Signals that cannot be ignored

Some analyze the results of the vote of 4-7 June to understand better “who’s won and who’s lost”; others express their concern about the high rate of abstention (57% on average); others again emphasize the imminent deadlines that await the newly elected MEPs, namely the nomination of the President of the EuroParliament and the designation of the future President of the European Commission. In the Brussels headquarters of the EP politicians are studying the results of the popular vote, drawing various inferences from them and preparing for the next battles in the hemicycle.“Citizens will be listened to”. The outgoing President of the European Parliament, the German Hans-Gert Poettering, commented on the percentage of electors who effectively turned out to vote: “The low voter turnout poses questions to us. It’s a problem that politicians, parties, and also the mass media, must address. I cannot help wondering how information is transmitted by the press and television on the activities of the EP during the legislature”. Poettering added however: “Altogether the pro-European parties have a large majority in the newly elected EP. This gives grounds for hope, because close cooperation between these forces for the future of the EU is essential”. On much the same wavelength is the Portuguese President of the Commission, Josè Manuel Barroso. From his office in the Palais Berlaymont, just a few steps from the Parliament, he reflects on the outcome of the elections: “The results for the renewal of the EuroParliament are an undeniable victory for those parties and candidates that support the European project and want to see the European Union delivering policy responses to their everyday concerns”. Barroso, however, cannot ignore the low participation in the vote, just over 43%: he admits he is “concerned by the high rate of abstention” but makes the point that “millions of people have used their democratic vote to elect members of the European Parliament. In doing so, they have expressed their views on the European Union’s political future. I thank all citizens who have exercised their democratic rights – Barroso continues -. I can assure them that they are being heard”. Cooperation between the pro-European forces. In the offices of the political groups at the EP the mood varies depending on the results. The head of the largest group, the European People’s Party (EPP), the Frenchman Joseph Daul, expresses satisfaction: “Our party is being reinforced almost everywhere in Europe, whereas the Socialists are in decline”. “As in 2004 – he points out – the future President of the Commission will have to be chosen by the forces that have won the elections. So the name of the candidate must come from the EPP and our candidate is one only, José Manuel Barroso”. But the EPP knows that, after the candidate’s designation as President of the Commission (which is the job of the Council of heads of state and of government), he will have to receive the favourable vote of the EP. That’s why the EPP, which does not enjoy an absolute majority, is aiming to reinforce its alliances, with a view to the choice of the President and Vice-Presidents of the EP, and the chairpersons of the parliamentary committees. It’s no accident that the leading political group in the EP indicates the “need for cooperation between the pro-European forces” against the “Euro-sceptic tendencies” that emerged from the ballot. This is confirmed by EPP chairman, the Belgian Wilfred Martens, who stresses: “Our party, together with the Socialists and the Liberal Democrats, must form a common front to take forward the reforms called for by the Lisbon Treaty”.Who wins and who loses. The German Martin Schulz, head of the Socialist group, sums up as follows his view of the negative result of the European Socialist Party (ESP) in the elections: “It’s a bitter moment for European social democracy – he admits -. We are losing support in various countries, though countries in which various situations are present, such as in Germany, the UK, Spain, Hungary and France”. “We need however to respect democracy and understand the people’s will. However – he insists – our battles for social Europe and for the defence of rights will continue”. The mood of the English MEP Graham Watson, who heads the Liberal Democratic group, is very different: “Our group more or less maintains the same number of MEPs and is confirmed as a decisive force, between left and right, at the centre of the hemicycle”. Watson hopes that, in the tug of war between EPP and ESP, the Liberal Democrats may represent a decisive centrist force. It is no accident that he has put forward his own candidature as President of the EP. The outgoing head of the United Left group (GUE), the Frenchman Francis Wurtz, is relatively happy about the result of the elections, but invites “reflection on the scale of abstention and the success of the anti-European forces”. “Citizens – he says – are far removed from this Europe of liberalizations and precariousness of jobs”. Lastly Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a politician active both in France and in Germany, and European leader of the Greens, is delighted by the growth of support for the Greens in various countries, and comments: “It’s a great time for political ecology. We will continue our battles” within the EU institutions”. He then declared: “We now need to form a new anti-Barroso majority”.