Future President of European Commission calls on Russia to respect human rights

print this

By Petteri Tuohinen in Brussels
     
      The future President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso of Portugal, wants Russia to keep in mind that the fundamental rights of citizens must not be suppressed using the war against terrorism as an excuse.
      "In Europe we understand that the fight against terrorism is vital, and we support all means to eliminate the threat. However, at the same time we believe that weakening citizens’ rights is not the best way to act against terrorism, because it is our values of democracy and human rights that give us the strength to fight terrorism. This is our message to our Russian friends", said Barroso on Tuesday in an interview that he granted to Helsingin Sanomat, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, and the Danish paper Politiken.
     
Relations between the EU and Russia are at their lowest ebb in ages. The problems are partially the result of the fact that large member states such as Italy and France want to maintain bilateral relations with Moscow, which means that it has not been possible to implement a common EU policy toward Russia.
      On the other hand, the Russians have been quite unwilling to build relations with Brussels, and constant disputes have emerged between the two sides.
      In other parts of Europe people have closely followed the events which followed the Beslan massacre. President Vladimir Putin has concentrated more power on himself, and the Kremlin is preparing for pre-emptive anti-terrorist strikes.
      According to Barroso, the anti-terrorist fight conducted by Russia is not a threat to EU security.
      "On the contrary, I would see problems if Russia were to be weak in fighting terrorism. It is a global threat", Barroso said.
     
One issue that is even more topical in Brussels than Russia is the prospect of membership talks with Turkey, which may begin next year. The member states will decide on the issue in December on the basis of a recommendation by the Commission that is scheduled to come out in early October.
      The issue of Turkey has divided opinion within the Commission. For instance, Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler has suggested a "Plan B" - taking Turkey into a "circle of friends" of the EU, but not as a full member.
      However, Barroso does not see any other alternative than full membership, if Turkey meets the political and economic criteria set for it.
      However, he feels that so far Turkey has not made enough reforms for membership talks to begin. Blocking the talks have been a package of reforms to the criminal law, which was shelved when the proposal that it contained to criminalise adultery raised controversy in both Turkey and the EU.
     
"The civil rights and the rights of women contained in the criminal law are very important. In its criminal law Turkey must abide by European standards, and no exceptions can be permitted in this matter."
      Barroso denies that tougher conditions are being imposed on Turkey than on Romania and Bulgaria, which are to become members in 2007. However, he does concede that Bulgaria and Romania had not met all conditions when negotiations with them began.
      "However, the countries assured us that they were going in the right direction in their reforms. I hope that the same will happen with Turkey as well."
     
During his five-year term, Barroso, who begins as Commission President in November, wants to make the EU more easily understandable for the citizens.
      For this task he has chosen the Swedish Commissioner Margot Wallström, who is responsible for the Commission’s relations with the European Parliament and other EU bodies. Her task is also to make the EU better known among the citizens.
      Wallström certainly has her work cut out for her, with Euro-scepticism becoming more widespread among citizens of the member states. Barroso was critical of the EU representations in the different member countries which, in his view, have not fulfilled their obligations.
      "When things go well, member states are praised, and when worse times arise, the EU institutions get the blame... Would the achievements so far have been possible without the EU bodies?" Barroso asks rhetorically.
     
Barroso is not a supporter of the federalist idea of an EU super-state. However, as a representative of a small country he sees that a union of 25 member states is greater than the sum of its parts.
      "If we think about the influence of, say, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, or Portugal in international trade negotiations, their power is something close to 0.00000. But when we work together, the EU is overwhelmingly the most significant (economic) player. The United States, China, and to some extent Brazil, can act alone. We cannot."
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 22.9.2004

More on this subject:
 From Maoist fighter to "radical moderate"

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Barroso in HS interview: Turkey not yet ready for EU membership talks (22.9.2004)

PETTERI TUOHINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
petteri.tuohinen@hs.fi