Political groups agree share-out of jobs

Date: 22/07/1999

By Gareth Harding

THE European Parliament's second largest group, the 180-strong Socialists, is to gain control of some of the assembly's most important committees - including the three with the most power to influence the EU's economic policy.

A deal reached between the Parliament's political groups made today's (22 July) vote on the choice of committee chairman little more than a formality.

On the eve of the ballot, UK Socialist Terry Wynn was poised to become chairman of the budgets committee, German Social Democrat Christa Randzio-Plath was expected to continue in her role as head of the economic and monetary affairs committee, and the Socialists were also firm favourites to win control of the powerful committee on industry, trade, research and energy.

The centre left was also set to remain in the driving seat in social policy, with the head of the newly formed committee on employment and social affairs coming from the ranks of the Socialist Group.

In a surprise move, the European People's Party opted to use its position as the assembly's largest political group to take command of the committee on environment, consumer affairs and public health, with British Conservative MEP Caroline Jackson tipped to take over the reins from outgoing Socialist chairman Ken Collins, who has dominated environmental policy-making in the assembly for 15 of the last 20 years.

The EPP's second choice is the committee on foreign affairs, human rights and defence policy. Although this committee has no legislative powers, it is a high-profile body and the ideal consolation prize for German Christian Democrat MEP Elmar Brok, who failed in his bid to become leader of the Christian Democrats.

The EPP also opted to place its members at the head of the committees on budgetary control, legal affairs and the internal market, regional policy, transport and tourism and culture, youth and education.

The Parliament's smaller parties were also set to get their fair share of the spoils, with the Liberals gaining control of the committee on citizens' rights, justice and home affairs, the Greens favourites to take over the agriculture committee and the far left expected to use its extra weight to lead the development committee.

Following the centre right's spectacular victory in last month's Euro-elections, the Parliament elected French Christian Democrat Nicole Fontaine as president of the Strasbourg-based assembly for the next two and a half years.

Fontaine, who has been a vice-president of the Parliament for the last decade, easily beat veteran Portuguese Socialist Mario Soares in the race for the largely symbolic post, obtaining over 100 votes more than her rival.

Fontaine's victory was made possible by defections by French and German Socialists, splits in the opposition's vote caused by the candidature of Green leader Heidi Hautala, and a ground-breaking deal struck between the EPP and the 50-strong Liberal Group late last week.

Under the agreement, the Liberals promised to support Fontaine's bid for the presidency in the first two and a half years in return for a Christian Democrat pledge to back Liberal leader Pat Cox for the post in the second half of the legislature.

Although the two groups referred to the deal as a "constitutive agreement" rather than a coalition, the assembly's first and third largest parties promised to work together to push through a new statute for MEPs and their assistants by the end of this year.

The week before the new Parliament's first plenary session also saw a frantic scramble to cobble together political groups from the smaller national parties on the right.

Perhaps the strangest grouping is the new Technical Group of Independent Deputies, which joins together far-right parties from Belgium, France and Italy with the seven MEPs from outgoing European Commissioner Emma Bonino's Radical Party.

In addition, a new 21-strong centre-right force has been created by the fusion of Charles Pasqua's breakaway Rally for the Republic Group from France with the Irish Fianna Fáil party.