Prodi woos party leaders to form alliance against EU President plan

Date: 08/05/03

By Dana Spinant

ROMANO Prodi, the European Commission president, wants an alliance with the European Parliament to persuade the future of Europe Convention to back more powers for the Commission and to scrap plans for an EU President.

At his own request, Prodi will address the Parliament's political group leaders, the conference of presidents, in Strasbourg on Tuesday (13 May) in a bid to forge a common front to save the "Community method".

However, several MEPs believe Prodi's olive branch has come too late to make a difference. Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, a member of the Convention's praesidium, warned Parliament against forming a "Brussels against the rest" gang: "I am not sure the time has come to make an exclusive alliance - we need to look for broader consensus now," he said. "I would not like to see the Parliament isolated with the Commission."

Prodi has already held talks with Pat Cox, the Parliament's president, on 28 April, to ascertain how the two institutions could work together. An official present at the meeting said: "Prodi wanted a joint action, but Cox did not give a straight answer."

David Harley, Cox's spokesman, confirmed that the two presidents "discussed the desirability of a common approach" in the Convention, adding: "It could start with coordination and continue possibly with a common position on institutions."

Prodi and his colleagues believe that recent proposals by the praesidium for a full-time EU President to replace the current six-monthly rotating system would undermine the Commission.In an article this week, Chris Patten, the external relations commissioner, predicted that a permanent president would be a "panjandrum" and "sow confusion about where executive authority really lies".

However, many MEPs are irked that the Commission is seeking their support. "When the Commission secretly wrote "Penelope" [the name given to their draft constitution], they did not ask the Parliament for its opinion. And the paper was not very helpful for us," said one. "They [the Commission] are coming to see us because they are in a weak position."

However, Hans-Gert Pöttering, leader of EPP-ED, the largest political group, said "anything coming from the Commission on defending the Community method is welcome".

"I would not use the word coalition, but let's see what we can do together on a concrete basis."

Prodi's spokesman, Reijo Kemppinen, said: "The Commission and the Parliament are natural allies on issues linked to institutions."

However, an official close to Prodi said it was difficult for the Commission to decide who speaks for the Parliament: "Cox? The political group leaders? Their representatives in the Convention? The messages they send are mixed and so are the positions they support," he said.

Romano Prodi, the European Commission President, wants an alliance with the European Parliament to persuade the Convention on the Future of Europe to back more powers for the Commission and to scrap plans for a European Union President.