Giving the Parliament a human face

Date: 20/07/2000

As European Parliament President Nicole Fontaine celebrates her first year in the assembly's top job, she talks to Gareth Harding about the challenges she faces and the Parliament's relationship with the EU's other major institutions

IT IS not every day that you find yourself discussing the pros and cons of British beefburgers with the president of the European Parliament. But then again, Nicole Fontaine is not a typical assembly speaker.

Refreshingly open, media-savvy and with a penchant for brightly coloured suits, the centre-right politician is a far cry from the public image of Euro MPs as stuffy and self-important - and she is not afraid to use her position to court controversy.

Which brings us to the virtues of the British burger. On an official visit to the UK late last month, Fontaine helicoptered down to a remote region of south-west England to express her solidarity with British farmers ruined by the mad-cow crisis. "They have made enormous sacrifices but still find themselves in a dramatic situation," she says, alluding to the recent suicide of a young cashstrapped farmer.

At the end of her three-day visit, which included meetings with Prime Minister Tony Blair, Queen Elizabeth and opposition politicians, Fontaine tucked into a British burger in front of the massed ranks of the media. Her verdict? "Delicieux."

The idea of a French politician siding with British farmers would be enough to spark calls for the guillotine to be brought back in some regions of rural France. But Fontaine, who has long championed the cause of those left out of the loop, believes that dealing with the everyday concerns of electors is one of her duties as Parliament president.

The Christian Democrat MEP, who celebrates her first anniversary in the assembly's top job this week, certainly sounds more passionate talking about the plight of small shopkeepers in France than about the issues on the Intergovernmental Conference's agenda. "It is a personal crusade," she says, referring to the mountain of paperwork small traders are buried under as a result of national, not European rules. "They were left in complete darkness because no one thought to inform the people," she adds, insisting: "You cannot construct Europe without the people; you have to inform them, interest them and involve them."

Fontaine says that on each official visit, whether it be to Kosovo or Palestine, she tries to show the human side of the European institutions. "I am convinced that the European Parliament should have a face people know," she adds.

Following the uproar caused by Fontaine's candid account of her recent fireside chat with the Queen, the head of the Strasbourg-based assembly is certainly better known in the UK. The president broke royal protocol by disclosing that the British monarch believes the London will join the euro zone if it proves to be a success, sparking a furious reaction from Conservative politicians and a slap on the wrists from Buckingham Palace.

Despite this unplanned piece of publicity, the 57-year-old former lawyer is aware of the uphill struggle the Parliament faces in persuading the public to take it seriously. "The European Parliament does not have a good reputation in the UK, which is strange when you consider that it is the only country to have real constituencies," she says.

Fontaine claims the media was partly responsible for the low turnout in last year's Euro-elections across Europe. But she also believes that the public is unaware of the powers the Parliament has and that ignorance breeds contempt. "You do not go to vote for politicians you do not know and an institution you do not understand," she says.

The president believes that recent internal reforms, such as moves to regularise the work of MEPs' assistants, will improve the assembly's image. "Parliament not only needs a human face, but a clean face," she says, adding that a "lot more needs to be done" in this area.

One reform issue which the Parliament president is less comfortable discussing is the Strasbourg question. After MEPs' recently voted to scrap Friday sittings in the assembly's second home, Fontaine issued a press release saying she regretted the decision. Many deputies were dismayed that the head of the Parliament appeared to question the sovereign decision of the plenary, but she says that it was the "least a French president of the assembly could do".

The strength of some members' opposition to meeting in the Alsatian capital every month appears to puzzle Fontaine, who believes that Parliament has no option but to accept the decision taken by EU governments eight years ago. "Some colleagues have this kind of hatred for Strasbourg which is absolutely crazy," she argues, repeating her well-worn mantra that "we just have to accept it".

The veteran MEP, who was first elected to the assembly more than 15 years ago, shrugs off criticism of her comments by launching into a passionate defence of the right of the Parliament president to voice his or her political convictions. Fontaine has certainly never been shy in expressing her beliefs, as the fall-out with her political group over the Austrian issue showed.

The majority of the European People's Party (EPP), the largest bloc in the chamber, has vigorously campaigned against the sanctions imposed on Vienna after the far-right Freedom Party entered government earlier this year. However, Fontaine - who was born in Normandy during the Second World War - has refused to have anything to do with the Austrian Conservatives in her group and has been a vociferous supporter of the sanctions introduced by 14 EU member states. "It is not a secret to anyone that I disagree with the majority of my group over what to do with Austria, but that's politics," she says.

When Fontaine beat off Portuguese Socialist contender Mario Soares last July to become the Parliament's second female president, she set herself three main tasks: to put relations with the European Commission and Council of Ministers on a surer footing; to boost the assembly's international profile; and to bring the Union closer to its citizens.

The jury is still out on whether she has achieved the latter two goals, but few would doubt that the assembly now enjoys a much healthier relationship with the EU's other major institutions than a year ago.

"Relations with the Commission are very harmonious, despite the efforts of some members," says Fontaine, referring to the continued opposition of UK and German EPP deputies to the left-leaning executive. The president praises Commission chief Romano Prodi for "scrupulously respecting the promises made at his investiture". She adds that the two presidents share the same conviction that "if the Commission-Parliament couple files for a divorce, the whole European project will fall to pieces".

The two institutions have certainly worked hand in hand in to push for a more ambitious reform of the EU treaty at this December's Nice summit, although Fontaine is more outspoken than Prodi in her praise for the recent proposals made by German Foreign Minister Joshka Fischer and French President Jacques Chirac. Describing Chirac's Berlin address as "just the speech we needed at this decisive period for the future of Europe", Fontaine says she is "very happy that at last the real debate has started".

In a sign of her closeness to the centre-right French president, Chirac's office phones half-way through the interview to work out how the two can travel up to Rotterdam to watch France versus Italy in the European Cup final together. "You never get bored in this job," says Fontaine, adding: "Never a day goes by without some new drama."

Kicking off your day by eating burgers with farmers and rounding it off supping tea with the Queen certainly beats poring over complaints about faulty plumbing from irate constituents. But as with the ancient Chinese curse about being fated to live in interesting times, there is a flip-side to the stimulation Fontaine clearly gets from her work.

As a result of last June's elections, the present Parliament is politically more split between left and right than at any time in its history, making Fontaine's job doubly difficult. Not only does she have to keep order in an increasingly unruly chamber, but she also has to attempt to speak on behalf of a divided Parliament to the outside world.

But the assembly's speaker argues that the birth of a more political Parliament is a good thing, adding: "It may be tougher to handle, but it is a lot more interesting."

As European Parliament President Nicole Fontaine celebrates her first year in the assembly's top job, she talks about the challenges she faces and the Parliament's relationship with the EU's other major institutions.