Socialists unlock path to Barroso's re-election (Roundup)

Sep 9, 2009, 13:12 GMT

   Brussels - The European Parliament was set to confirm Jose Manuel Barroso as head of the European Commission for a further five years after his main opponents conceded Wednesday that they could not muster enough support to stop him.

'There is no majority' in the parliament in favour of postponing the vote on Barroso's future, which is expected on September 16, the head of the parliament's socialist bloc, Martin Schulz, said after talks with the Portuguese head of the European Union's executive.

Ahead of the talks, Schulz had said that he would call for the parliament to postpone its vote by a month and threatened to block Barroso's appointment, despite the fact that he is running unopposed.

But after the meeting, the head of the EU-wide alliance of socialist parties, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, said that 'the choice we have now in front of us is whether to abstain or vote against him.' 

It is the first time that such a high-profile figure has mentioned abstention as an option. Socialist leaders in the parliament had previously called for the group to oppose Barroso, a conservative whom they see as being too much in favour of the free market.

Analysts said Wednesday's statements amounted to an admission that the socialists do not have the support to block his re-election. Barroso has the backing of the parliament's two main centre-right groups and all 27 EU member states.

   The socialist grouping in Brussels were the big losers in European elections in June, coming in far behind their centre-right rivals. Since then, Schulz has spearheaded a campaign to block the centre- right Barroso's re-appointment. One of his complaints is that Barroso has not done enough to bring EU member states together.

   'We don't want Mr Barroso to be an instrument of the prime ministers of the biggest European countries, but to force European integration,' he said on Wednesday.

Rasmussen echoed that criticism, saying that Barroso's plans to stimulate employment after the economic crisis were 'totally inadequate' and amounted to 'saying 'No' to Europe's unemployed.' 

'I asked him to present a new recovery plan. I did not get any answer. It was not good enough,' Rasmussen said after the hearing.

The group is not set to agree a final position until next Tuesday, Schulz said.

   Analysts say that the socialists are split between members who oppose Barroso and those who are under pressure to back him because their home parties have already endorsed him in their capacity as national governments, as is the case in Britain and Spain.

The seven socialist members from Portugal are also likely to vote for their countryman, Rasmussen said.