Dutch minister hits out at ‘lame duck’ Commission

Date: 17/06/04

DUTCH Foreign Minister Ben Bot has warned that the Netherlands' EU presidency starting on 1 July will take place in difficult conditions, as the European Commission is now just an ineffective “lame duck“.

Bot said the recent departure of several commissioners had left the EU executive led by Romano Prodi ineffectual.

“The next few months will be very difficult for theDutch presidency because the Commission is, in effect, a lame duck. It isn't producing anysignificant new proposals which, of course, also renders the new European Parliament relatively ineffective until the newCommission takes up office.

“It means the EU is effectively operating in a vacuum,” the minister added.

Commission spokesman Reijo Kemppinen branded Bot's comments as “inappropriate and less than true“.

“Mr Bot is entitled to his views but the Commission is confident it can meet the expectations of the incoming Dutch presidency,” he said.

“The Prodi Commission is fully operational and will remain so until the end of October when its term in office ends.

“In the absence of the European Parliament, we may not be currently putting forward any new initiatives, but the Commission will, under the Dutch presidency, enter into a wide range of issues,including the EU's financial perspectives, completing accession negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania, and publishing an important progress report on Turkey's EU membership.”

Three commissioners have already left the 30-strong executive in recent months: Michel Barnier, to become French foreign minister, Pedro Solbes, who returned to Madrid as deputy prime minister, and Anna Diamantopoulou, who quit to take up a seat in the Greek national parliament.

They will soon be joined by Enterprise Commissioner Erkki Liikanen who will become the president of the Finnish Central Bank and, possibly, both Viviane Reding, (education and culture) and Philippe Busquin (research), who may take seats in the European Parliament after being elected in last weekend's poll. In addition, Commission President Prodi has repeatedly come under fire for his blatant and frequent absence from Brussels and involvement in Italian politics.

The various recent departures reinforce the impression that the EU executive has little vigour left in the remaining four months before a new team of commissioners takes office on1 November.

Meanwhile, Bot's Europe Minister, Atzo Nicolaï, has warned that the Council of Ministers could face problems too, asdecision-making in an EU with 25 member states will be more difficult. “There is no doubt that reaching decisions will take more time in an enlarged Union,” he said.

Demonstrating that the EU, post enlargement, can still operate “effectively and efficiently” will be one of the priorities of the Dutch presidency, he added.

Other priorities of the Netherlands' six-month stint at the EU's helm will be ensuring that member states uphold the Stability and Growth Pact, the rules underpinning the single currency which oblige eurozone members to keep budget deficits below 3% of gross national product.

Several of the 12 eurozone nations have already breached the deficit ceiling, with its two biggest economies - France and Germany - now on track to do so for the third year consecutively.

Nicolaï, who also highlighted accession negotiations with Bulgaria and Romania as a priority, fears his country's presidency faces difficult discussions over Turkey's possible EU membership.

Acknowledging that Dutch voters have become increasingly tetchy about Brussels now that they are the biggest net contributors to the EU budget, Nicolaï also signalled that the incoming presidency would adopt a more “eurocritical” approach than in the past. He also repeated recent calls by other Dutch ministers for agricultural aidand regional funds to be made the responsibility of national governments. They are currently the largest chunk of the EU budget.

“This doesn't mean the Dutch government has suddenly become more eurosceptic or that we want to stall further integration,” he said. “Rather, I think we are simply becoming more critical in the way we discuss Europe.”

The Netherlands takes over the rotating six-month Presidency of the European Union on 1 July 2004 and Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot has warned that the Dutch Presidency will be very difficult because 'the Commission is, in effect, a lame duck' following the departure of several Commissioners and the lack of 'any significant new proposals' from the Commission.