4-The new EU Parliament : What challenges lie ahead?

The debate on Europe’s future direction continues…

Sergio Cantone, euronews: “Madame Muscardini…?”

Cristiana Muscardini: “I’d quickly like to say that Europe and its citizens need a President for their development, and that person needs a mandate of several years. In the Lisbon constitution two and a half years is suggested, and that is needed because the current term of six months isn’t long enough to get results on some of the problems we have to solve. The other problem is that there’s no provision for a Commissioner from each member state. I have tabled amendments on this subject and now we will have a Commissioner from each member state. It’s not a problem of national representation, it’s a question of giving our newest members & their citizens a higher profile, enabling them to better identify themselves with the EU.”

Sergio Cantone, euronews: “Monsieur Daul…?”

Joseph Daul, PPE/DE: “Well, I’m from Alsace, so Europe has given us 60 years of peace. Europe protects us without protectionism, which is worth underlining. Europe is reassuring, and its the EU’s founding fathers who got us to where we are today, with 60 years of peace, and enlargement acheived in a war-free continent. Oh, very well Mr. Farage, if you want a war, go ahead!”

Nigel Farage, IND/DEM: “NATO, NATO, not the EU!”

Joseph Daul, PPE/DE: “When I look around me at today’s European citizens it only increases the respect I have for the EU’s founding fathers. It’s lucky they were around and not more people like you. If that had been the case we would have been at war all the time. So, I believe that when I explain to my children & grandchildren with my colleague Martin Schulz when we cross the frontier what the situation was like 40 or 50 years ago; that’s what Europe means. So for all those who are uncomfortable in Europe, Mr. Farage, in the new Lisbon Constitution there’s a paragraph that says anyone who feels out of place can leave. That’s not in the Nice treaty. If you feel out of place, vote for Lisbon, and you can leave the next day. That is provided for in the Constitution, Mr. Farage.”

Nigel Farage, IND/DEM: “I’d rather leave before Lisbon, thank you very much.”

Sergio Cantone, euronews: “Is your blanket ‘no’ to the European Union and its treaties linked to a purist’s conception of market economics and a totally free market?”

Nigel Farage, IND/DEM: “I firmly believe that we’re part of a global economy , not a European economy and I watch what these institutions are doing within the EU, and we’re not fit for a global economy given the social market model that we’re building in the institutions of the European Union.”

Sergio Cantone, euronews: “Are you a free marketeer when it comes to jobs? What do you think of the protests we’ve seen in many countries, not only Britain, where workers have called for a nationalist defence of their employment?”

Nigel Farage, IND/DEM: “I think that to open your borders to people from very poor countries in eastern Europe and to say to them, ‘as many of you that want to come can’, is insane. And we should operate a proper work permit system.”

Martin Schulz, PSE: “We get this all the time from him in the European Parliament. He’s very skilful, and we discuss things with him. I prefer to discuss solutions, or legislation designed to protect, for example, jobs, the environment, or ways of tackling the financial crisis, and on these subjects Mr. Farage never contributes a thing.”

Graham Watson, ALDE: “Europe now finds itself in a position where there are different visions of its future. There are some who look at the multilateral challenges ahead and say ‘it’s time to raise the drawbridge’, in other words keep the EU as a white Christian club with restricted contacts with the outside world. Others, almost all the political groups in fact, are in favour of an open Europe, engaged with the rest of the world, with a dialogue with the Muslim world and others, in commerce to promote the ideas of freedom, democracy, and human rights. It is this vision of Europe that has to mobilise a coalition so we can progress.”

Sergio Cantone, euronews: “Monica Frassoni, would you like to conclude?”

Monica Frassoni, Greens/ALE: “I think this crisis is also a stroke of luck, however tragic and dramatic for many. It allows us to say, ‘We were wrong, we must try something else’. I think that with the Treaty of Lisbon things will improve, but without it we can still do it. We must release, at a European level, guaranteed capital for green investments, for education & training, green jobs, and for those who are able and want to embark on new ventures. I think this is a stimulus that the EU can provide. But to do it, and let’s be clear on this, we need a new majority to the one currently in place in the European parliament. So our citizens need to understand that here in the European parliament we are fighting over a range of different options, that are published and transparent, so they can choose. And this is exactly what Mr. Farage doesn’t want to admit exists. This is a democracy, but alas for him, it’s a European democracy. It’s certainly not yet complete, but I deny the possibility you can only have democracy in one country, on a national level. It’s just not true.”

euronews: “Thank you everyone.”

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tags: European elections