Barroso bent on a return to Europe’s centre-stage

By David Cronin

Date: 28/07/05

The President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso will seek to take charge of a new round of discussion on the future of Europe after the summer break.

He is to organise a seminar with his fellow commissioners in the autumn, probably on 20 September, as he seeks to reinvigorate debate and put the Commission centre-stage.

He has also arranged two brainstorming sessions with directors-general from the Commission departments.

A senior Commission official said that Barroso's assessment of the state of the Union would emphasise the need to communicate better and provide "added value".

The seminar with commissioners will be followed by a report on the European social model for discussion during summits organised by Austria, when it holds the EU's rotating presidency, next year.

Barroso and other members of the Commission are to make a series of visits to EU member states between September and the Spring 2006 summit. Barroso has promised to discuss the EU constitution not just with governments but also with parliaments, trade unions, employer groups and young people.

A source close to Barroso said that there had not been any discussion so far with the UK presidency of the EU about how the visits should be co-ordinated with those of ministers in Tony Blair's government.

But because the visits are to be extended over a period of several months, they are likely to differ from the whirlwind tour of national capitals which the president of the European Council traditionally performs before summits of the Union's leaders.

Barroso's initiative comes in response to what he regards as misinformation spread by 'No' campaigners during recent referenda on the constitution in France and the Netherlands.

Barroso has been attempting to rebut arguments that the constitution is more in line with the deregulation favoured by the UK than the models of social protection found in states like France and Germany.

The former Portuguese premier has argued that the constitution protects "Europe's unique social model". A 'social clause', he said last month, would ensure that issues like promoting high levels of employment and fighting poverty and marginalisation should be taken into account when EU policies were being formulated.

Mark Leonard from the Centre for European Reform in London said a seminar on the European model could help stimulate debate but would be unlikely to have a major impact on public opinion.

"European leaders need to prove that there is more to Europe than politicians sitting around in rooms, talking about treaty changes and institutions," he added. "They need to be able to prove that Europe can be the answer to sluggish growth, the lack of jobs, terrorism, immigration and foreign policy. The challenge is to remind people that Europe is about the real problems people are worried about, rather than a political club that exists only for an elite."

Danish MEP Jens-Peter Bonde, an outspoken opponent of the constitution, said that before touring capitals, Barroso should insist on two major reforms: that commissioners are directly elected and that all EU decisions are taken in public, except in a limited number of circumstances. "If he puts forward those reforms, then he can travel around and people will applaud him," said Bonde. "But as long as the EU project is one of non-transparent, non-accountable decision-making with secret working groups, he needs first to reform his own house."

Article takes a look at plans by the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, to revive the debate on the future of the European Union, the Constitutional Treaty and the European social model in a series of initiatives after the summer break of 2005.

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