Commission president expected to unveil €15m for retraining of laid-off Dell workers
THE EUROPEAN Commission president José Manuel Barroso will arrive in Ireland a happy man today. The 53-year-old former Portuguese prime minister finally won re-election for a second term as head of the EU executive this week, overcoming vocal criticism from Socialist, Liberal and Green MEPs.
Nicknamed the “chameleon” by opponents who claim he has no political convictions, Mr Barroso – a former Maoist turned centre- right politician – has struggled to shake off accusations that his first five years lacked ambition.
He has also been criticised for pandering to the will of big EU member states such as Britain, France and Germany to ensure he kept his job, and failing to respond quickly enough to the economic crisis. But heading the EU executive, which must juggle the ambitions of 27 EU states, is no easy task at the best of times, and Mr Barroso has faced considerable challenges.
His first term in office has coincided with the worst economic crisis in 60 years at a time when the EU remains mired in a seemingly interminable institutional debate. His first year in charge was marked by the rejection of the EU constitution by French and Dutch voters. Now, as he embarks on his second term, he could face the prospect of a second No to the Lisbon Treaty.
“I think it will be a Yes vote,” says Mr Barroso, who will travel to Ireland today to meet students, civil society groups and politicians in an attempt to explain the importance of ratifying the treaty on October 2nd.
“Ireland since its membership of the EU has been at the centre of the EU and has benefited very much from membership and also making an important contribution to Europe . . . it’s a question of solidarity,” says Mr Barroso, who is expected to unveil €15 million in EU funds to help retrain workers laid off from Dell today.
Mr Barroso is the first commission president to manage a union of 27 countries and has repeatedly emphasised the importance of achieving consensus before taking decisions.
But he admits a second No vote on a treaty from the same member state, which would be an unprecedented development in the EU, would create genuine frustration with Ireland.
“If there is a negative decision, of course it will have an impact on the perception of others. Just imagine you are all on a rowing boat with everyone rowing one direction and then one does not do it. People will start asking why they aren’t prepared to make the same contribution,” he says.
He says other countries have listened and provided guarantees to the Irish public in areas of concern in the treaty. “If all the other countries try to accommodate the concerns of Ireland, then Ireland should also try to evaluate the impact of what its own decisions can have on the community.”
He says the Irish people’s decision would be respected. But there would be consequences for Ireland and the union as a whole. The Irish economy would suffer from the negative perception created by a second No vote and the Government could lose its automatic right to nominate a commissioner.
Voting Yes would enable the EU to move on and tackle the problems faced by ordinary people, such as climate change, the economic recession and creating jobs. The union is also the only way for small countries like Ireland and Portugal to have any leverage in an age of globalisation, he says.
A No vote would cause EU states to continue their efforts to try to reform institutions. “A lot of time and energy has been invested in this process, so let’s be frank about it, there will be disappointment,” says Mr Barroso, who adds that some member states may try to form a new core EU group.
“My position is consistently against this . . . I defend strongly the principle of equality of member states, rich or poor, old or new, big or small. All members should have exactly the same dignity,” he says. He criticises those who oppose the Treaty and pretend to be pro-European. “It is a dividing line between those who are for a Europe that acts, that protects and delivers, and those who simply do not want Europe to do it,” says Mr Barroso, who says the No campaign is engaged in scaremongering. He cites the accusation that the Treaty could undermine Ireland sovereignty over taxation as an example. “The Lisbon Treaty does not change a comma in the Treaty in terms of tax. This remains a unanimity decision.”
The commission recently dropped a proposal to work towards a common consolidated corporate tax base in Europe. But could this proposal reappear during the second commission? “I cannot prejudge decisions on specific files,” says Mr Barroso, who insists unanimity would remain over tax.
Is further EU integration beyond the Lisbon Treaty possible given the recent sceptical judgments handed down by the German constitutional court? “It’s true the court raises interesting issues. But I believe each generation should decide upon its own. We don’t have the right to say what will happen many generations from now.”