EPP chooses federal route for Europe

Date: 17/10/02

By Dana Spinant

THE European People's Party is set to unveil a manifesto calling for a federal Union and for the European Commission's president to be elected by the European Parliament.

The views of the conservatives, in power in a majority of EU countries, are bound to weigh heavily in the current debate about reforming the Union.

Their credo for the future of the EU, called 'A constitution for a strong Europe', is the outcome of 18 months' tough negotiations among members of the group, some of which reject the main objective of a federation.

The talks sparked a direct confrontation between the Spanish Popular Party, which pressed the case for an EU president, and the German Christian Democrats who are against the idea, preferring a strong Commission leader elected by the Parliament.

Wilfried Martens, the EPP's president, is confident the compromise that he presents to the party congress tomorrow (18 October) in Estoril, Portugal, will be accepted, although it does not mention an EU president.

The text states that 'in an enlarged Union, the European Council must have an internal structure that ensures efficient political direction and increases the visibility of the Union and its weight on the world stage'.

Spanish Popular Party members hope the words 'must have an internal structure' will leave the door open for an EU president.

However, sources close to the EPP leadership reject this interpretation. They say this could only allow the setting up of longer-term rotating EU presidencies; for instance, prime ministers of each country would hold the presidency for one or two years, instead of the present unsatisfactory six months.

Such a compromise would be a blow to Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar and French President Jacques Chirac, who launched the proposal for an EU president.

The final draft of the text to be adopted in Estoril provides for the president of the Commission to be elected by the European Parliament.

The EU heads of state would propose, by qualified majority, a candidate for the job 'in light of the European elections'.

'The Parliament should give or withhold its approval by majority vote,' says the paper, adding that this 'would give European political parties the opportunity to present their own candidates in the framework of the campaign for European elections.

'It would ensure a more personalised election campaign and increase democratic control and support of the European Commission.'

This approach, combined with the rejection of an EU president, is seen as a boost for the federalist vision of the EU against the intergovernmental stance.

Nevertheless, French, Danish, Swedish and Portuguese factions have pressed for deleting the aim of 'a close and federal Union' from the manifesto.

Martens has dismissed fears that the EPP's blueprint would restrict the Convention's room for manoeuvre.

'We give political orientations on questions like the division of powers between the Union and the member states, and on the institutional set-up.

'But after that, it is for the Convention's members to elaborate on this and find a compromise.'

But he added it would be 'unacceptable' if the Convention ignored the EPP view and opted for an intergovernmental approach.

Martens stressed that the EPP sees federalism as a means to ensuring subsidiarity and proportionality, rather than the British definition of the word implying more centralising of power in Brussels.

The European People's Party has adopted a manifesto, 18 October 2002, calling for a federal Union and for the European Commission's president to be elected by the European Parliament.