PARLIAMENT VIEW:"THE EUROPEAN Parliament would welcome it if we could find a solution [to the Lisbon Treaty ratification] before European elections," the assembly's president Hans-Gert Pöttering said after speaking to EU heads of state and government yesterday. "But I know that it is extremely ambitious, aiming very high," he added, reports Lara Marlowe
In his speech to the European Council, Mr Pöttering said: "The December European Council should lay down a procedure which will allow the Lisbon Treaty to come into force in the near future."
Mr Pöttering told journalists from Ireland: "The Irish have to say what they want. Having a commissioner for everyone, including Ireland, should not be a problem."
He repeatedly stressed support for Taoiseach Brian Cowen. "Your Taoiseach, he's a great person," he told Irish journalists. "I trust he will lead you through these troubled waters."Mr Pöttering called Mr Cowen "very intelligent and wise" and said that the Taoiseach's speech had given him a "better picture" of the situation in Ireland. "I have the impression he sees a major task before him. His country needs to understand the importance of the EU better."
Mr Pöttering praised British prime minister Gordon Brown for working with the euro group and acting EU president Nicolas Sarkozy on the financial crisis: "Mr Sarkozy has shown a strong political will to solve the Georgian and financial crises."
He chided the European Commission. "The European Parliament has repeatedly pointed to shortcomings in the regulation and oversight of the financial markets in the EU and has also called on the European Commission on several occasions to propose measures to strengthen the European oversight system," he said.
"In 2004 we drew attention to the inadequacies in the work of the rating agencies . . . We are aware that a number of member states were unwilling to act. But now is not the time for apportioning blame; it is a time for seeking common solutions."