This is the review for the 2004-2009 European Parliament that was produced by the European Union’s parliament audiovisual service and made available to broadcasters.
For the full script:
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Title
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In June 2004 the new European Parliament had seven hundred and thirty two members. A few months later new Commission President Jose Manuel BARROSO takes over with the year’s major event, enlargement, the key challenge ahead.
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Geoff MEADE, Brussels Correspondent, Associated Press, in English:
“Apart from the macro-politics of the whole thing, the tiny stuff… The stuff was suddenly you go from 15 EU leaders around the table to 27. And everybody wants to have their say.”
0.40
Scars in foreign policy opened up by the Iraq war a year earlier were still fresh, opinions remained divided, and Europe struggled to mean anything internationally.
0.50
Eneko LANDABURU, Director General for External Relations, European Commission, in French:
“The EU is a front-rank global player; world’s number one trade power, second biggest economy after America, and world’s second reserve currency. These all prove the EU is a global force, it’s just that it doesn’t have that political influence.”
1.17
Despite initial problems the EU rode out enlargement and the integration of ten new members without crisis. The Constitutional Treaty guaranteeing the smooth running of the institutions was signed in Rome in November. Crisis struck for a few days in May when first the French then the Dutch voted no to the Lisbon Treaty.
1.39
Geoff MEADE, Brussels Correspondent, Associated Press, in English:
“The British would always reject everything, we know that, and with the enlargement, the Poles could also be difficult. But for the French and the Dutch to reject a fundamental treaty which is designed to improve the nature of the EU? A lot of people just didn’t see that coming.”
1.53
The crisis caught the Commission cold; and countering rumours it had a contingency plan, revealed no ideas for fixing the mess.
2.00
Geoff MEADE, Brussels Correspondent, Associated Press, in English:
“After plan A was rejected by the French and the Dutch, we said ok, now you can tell us ‘what is plan B?’ And President BARROSO said, ‘I told you, there isn’t one. There is no plan B’.”
2.10
Budget failure that June under the Luxembourg presidency followed, despite hours of talks. The crisis deepened.
2.20
Jean-Claude JUNCKER, Luxembourg Prime Minister, in French:
“I was ashamed! When I heard the new member states, all as poor as each other, saying in the interests of a deal they’d abandon some of their financial demands I was ashamed.”
2.38
Eneko LANDABURU, Director General for External Relations, European Commission, in French:
“JUNCKER doesn’t mince his words when he says he’s ashamed, but he’s right. You can’t wish to associate 10 new members who have suffered the Soviet horror without helping them little by little to get up to our standard of living.”
3.02
Faced with this double-whammy of a political disaster the cowed Commission came up with a plan D out of nowhere. D for Democracy? Dialogue?Debate?
3.12
Geoff MEADE, Brussels Correspondent, Associated Press, in English:
“Plan D could always be disaster, desperation, despair.”
3.16
Pierre DEFRAIGNE, Executive Director, Madariaga Foundation, in French:
“Let’s say D for disaster. I don’t think the Commission has ever understood how to communicate. You don’t talk to people the top down, by telling them if they knew better what the EU was doing for them they’d love Europe more. It’s ridiculous.”
3.35
And the Council power-trio of BLAIR, CHIRAC and SCHRÖDER didn’t give Europe its much-needed boost.
3.42
Antoinette SPAAK, Belgian State Minister & former member of the European Parliament, in French:
“I think they were overwhelmed by the events thrown at them, and equally, not as committed Europeans as François MITTERRAND and Helmut KOHL.”
3.53
José Manuel BARROSO is no Jacques DELORS, either. The Commission struggled to influence the member states.
4.00
Jean QUATREMER, Brussels Correspondent, Libération, in French:
“BARROSO is useful because he doesn’t cause trouble, he’s a sort of loveable dogsbody for the Council of Ministers.”
4.06
Antoinette SPAAK, Belgian State Minister & former member of the European Parliament, in French:
“Mr BARROSO is an excellent representative. He seems to me to stay far in the background in Council matters, even in the group photos, which I hated, because it gave the impression of the Commission President trotting behind the Ministers.”
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Dragging everyone out of this quicksand the Parliament rode over the hill to emerge as a vital political force. It acted where others dithered. Parliament entirely rewrote the much-decried Service directive, negotiated the REACH chemicals reforms, and later the Climate package.
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Jean QUATREMER, Brussels Correspondent, Libération, in French:
“Without a doubt Parliament’s coming of age in the last 5 years is a significant political factor. It proved itself with the BOLKESTEIN directive, and it’s proving itself today with the Financial Services directive. Parliament was also the first to warn about over-deregulation of the financial markets, a long time ago.”
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The clouds seemed to clear a little; following Parliament’s lead BARROSO turned his back on crisis and proposed environmental investment as the future.
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Pierre DEFRAIGNE, Executive Director, Madariaga Foundation, in French:
“The Commission didn’t play its role in the REACH directive, and left the talking to Parliament and the Council. But I think it was a lot more proactive on the climate question, and it deserves its share of the honour in making it law.”
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Member states also got new leaders; Angela MERKEL, then Nicolas SARKOZY. Two clashing styles but the Franco-German axis relaunched Europe forwards.
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Jean QUATREMER, Brussels Correspondent, Libération, in French:
“On her own MERKEL wouldn’t have lasted long; she needed a partner, but had to wait until 2007 when Nicolas SARKOZY arrived to see real change.”
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Together they push the Lisbon Treaty through and lead the climate negotiations. Europe seems to reappear on the international scene.
6.00
Eneko LANDABURU, Director General for External Relations, European Commission, in French:
“The world sees us as providing a lead in the fight to reduce the damage caused by climate change. We are taken seriously because we been able to lead by example.”
6.15
The breathing space was short because last June Ireland rejected the Lisbon Treaty, and two months later Russian tanks rolled into Georgia. Then the financial crisis erupted. But now Europe was speaking with a single voice; the EU negotiated with Russia, and called the G20 together. The EU appears as a global force to be reckoned with, seen as a rampart against crisis.
6.36
Jean QUATREMER, Brussels Correspondent, Libération, in French:
“I think the 8 months we’ve just been through has allowed Europeans to realise that the EU could be powerful. They don’t have the levers of power yet, but they needed to be united.”
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Pierre DEFRAIGNE, Executive Director, Madariaga Foundation, in French:
“Fire-fighting is one thing. Stopping the fire ever starting is Europe’s real mission, but we’re far from attaining that yet.”
6.57
To maintain its status as a global player must Europe continue to integrate? Just as in the past, two visions collide:
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Geoff MEADE, Brussels Correspondent, Associated Press, in English:
“A club has to settle in a core of values. It doesn’t want to be constantly changed and all the European Commission needs to do is to be a solid basis for consolidation of the wishes of the club’s members.”
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Eneko LANDABURU, Director General for External Relations, European Commission, in French:
“Europe is at a crucial moment for its future. Either it decides soon to become a political Europe to exist, influence, and best defend its interests, or it is going to fall back.”
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Beyond the talk about identity the next legislature must get to grips with some big issues. The economic and financial crisis, ratifying the Lisbon Treaty, climate talks ahead of the Copenhagen summit, launching a real European energy policy. These are just some of the known challenges ahead.
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Title
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End
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