Verhofstadt bid to heal rift with Prodi

Date: 25/10/01

By David Cronin

Belgium's presidency of the EU has attempted to heal its rift with Romano Prodi following his decision to snub the end-of-summit news conference at Ghent last Friday.

The Commission chief was said to be "fed up" with Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt's tendency to hog the limelight at such events, preventing him from getting a word in edgeways.

In a bid to keep the row from escalating, Verhofstadt telephoned Prodi on Monday (22 October) to assure him that he would not be sidelined at future joint press conferences.

He promised that "everybody will have the possibility to express himself" at press conferences during the remainder of Belgium's stint at the helm of the EU, Verhofstadt's spokesman Alain Gerlache told European Voice.

But Gerlache took issue with criticisms voiced earlier in the week by Prodi's spokesman Jonathan Faull. According to Faull, Prodi was particularly frustrated with Verhofstadt's tendency to address journalists with lengthy introductory remarks in French, Dutch and sometimes English. "Contrary to what Mr Faull said, he [Verhofstadt] has to speak in two languages," added Gerlache. "In fact, he should even speak three languages because German is also an official language in Belgium." Faull had previously declared: "We're not accusing Mr Verhofstadt of being deliberately rude. It's just they do things differently in Belgium. Unfortunately, it doesn't leave much time for anybody else to say much."

Despite the row, the two leaders presented a united front when they appeared before MEPs in Strasbourg yesterday (24 October) to discuss the summit's outcome. Gerlache dismissed reports that the Belgian PM no longer regards Prodi as an asset for the EU. "Mr Verhofstadt supports the Commission and the president of the Commission," he said.

Taking pot-shots at Prodi has been something of a hobby for Belgian newspapers recently. Broadsheet La Libre Belgique even reported that EU leaders took toilet breaks whenever Prodi spoke at summits. Another rumour is that the ex-Italian prime minister was angered by the recent appearance of a poster depicting former Commission head Jacques Delors near Prodi's Brussels headquarters. Some have suggested that Prodi felt the hoarding's location was a comment on how Delors had run the executive with greater vigour than him.

The poster is part of a campaign promoting the city of Brussels. A spokesman for Belgium's tourism ministry said it had received "neither an official nor unofficial complaint" from the Commission about the matter.

Report of the row between the Belgian Prime Minister and the European Commission President over the way press conferences are conducted.