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Barroso will face MEPs over cruise affair |
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EU Observer
18.05.2005 - 17:41 CET | By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso confirmed on Wednesday (18 May) that he will personally answer MEPs' questions in a motion of censure hearing next week, out of respect for the European Parliament.
The commission also reiterated its view that the motion is "unjustified" - rejecting claims that his acceptance of a free holiday from Greek shipping baron Spiros Latsis last August created a conflict of interest.
"He has nothing to hide," the chief commission spokesperson said.
The president unveiled his decision after consulting his colleagues on Wednesday morning, having "looked at it very carefully" to see if the move would play into the hands of eurosceptics.
Mr Barroso's decision follows an apparent all-clear from the parliament.
The heads of the centre-right, socialist, liberal and green groups, which represent 597 of the 732 parliament seats, issued last week a joint statement damning the motion of censure.
"We consider this initiative to be unjustified and disproportionate and principally designed to seek publicity for its authors," the note said.
It won't go away
British europhobe MEP Nigel Farrage brought the original motion on 12 May after scooping the support of more than 10 per cent of MEPs in a petition.
The hearing is tabled for 25 May, to be followed by a vote in the June plenary session in Strasbourg.
Mr Farrage's team indicated that the list of names calling for the motion currently stands at 78.
The motion would fall off the agenda if the number drops below 74, with MEPs free to add or take their names off before next week's meeting.
"If we fail to hold them to account this time around, we'll bring it again. It won't go away," Mr Farrage's office pledged.
Transparency debate behind closed doors
In a separate development, the commission opted to keep Wednesday's orientation meeting on the commission's new transparency initiative largely behind closed doors.
The college discussed the setting up of an internal study group to look into the scheme and extending the project to other European institutions, but did not touch on guidelines for commissioners' handling of gifts or hospitality - a spokeswoman revealed.
The new study group is set to give its findings in October, but the plan failed to impress the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation - a coalition of over 80 NGOs pushing for democratic scrutiny of Brussels' lobbyist community.
"Delegating the European transparency initiative to a group of civil servants is a step back in terms of transparency and democratic process", Erik Wesselius, member of the Amsterdam-based group Corporate Europe Observatory said.
Administrative affairs commissioner Siim Kallas originally presented the transparency scheme on 3 March, promising a draft green paper and legislative proposal later this year. |
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