Commissioners with no idea
Posted by MEP Blogs on 01 25th, 2010 | no responses
As a Committee substitute member, I was able to put some questions to the to the Commissioner designates for Economy and Monetary Affairs and Competition, Messrs Olli Rehn and Joaquin Almunia, both of whom have been around the EU a long time.
At the first hearing, I asked Mr Rehn whether he was worried about the effect that membership of the Euro seemed to have on prices in the countries of member states newly joining the Eurozone; such as Estonia for example. Was he concerned that as a result of replacing their own currency with the Euro, the cost of living in Estonia would inevitably increase? And if he was concerned, how was he intending to help the citizens of Estonia, especially as membership of the euro would prevent them from devaluing their currency? To my astonishment, he bluntly denied any relationship between new membership of the Euro and subsequent price inflation.
I tried another tack. Was he aware that Slovakia had just celebrated its first year in the Euro with the result that price inflation had caused a 25% reduction in tourism and a drop in annual GDP equal to 1% more than its neighbour, the Czech Republic a member state that had opted out of the Euro? His only answer was to announce that he had many Slovakian friends who were very happy with the Euro. Poor Mr Rehn – completely out of his depth.
Onto the next hearing with Mr Almunia, Commissioner designate for Competition, one of the most powerful portfolios. Now Mr Almunia was a member of the College of Commissioners who on 29 September 2004 took the decision to fire me. Poor Mr Almunia – I could see him fidgeting nervously in his seat when my name was announced. Along with another MEP from the far leftist group GUE, we asked him if in future, as Competition Commissioner, he would ensure that when he approved subsidies to be paid to promote an industry in one EU member state this would not provoke the need to utilize the Globalisation Adjustment Fund (GAF) to compensate the country without the subsidy – whose citizens would inevitably be out of a job? I specifically referred to the case of Dell computers, who moved their manufacturing facility from Ireland to Poland, thanks to getting an EU subsidy, leaving 1,900 people without a job in Ireland. (The EU then paid a subsidy out of the GAF to those Irish workers who had lost their job – this subsidy should only have been paid if there had been a "change in trade pattern" – which in the Dell case there patently wasn’t.)
Guess what?... Mr Almunia denied any relation between the loss of jobs in Dell Ireland and its relocation to Poland. The bare-faced cheek – quite incredible and of course complete rubbish – but talking rubbish is I fear no hinderance if you are an established EU mandarin – we shall see if he is elected or not – he certainly appears to be sublimely ignorant of the real facts.
As I write this blog the Bulgarian Commissioner designate for Development, Ms Rumiana Jeleva has already withdrawn, and the rumour is that Semeta, the Lithuanian Commissioner designate for Tax, Audit and Anti-fraud has failed to get the support of the Economy committee. As far as the Budgetary Control Committee is concerned, the members of that Committee have decided to write to the president of the Parliament approving his appointment... I opposed his appointment on the grounds that he is incompetent and simply not up to the job, but there was no vote called and apparently the three German MEPs on the committee (one EPP, one Liberal, and one Socialist) have already come to a secret agreement to press for his approval... but sometimes these secret negotiations fail... we shall see and I promise to let you know.
At the first hearing, I asked Mr Rehn whether he was worried about the effect that membership of the Euro seemed to have on prices in the countries of member states newly joining the Eurozone; such as Estonia for example. Was he concerned that as a result of replacing their own currency with the Euro, the cost of living in Estonia would inevitably increase? And if he was concerned, how was he intending to help the citizens of Estonia, especially as membership of the euro would prevent them from devaluing their currency? To my astonishment, he bluntly denied any relationship between new membership of the Euro and subsequent price inflation.
I tried another tack. Was he aware that Slovakia had just celebrated its first year in the Euro with the result that price inflation had caused a 25% reduction in tourism and a drop in annual GDP equal to 1% more than its neighbour, the Czech Republic a member state that had opted out of the Euro? His only answer was to announce that he had many Slovakian friends who were very happy with the Euro. Poor Mr Rehn – completely out of his depth.
Onto the next hearing with Mr Almunia, Commissioner designate for Competition, one of the most powerful portfolios. Now Mr Almunia was a member of the College of Commissioners who on 29 September 2004 took the decision to fire me. Poor Mr Almunia – I could see him fidgeting nervously in his seat when my name was announced. Along with another MEP from the far leftist group GUE, we asked him if in future, as Competition Commissioner, he would ensure that when he approved subsidies to be paid to promote an industry in one EU member state this would not provoke the need to utilize the Globalisation Adjustment Fund (GAF) to compensate the country without the subsidy – whose citizens would inevitably be out of a job? I specifically referred to the case of Dell computers, who moved their manufacturing facility from Ireland to Poland, thanks to getting an EU subsidy, leaving 1,900 people without a job in Ireland. (The EU then paid a subsidy out of the GAF to those Irish workers who had lost their job – this subsidy should only have been paid if there had been a "change in trade pattern" – which in the Dell case there patently wasn’t.)
Guess what?... Mr Almunia denied any relation between the loss of jobs in Dell Ireland and its relocation to Poland. The bare-faced cheek – quite incredible and of course complete rubbish – but talking rubbish is I fear no hinderance if you are an established EU mandarin – we shall see if he is elected or not – he certainly appears to be sublimely ignorant of the real facts.
As I write this blog the Bulgarian Commissioner designate for Development, Ms Rumiana Jeleva has already withdrawn, and the rumour is that Semeta, the Lithuanian Commissioner designate for Tax, Audit and Anti-fraud has failed to get the support of the Economy committee. As far as the Budgetary Control Committee is concerned, the members of that Committee have decided to write to the president of the Parliament approving his appointment... I opposed his appointment on the grounds that he is incompetent and simply not up to the job, but there was no vote called and apparently the three German MEPs on the committee (one EPP, one Liberal, and one Socialist) have already come to a secret agreement to press for his approval... but sometimes these secret negotiations fail... we shall see and I promise to let you know.
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