Fresh push for E.U. reform process

Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS, APRIL 14. In a fresh endeavour to push the European Commission's President, Mr. Romano Prodi, to accelerate the E.U.'s reform process, the European parliamentarians last night resolved to delay approval of E.U.'s accounts, until Mr. Prodi's European Commission delivers on its promise of major administrative reforms.

Mr. Prodi, former Italian Prime Minister, was elected the Commission President in September after the ignominious collapse of the Santer administration, amid accusations of fraud, inefficiency and incompetence.

In recent days, Mr. Prodi has also attracted `negative publicity' in the European media for his `lacklustre' performance after nearly eight months in office. He also has his share of `admirers' in the European Parliament. Last night, the leader of the German Christian Social Union gave a vote of confidence to Mr. Prodi for `doing a good job'.

According to Mr. Frits Bolkestein, leader of the former Dutch Opposition and now a member of the European Commission responsible for the internal market, the E.U. is moving in the direction of becoming a community of `inadequate leadership' and `atomised goals.'

He accused most of the 15 E.U. member-governments of operating at new-levels of self-interest and may potentially discredit the Commission's role as `integrator and initiator.' Mr. Bolkestein has a reputation of being `blunt' in his comments.

The Commission officials are often exasperated by a spate of criticism in the European media against Mr. Prodi.

Mr. Bolkestein points out that the real problem is not with the Commission but with the European leaders and their Governments. He said: `With all due respect' to the French President, Mr. Jacques Chirac, and the Prime Minister, Mr. Lionel Jospin, and the German Chancellor, Mr. Gerhard Schroeder, ``they do not provide a level of leadership of late President Mitterrand of France and Chancellor Kohl of Germany.''

Mr. Bolkestein accused them of playing the European game of more integration and better reforms by `different rules'. He accused the E.U. Governments of ensuring that their national self- interests dominated the pan-European agenda.

Referring to the proposed expansion of the E.U. to take in former communist ruled countries, Mr. Bolkestein accused France of wanting to use the E.U. as `multiplier of its own ambitions.'

The current decline in the Franco-German relations, is caused by faults and pressures on both sides of the fence where government leaders are more influenced by domestic political pressures. Britain is also rated as a poor player and its current reluctance to join the European Monetary Union has created a `surreal' or an `Alice in Wonderland' situation which is `neither grown up nor emancipated.'

The Commission office in Britain has accused the British press of `paranoid and jingoistic' reporting of events in the Commission. The Commission attack has been prompted by the refusal of the British Press Complaints Commission, a `watchdog' institution, to reprimand newspapers for `distorted' reporting.

The Commission office in Britain said a long running trend for disinformation had `hit a dangerous low' and cited articles from mass circulation popular press as well as quality papers as being `factually incorrect'. A British journalist is quoted as saying that the Commission's report on the British media reporting was `pathetic' but agreed that the British press might be more euro- sceptic when compared with its European counterparts.

According to current estimates in East Asia, the E.U. accounts for 29 per cent of the world economy compared to the U.S. 25 per cent. The E.U. countries have loaned more to East Asia than their Japanese and American counterparts and the East Asians are not generally aware that the E.U. economy is larger than the economy of the U.S.

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Section  : International
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