Bonde’s Briefing 05.05.2008
In this weeks edittion of Bonde’s Briefing you can read about Bonde’s last days in the European Parliament, and about the elections of President of Europe
Bonde’s last days in the European Parliament
29 years membership of the EP is going to end this week. I have not regretted my decision for one minute. It is the right decision, in order to safeguard a change in sex and age for the Danish June Movement and a renewal in the Group for Independence and Democracy.
I will not stop my political work, but will now focus on political agenda setting, the fight for referendums and the preparations of the elections for the European
Parliament next year in June.
Here is my calendar for the last week as an MEP:
6 May
11 - 13 Last meeting in the working group on Parliamentary reform
7 May
14 - 15 Last Group meeting as leader of the IND/DEM group with the election of a new co-president, and presentation of Bonde’s successor, Hanne Dahl Spinelli building ASP 1 E 2
16 - 17.30 Meeting in the SOS Democracy intergroup with Irish No-leader and businessman Declan Ganley, Spinelli building ASP 1 E 2
18.30 Bonde’s farewell reception: Members saloon, ground floor in the Spinelli building
8 May
11 - Short farewell remark in the plenary before Bonde’s last vote. The President will announce that Bonde leave and Hanne Dahl takes over the seat
14.50 Flight SN 2259 for Copenhagen after 29 years in the EP for the veteran member
9 May
Hanne Dahl takes over the seat, she will be present in Brussels from the 7th of May and can be contacted at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or via telephone +45 22 88 15 38. My GSM is +45 20 49 02 51 and my Belgian GSM is +32 47 31 32 322
The next President of Europe
It is nice to see that every European newspaper and most of the electronic Medias are covering the election of a new President almost every day. It is only sad, that they cover even the selection of candidates for the American elections in every local town - and not the election of the President for Europe!
Our President will be elected by Prime Ministers meeting behind closed doors. The candidates for the job will be those who cannot be elected for offices at home.
The former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has announced his interest but has also met resistance from those who do not want to see the European President as a competitor to the President of the Commission.
The retiring Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has been mentioned, particularly in Irish Medias, also writing about his possible involvement in corruption. I have not heard of any serious support for him in the corridors in Brussels.
The Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is now also mentioned as a
candidate in European Medias. The family of liberal parties representing 5 governments met recently and appointed the Finnish prime minister, Matti Vanhanen, to negotiate a liberal seat in the European executive.
Rasmussen publicly denies that he is a candidate, but spends most of his time on travels to gather support. The other day he had an official visit in his home country, Denmark, and said something like:
Well, he is not a candidate for the job, since it has not been created, yet. But is not the full truth. The Finnish Prime Minister tries to negotiate a post for him. He did not deny it convincingly when I met him last week.
And why should he? With five prime ministers the liberal family can count on one post if they agree internally and ally with others. There are more jobs to be distributed: The president of the Commission, which may go to Barroso from the EPP family - again. The foreign minister, or “High Representative”, and vice president in the Commission, which may stay with the Socialists, for Solana or maybe a newcomer such as the German foreign minister Steinmeyer.
Other candidates mentioned for that job include the Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt, EPP, the French minister of agriculture and former Commissioner, Michel Barnier, EPP and maybe the favourite, the former chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel of Austria who will be an ideal candidate for those who want a weak President (and a strong President of the Commission).
Then, there is the job of the President where the salary and number of staff, car and private flight now is being negotiated in the COREPER. This job is dependent on the ratification of the Lisbon treaty by all 27 member states – including the referendum in Ireland on June 12th, as well as different court cases.
The post of Secretary General in NATO is also available from 2009 when the currnet Dutch Secretary General will leave. A post as (formally deputy) Secretary Seneral in the Council after the French de Boissier as well as other important posts, such as bank directors etc. can also be included in a final package of personalities.
Negotiations have already begun in the corridors: German chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Sarkozy and the weaker and weaker British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have major influence on this issue. France and Germany can veto any person and maybe even decide two of the posts. But by the end of the day, they will have to come to an agreement with 18 other prime ministers about it.
Next time, however, all posts will be decided upon by Super Qualified Majority: 20 of the 27 prime ministers. This majority can only be obtained if there is something for the 3 biggest political families, south and north, east and west, small and big. But there is no national veto as in the past where the British vetoed the Belgian prime minister Dehaene and later Verhofstaedt for the post as President of the Commission.
Santer and Barroso were at first not candidates for the jobs as President of the Commission. They were picked as compromise candidates in the end. The Danish Prime Minister’s only opportunity to get a well paid job in Brussels will also be to deny his candidatur and only accept one of the top jobs in the end, when there may be no one else they can agree on in the final package.
Europe deserves better. All the candidates mentioned are politicians who cannot be elected for another period in their home countries. Instead of choosing only between those who cannot be elected it would be more democratic to have a real European contest on the persons who shall lead us.
Why not have direct elections of both Commissioners and all other top jobs, together with the European elections, planned to be held between the 4th and 7th of June 2009? All member states could then elect their own Commissioners and they could then meet and distribute the different portfolios between them. To elect a European president – as in the US – we are still missing the one crucial thing: A united European people.
A democratic EU will only be developed gradually if we start organising a “Europe of Democracies” build by votes by, and therefore involving, the citizens.
My last speeches
Wednesday afternoon, I will be speaking on the EMU and Thursday morning I will be speaking on the report on activities of lobbyists in the EU. These will be my last speeches in the plenary
The week in Brussels
This week we have a so-called mini-session in Brussels, on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 May.
Next week is group week preparing for the May session in Strasbourg. Then I will no longer be a president of a political group. But my weekly newsletters will continue.
