by Marie Bourdon
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| from euobserver.com |
As a young European citizen, I grew up in the European Union, I studied through the Erasmus programme, I travel easily in the Schengen area, I use Euros, I have friends everywhere in Europe and I have to say, I am worried when I hear Mr Juncker saying he will lead the ‘last-chance Commission’.
"Either we succeed in bringing the European citizens closer to Europe, or we will fail (...) I'd like to take this opportunity together with you to get Europe moving again. Europe deserves our efforts and I count on you President and I count on you Honourable Members to give your support to the Commissions in the many tasks facing all of us," Juncker said.
The Barroso Commision was impacted by a strong social and economic crisis, but also faced a growing euroscepticism which appeared at the EP after the elections of May 2014. In fact, around 100 Members of European Parliament out of 751 come from extreme right or europhobic groups.
Challenged team
Mr Juncker was named on the 15th of July as the next President of the Commission and the European Parliament approved on the 22nd of October the entire Juncker Commission. Mr Juncker will preside over 27 other commissioners. Many criticisms were already made on the appointment of various commissioners. One of them was the controversial Spanish Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Mr Arias Cañete, because of a possible conflict of interest due to his personal interests in the oil industry. The Parliamentary Group of The Greens protested strongly. However, the Commission was approved by the Parliament and will be in charge of managing European issues for 5 years.
On the 1st of November the new European Commission headed by President Jean-Claude Juncker took the lead of Europe and there are a lot of expectations in the new Commission.
On the 5th of November, the revelation of the ‘Lux leaks’ scandal shacked again the newly elected Commission. The scandal came from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) who published articles based on a review of nearly 28,000 pages of confidential documents. The scandal concerns “tax rulings” in Luxembourg which allowed more than 300 multinational companies to avoid taxation. Mr Juncker was at this time Minister for Finances in the Luxembourg.
Mr Juncker was named on the 15th of July as the next President of the Commission and the European Parliament approved on the 22nd of October the entire Juncker Commission. Mr Juncker will preside over 27 other commissioners. Many criticisms were already made on the appointment of various commissioners. One of them was the controversial Spanish Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Mr Arias Cañete, because of a possible conflict of interest due to his personal interests in the oil industry. The Parliamentary Group of The Greens protested strongly. However, the Commission was approved by the Parliament and will be in charge of managing European issues for 5 years.
On the 1st of November the new European Commission headed by President Jean-Claude Juncker took the lead of Europe and there are a lot of expectations in the new Commission.
On the 5th of November, the revelation of the ‘Lux leaks’ scandal shacked again the newly elected Commission. The scandal came from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) who published articles based on a review of nearly 28,000 pages of confidential documents. The scandal concerns “tax rulings” in Luxembourg which allowed more than 300 multinational companies to avoid taxation. Mr Juncker was at this time Minister for Finances in the Luxembourg.
Lack of harmonisation
On the 6th of November, the event ‘Good Morning Europe’ organized by the newspaper L’Obs, Le Soir and De Standaard was held in Brussels. The opening conference was expecting Mr Delors and Mr Juncker for a debate, however, for health reasons Mr Delors cancelled his visit. Then Mr Juncker declined the invitation. Many criticisms were made on his decision. We had to wait until the 12th of November to hear Mr Juncker explaining himself on the scandal. In fact, during the Plenary session, just after a declaration of the Parliament President, Mr Schulz, on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, the agenda of the plenary session changed to let Mr Juncker make a statement.
"Everything that has been done corresponded to national [Luxembourgish] legislation and to relevant international rules", he stated. He added that the current situation was a result of the lack of fiscal harmonisation in the EU.
The statement was followed by the interventions of the group representatives. A large debate started. An MEP even asked for Juncker’s demission. Should we have a fiscal harmonization in Europe? This is a long debate which answers are expected by the end of the year.
Mr Juncker will have to start to deal with this issue if he wants a stronger Europe. The next months at the Commission and the Parliament will be crucial for the future of Europe.
The statement was followed by the interventions of the group representatives. A large debate started. An MEP even asked for Juncker’s demission. Should we have a fiscal harmonization in Europe? This is a long debate which answers are expected by the end of the year.
Mr Juncker will have to start to deal with this issue if he wants a stronger Europe. The next months at the Commission and the Parliament will be crucial for the future of Europe.
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