A formidable figure

Date: 24/10/1996

FEW would describe Simone Veil as an easy person to work with.

Yet almost all, of whatever political persuasion or ideological background, regard her as one of the most committed, hard-working, truly 'European' politicians the Union has ever seen.

Veil's curriculum vitae is so long and illustrious that any number of standard political epithets would be appropriate.

A former deputy prime minister, ex-health minister, first president of a democratically-elected European Parliament and former president of the Parliament's Liberal group, she is now chairing the European Commission's high-level panel on the free movement of persons - set up to examine those single market issues which matter to ordinary people.

The group is due to produce its report by February next year, outlining the remaining obstacles to free movement and suggesting ways of dismantling them.

Many believe that Veil is ideally suited to the task. Throughout her political career, she has retained the common touch, always anxious to find time to listen to the views of ordinary people in between the obligatory socialising with presidents and prime ministers.

But Veil's well-documented openness should never be mistaken for weakness.

She may bear more than a passing resemblance to everyone's favourite grandmother, but as anyone who has ever had dealings with her will testify, she could never be described as a pushover.

“I had heard that she was not the easiest person in the world to work with. I think that could be true,” says one observer.

Others who have worked with her point out that Veil does not suffer fools gladly. “If you say something which is plainly ridiculous, she will tell you so. Mind you, she is usually right,” notes a former colleague.

Many attest to a strong pragmatic streak in the former European Parliament president.

“She is quite fiercely moderate. If she thinks people are being dogmatic and ignoring what citizens will realistically accept about the EU, she will get quite passionate about it,” says an official who has at times been on the receiving end of the 'Simone Veil experience'.

In addition to her well-known political activities, Veil has received a raft of awards, including honorary degrees from Princetown University, the Weizmann Institute and Jerusalem's Hebrew University, a Living Legacy Award, the Charlemagne Prize for contributions to European integration and the Truman Award for Peace.

Veil's devotion to the causes of peace and political cooperation can be traced back to her childhood.

She was born in 1927 to Jewish parents in Nice, southern France and, as a teenager during World War II, was rounded up by the Nazis and incarcerated in Auschwitz concentration camp.

The horrific experiences of her early life forged in her an unshakeable belief in the ideals of European integration.

“The horrors she and her family experienced during the war convinced her that peace is the only way,” says former socialist MEP Léon Schwartzenberg.

While the events of the war clearly had a profound effect on her, Veil does not dwell on her past and will normally only speak about it when questioned.

“If she feels it is the right thing to do, she will talk about it,” says one former political colleague, who points out that Veil prefers to look towards Europe's future rather than live in the past.

It is a testament to Veil's belief in the European cause that praise is just as likely to come from political opponents as from members of her own liberal party.

Former French socialist minister Bernard Kouchner is on record as saying he would never personally criticise Veil as she is an honourable person.

“I have seen them together and there is a mutual respect,” says one Kouchner aide.

Enrique Baron, a socialist MEP who later followed in Veil's footsteps as a president of the European Parliament, has nothing but respect for his predecessor.

“She is the perfect symbol of how we are trying to build Europe. She was the first president of the European Parliament, she is a woman and she has overcome the pain and suffering of her past to have a positive outlook on the future. It was an honour for me to take on the job after she had defined the role of president,” he says.

Lord Plumb, current leader of the British Conservative MEPs and another former Parliament president, remembers how glad most parliamentarians were to have Veil at the helm after the historic 1979 poll.

“After the elections, we did not know exactly what to expect. All the MEPs were feeling their way somewhat as the institution had changed so fundamentally. We were all delighted to be led by someone who was such an able politician. She has no greater admirer than me,” he says.

Veil's trenchant individualism and dogged refusal to toe the party line has on occasions led her into head-on confrontations back home - usually when France is going through one of its periodic 'Gaullist' nationalistic phases.

“The French have always had an ambivalent attitude to Europe. They have never really decided whether they want the EU to be an intergovernmental or a supra-national entity. Simone Veil has always been very clear on that point. She has been quite prepared to take a courageous stance on European issues in a country where that has not always been popular,” says Dutch liberal MEP Gijs de Vries.

Plumb agrees with his liberal colleague. “She has always said that if it is in the best interest of the EU for member states to lose a bit of sovereignty, then so be it. That is a fine ideal,” he says.

In De Vries' opinion, Veil's determination to stick to deeply-held principles illustrates what he feels are her two most important qualities - courage and independence.

One colleague believes this free-thinking attitude is what makes Veil so universally respected.

“She is one of the few politicians in Europe who is truly 'European' in their outlook. She has achieved that by standing above party politics, making up her own mind and saying what she thinks,” he says.

Even as a national politician, Veil's refusal to compromise in the face of criticism led to some dramatic confrontations.

In 1976, as minister for health, she was responsible for passing France's first law allowing women to choose to have abortions. There was a nation-wide conservative backlash against it, with Veil vilified in many newspapers and branded “the abortionist”. She remained undeterred.

Time does not seem to have mellowed the singular Veil style significantly.

Simone Veil is difficult. She says things people do not always like to hear and she will not play ball if she does not like the game. She is also perhaps one of a dying breed, a true individual in an age when so many politicians look and sound alike.

As the ranks of suits file into the Justus Lipsius building to cobble together another compromise and come up with everyone's second choice, she sticks to what she believes in.

You cannot help thinking that if Veil had had anything to do with it, the single currency would be called something rather more inspiring than the euro.

You may not agree with her, but at least you know what she stands for.