THE EU: The new Commission president insists he made all the right choices, reports Denis Staunton
For a man who has just emerged from a three-week stand-off with the European Parliament and whose first day in office was dominated by a fresh row over one of his commissioners, Mr José Manuel Barroso is remarkably ebullient. In his first interview as Commission president, Mr Barroso told The Irish Times and other European newspapers that his decision to postpone the MEPs' vote on his Commission had prevented a serious crisis within the European institutions.
"This was not a crisis, to have a postponement of three weeks. Is it really the end of the world? Come on, let's put things in perspective," he said.
Yesterday's drama centred on the French commissioner, Mr Jacques Barrot, who failed to disclose a conviction in 2000 for corruption in a party funding scandal. Mr Barroso insisted that, despite protests from some MEPs, the entire Commission retained the support of the European Parliament.
"The last position the parliament took on this was on Thursday when by two thirds majority, the parliament showed full confidence in the Commission, including Mr Barrot, of course. This is for me the relevant position," he said.
Sitting on the 13th floor of the newly renovated Berlaymont building, Mr Barroso has no regrets about his handling of the dispute over Mr Rocco Buttiglione, the Italian commissioner who withdrew after MEPs made clear that his public statements on gays, marriage and immigration were unacceptable.
"I made absolutely the right choices at all moments," he said.
Mr Barroso believes that the press underestimated the level of support for Mr Buttiglione among conservative MEPs, which meant that the Italian's withdrawal on its own was not enough to secure a majority in favour of the Commission.
He points out that, with a two-thirds majority in the European Parliament, his Commission has a stronger mandate than most national governments and he promises to work with all mainstream groups within the parliament.
"I do not want to be a partisan leader of the Commission. I want to work with all those who are generally committed to the same values, be they Christian Democrats, Liberals, Socialists or other democrats," he said.
Before he came to Brussels, Mr Barroso was perceived as an economic liberal with deeply pro-American instincts on foreign policy. He will today outline in detail his plans for the next five years in a speech at the College of Europe in Bruges but he is already signalling a softer approach.
He has identified the Lisbon Agenda, a 10-year plan to make Europe more economically competitive, as his top priority but he insists that the strategy is not to ape the United States but to protect the European social model. For Mr Barroso, reform is essential to create "a combination of the kind of economic dynamism we can find in America with the social justice and social provision and social solidarity" that is important to Europeans.
In the face of the twin challenges of globalisation and an ageing population, Mr Barroso maintains that taking no action would mean the death of Europe's social model.
"The only way to have it is to adapt it, to reform it. If we want a good level of social protection and high environmental standards, we have to have growth. To have growth, we need to be more competitive. It's quite obvious," he said.
While he believes that the "war on terrorism" is important for Europeans, Mr Barroso is not slow to criticise Washington over its behaviour in Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
"We should not lose our soul in the fight against terrorism because what gives us our credibility and authority in that fight is our very values. If not, we are doing what the terrorists want us to do. In matters of human rights, we have to be very clear about it," he said.
Within the Commission, some of Mr Barroso's colleagues and senior officials have complained that he is reluctant to take advice and adopts a somewhat magisterial management style. Professing deep respect for officials, he insists that while "there is a difference between listening and submitting", his reputation for high-handedness is unfounded.
"I'm not at all an autocratic person. On the contrary, I want to receive the different inputs."
Mr Barroso believes that the events of the past three weeks have strengthened the political culture of the EU and, despite the initial hiccups, he appears to relish the prospect of the next five years. "I think it will be exciting. What happens is that the European Union is becoming more political and we have to adapt psychologically to that. I don't think you can say that whenever there's a debate there is a crisis. The important thing is the result," he said.