Vanhanen wants Barroso for second term as European Commission President
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Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) says that the current President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, should be given a second term.
Vanhanen hopes that leaders of other EU countries would also give their support to the project as soon as possible.
Vanhanen is afraid that otherwise the EU’s key power base, the Commission, might start slowing down its activities as its terms come to an end next year.
Vanhanen feels that the EU cannot afford this, in light of the many challenges that it faces in the coming year and a half, that the Commission needs to be able to operate at full efficiency to the very last day.
“The President of the Commission is such a central factor of power that he must not become a lame duck. If a clear bridge to the next five-year period is created for him, it will have an effect on the position for the Commission for the whole of next year.”, Vanhanen explained.
He added that he has not spoken about the matter with other prime ministers; this is purely his own initiative. Previously the possibility of a second term for Barroso has been put forward by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
In the background of all the uncertainty is speculation over the fate of the Lisbon Treaty. Now the treaty has been ratified by the parliaments of 24 EU out of the member states.
The treaty would need to be approved by all members to come into effect. A major obstacle to the approval is Ireland, where the treaty was rejected in a referendum in May this year.
Leaders of the EU countries will meet in a couple of weeks at a summit to examine the situation. Vanhanen says that it appears that the treaty will not get the approval of Ireland in time.
“The conditions for the Lisbon Treaty to come into effect within the timetable that was originally planned are starting to fade away.”
The aim is to get the treaty in force by early 2009.
However, it is certain that the European Commission will have a President, whether it is the old Nice Treaty or the new Lisbon Treaty that is in force. Vanhanen feels that support for Barroso would be important right now.
“As long as there is uncertainty about whether or not the Lisbon Treaty can take effect already next year, we will have to think, for instance, whether or not to appoint a new Commission, or to ask the old one to continue”, Vanhanen said.
He points out that Barroso has succeeded very well in the basic tasks of the Commission and its President.
Also affecting the choice of the Commission President will be the result of the elections for the European Parliament. However, Vanhanen does not believe that there will be such great changes in the EU elections that they would prevent him from backing Barroso now.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 6.10.2008 - TODAY |
 Vanhanen wants Barroso for second term as European Commission President |
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