International

Once again something of a riot has broken out in the European Parliament. Last Friday every MEP received a note from the Parliament’s Christian Democrat president, Jerzy Buzek, summoning us to come and listen to the speech to be given by European Commission president Jose Barroso. Should we fail to comply, we’ll receive a fine. All of which is because Barroso is coming to make a ‘State of the Union’ speech, just as the US President does at the beginning of the parliamentary year. Quite apart from the fact that Members of the European Parliament should be able to decide for themselves where they wish to be, Barroso has neither the authority nor the power of a ‘European President’. And that’s just how it should be and how it must remain: Europe is not a federal state and the SP will have no truck with all of the fanfare designed to give the impression that it is. My presence or absence will be determined by my own decision as to whether I have, on the day, any more pressing business to attend to. And blackmail from the EP president is certainly not something I will give in to.

Officially the EP president took this decision along with representatives of other parliamentary groups, but that still doesn’t mean that there is sufficient support for it within the Parliament. During the weekend it was raining emails from angry MEPs who see this, quite rightly, as a breach of their independent position as representatives of their peoples. Of course, within our political group, the United Left, we sometimes make agreements to be present at certain important debates. But this has nothing to do with the EP president. And using financial penalties to put pressure on MEPs gives the impression that he sees his colleagues as applause fodder that you can hire at will..

It’s true that the European Parliament’s large hemicycle in Strasbourg is often deserted. This happens mostly in relation to specialised debates where only a few Members are directly involved, and where there is relatively generous speaking time for fewer people. Only when it comes to voting are most MEPs present. You might think that this is what Buzek was wanting to change, but the real reasons for his action are otherwise.

The EP includes an important current of opinion which wants to make Europe into a federal state, and Buzek is part of this. Anything that can be dreamed up by the EP in terms of symbols to make Europe resemble a true state, these people are trying to introduce. A formal ‘State of the Union’ address is part of this. It wouldn’t surprise me if, as Barroso enters the hemicycle, they begin to play the ‘European anthem’ and we are all required to stand and welcome him, just as the US Congress does for Obama.

Obviously I will have nothing to do with such a circus. Barroso is a right-wing politician with whom the SP shares few ideas. But also, quite apart from that, the SP does not support transforming Europe into a superstate. We thus oppose any initiative tending in this direction. And so I’ll probably, during much of Barroso’s speech, be sitting in the hemicycle. But should Buzek really try to impose fines, then I’ll resist the move, along with many other angry MEPs.

This could therefore be quite a nice start to a session which could be a lot messier than Buzek currently thinks.