EU: The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, has told the European Parliament that he will make building consensus around economic policies a key objective of his term as a European Commissioner. Replying to a questionnaire, Mr McCreevy stressed his commitment to maintaining the European social model.
"After 27 years as a Member of Parliament and as a government minister, I know that to develop and make policies work consensus building is essential. The Irish economic miracle could not have been achieved without the successive partnership agreements with the Social Partners. As an EU Commissioner, building consensus on policies with the European Parliament, the other institutions and stakeholders will be one of my key objectives," he said.
Mr McCreevy, who is due to take charge of the Internal Market and Services portfolio in November, said that governments and parliaments must become more closely involved in the process of economic reform if the EU is to become the most competitive region in the world.
"The dynamism of a Europe of 25 or more member-states has to be realised so that we can achieve the levels of sustainable growth and employment necessary for Europe's future. With an ageing population, we have to find the levels of growth necessary to maintain the levels of expenditure on social security, education and health care," he said.
While he expressed support for the EU's Constitutional Treaty, Mr McCreevy warned against implementing any of its measures before it is ratified.
"In a number of member- states, referenda will be held before ratification can take place. It would be a mistake to give the impression that we are prejudging the results of the referenda by bringing in provisions of the Constitutional Treaty before voters, or indeed national Parliaments, have an opportunity to express their views," he said.
In his reply to the questionnaire, Britain's commissioner designate, Mr Peter Mandelson, identified his experience as Northern Ireland Secretary among his qualifications for the post of Trade Commissioner.
"Although my experience as a minister was shorter than I would have wished, it will prove of great value in my new role. As Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, I led a wide-ranging view of industrial policy that led to the publication of a major White Paper on Competitiveness. As Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, I honed my negotiating skills in one of the most difficult communal conflicts within the EU and took forward the radical reform of policing under the Good Friday Agreement," he said.