit in Brussels.
As the European Parliament cleared the new EU executive to start its work, Mr Trichet’s decision to return to Brussels added urgency to a special summit of EU leaders tomorrow.
Preparations for the summit, convened by European Council president Herman Van Rompuy to discuss a new medium-term economic plan for the EU, have been overshadowed by worries that the Greek fiscal crisis could contaminate other euro members.
However, European Commission chief José Manuel Barroso downplayed Mr Trichet’s return when asked whether any specific initiatives were under discussion that would require his presence.
“It’s not the first nor the second time that President Jean-Claude Trichet comes to the European Council and I think it was extremely interesting to invite him to discuss with us the economic situation,” he said.
MEPs backed Mr Barroso’s new team – delayed from taking office for more than three months by a series of political roadblocks – by a majority of 488 to 137, with 72 abstentions.
Socialist MEP Joe Higgins was the only Irish MEP to vote against the new executive. Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin welcomed the vote and offered his best wishes to the commission president on behalf of the Government. The minister extended his personal congratulations to Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, the first Irishwoman to serve as a European Commissioner.
Ms Geoghegan-Quinn holds an important portfolio, including responsibility for research and innovation. Mr Martin said innovation, supported by scientific research and technological development, will underpin the creation of more and better jobs in Europe
Mr Barroso, arguing that the euro area had the capacity to face all the challenges, rejected “the intellectual glamour of pessimism” about the EU and said the financial position of the wider euro zone was strong.
While saying it was not for him to “speculate about speculators”, Mr Barroso said some negative commentary about the euro was biased and came from outside the single currency zone.
In his speech to MEPs, Mr Barroso said deeper economic co-ordination was the only way forward for the union. Ireland’s incoming commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, who assumes the research portfolio, said all countries would have to work together to resolve the economic crisis. Asked about deeper economic co-ordination in the union, she acknowledged that opposition from member states was likely.
“There’s always resistance to every policy and Mr Van Rompuy has a very important role to convince governments to come along and to work with the commission,” she said.
“We need to reassure our people throughout Europe that this European Council and European Commission mean business, that they want to get jobs, they want to get people working, they want to ensure that all of the various policy areas work together efficiently.”
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, now vice-president of the commission, came in for criticism from the centre-right French MEP Joseph Daul of the European People’s Party.
“From Haiti to Iran, from Afghanistan to Yemen, from Cuba to transatlantic relations, the European vote has not, to date, met our expectations.” Green group leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit also attacked Baroness Ashton.
“Mrs Ashton, I know you’re not a fireman, I know you’re not a midwife. I know that you think everything is important, but that’s not going to help us make headway.”