José Manuel Barroso: UK Will Not Stop EU from Building Much Closer Union

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: EU's "closer union" will continue despite opposition from Britain, says president of the European Commission

The EU will remain committed to "closer union" and Britain's "special case" will not lead to treaty change in the near future, Jose Manuel Barroso has warned the Prime Minister.

In a major speech the president of the European Commission acknowledged Britain's longstanding hostility to the EU but rejected David Cameron's demand for a treaty renegotiation to give the UK a special status over the next year.

"I do acknowledge that for historical, geopolitical and economic reasons the case of the UK may be seen as a special one. Precisely because of this, it would be a mistake to transform an exception for the UK into a rule for everybody else," he said.

"We can, and should, find ways to cater to the UK's specificity, in as much as this does not threaten the Union's overall coherence. But we should not confound this specificity - even if it is shared at some moments by several governments - with an overall situation of the Union."

Mr Barroso's comments, similar to those made by the German Chancellor and French President, are a setback for Mr Cameron who has asked for the EU treaty's commitment to "ever closer union" to be scrapped or amended so it does not include Britain. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Thursday, May 08, 2014

Jose Manuel Barroso: Switzerland Has Most to Lose from EU Immigration Curb

People in Zurich walk past an electoral poster for the "Stop Mass
Immigration" referendum by the right-wing populist
Swiss People's Party

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: President of European Commission says it's more important for Switzerland to have access to world's biggest market than for the EU to have access to Switzerland

Switzerland stands to lose more than the EU from a vote to restrict immigration because it cannot enjoy all the benefits of the world's biggest market without reciprocal access, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.

In an interview for a Reuters Euro Zone Summit, Mr Barroso said the narrow Swiss referendum vote to restore quotas for migrants in breach of an agreement with the EU, would have "serious consequences" for relations between the wealthy Alpine nation and the 28-member union that surrounds it.

While he did not spell out any specific sanctions, Mr Barroso implied that Swiss people could lose the right to live and work in the EU, including neighbouring Germany, France and Italy, and Swiss companies might also face obstacles.

"In terms of reciprocity, it's not appropriate that Swiss citizens have unrestricted freedom of movement in the European Union - I think there are 430,000 here, which in relative terms is more than the 1 million European citizens that are in Switzerland," he said. Switzerland has a population of 8 million, one quarter foreigners, while the EU has 500 million. » | Reuters | Wednesday, February 12, 2014

David Cameron 'Must Embrace Churchill's Vision of United States of Europe'

José Manuel Barroso

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The current generation of EU leaders, including David Cameron, must revive Winston Churchill's vision of a United States of Europe says José Manuel Barroso

David Cameron and other European Union leaders need to show the same political courage and vision of Winston Churchill's call for "a kind of United States of Europe", José Manuel Barroso has said.

The European Commission president has urged the EU of today to emulate the wartime British Conservative leader's call, made in a 1948 speech, for deeper integration in Europe.

"He was a man of foresight with an acute sense of history, often ahead of prevailing opinion, never shying away from saying what some might choose to ignore," he said.

"In today's fast-changing world, we certainly need the same geopolitical intelligence and strategic vision. We need the same courage to think beyond the immediacy of the next news cycle."

In comments that will be seen as an implicit criticism of the contemporary British Conservative Prime Minister, David Cameron, Mr Barroso called on the current generation of European leaders to show the same Churchillian vision and courage.

"Churchill rightly said in 1948: 'We must aim at nothing less than the Union of Europe as a whole, and we look forward with confidence to the day when the Union will be achieved'," he said.

"We need to resist vested interests and short-termism. We need to have the courage to think ahead and be able to project and shape change - that's what leadership is about." » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Friday, November 08, 2013



My comment:

I would like to say what Sir Winston Churchill said at the end of his speech at the University of Zürich: "Let Europe arise!" I should also like to add: Let us go forward together, with a common purpose. – © Mark

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My second comment is here

Italy to Hold State Funeral for Shipwreck Migrants

José Manuel Barroso, European Commission President

BBC: Italy is to hold a state funeral for the hundreds of migrants who died after their boat capsized close to the island of Lampedusa last Thursday.

Prime Minister Enrico Letta made the announcement during a visit to the island with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Mr Barroso pledged 30m euros ($40m; £25m) of EU funds to help refugees in Italy.

At least 274 people, mostly from Eritrea and Somalia, died in the wreck.

Of more than 500 people on board, only 155 have survived. Divers are recovering bodies.

It is one of Italy's worst disasters involving a boat carrying Europe-bound migrants from Africa.

Lampedusa is a key destination for such boats and many residents have long complained that the authorities in Italy and the European Union are not doing enough to deal with the thousands of migrants who come ashore each year. » | Wednesday, October 09, 2013

EU-Asylpolitik: Barroso mit Buh-Rufen auf Lampedusa empfangen

Rolling Back the EU Threatens Return to 'War and Trenches' Says José Manuel Barroso

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Critics of the European Union "who want to roll back our integration" threaten to take Europe back to the divisions that led to the First World War, José Manuel Barroso has warned.

The European Commission president has used his annual "state of the Union" speech to MEPs to warn Eurosceptics that their hostility to the EU could again plunge Europe into war.

In a thinly veiled reference to those like David Cameron, the Prime Minister, who want to roll back the EU's powers, Mr Barroso said that next year's centenary of the First World War should be a reminder of the "Union's" role of keeping the peace in Europe.

"Let me say to all those - including some in this House - who rejoice in Europe's difficulties and who want to roll back our integration and go back to isolation: the pre-integrated Europe of the divisions, the war, the trenches, is not what people desire and deserve," he said.

"The European continent has never in its history known such a long period of peace as since the creation of the European Community. It is our duty to preserve and deepen it," he said. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Federal Europe Will Be 'a Reality in a Few Years', Says Jose Manuel Barroso

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A fully fledged federal Europe may seem like "political science fiction" today but will soon become reality for all European Union countries whether inside or outside the euro, Jose Manuel Barroso has said.

The president of the European Commission has fanned the flames of British debate over EU membership by insisting that fiscal union in the eurozone will lead to "intensified political union" for all 27 member states.

"This is about the economic and monetary union but for the EU as a whole," he said.

"The commission will, therefore, set out its views and explicit ideas for treaty change in order for them to be debated before the European elections."

"We want to put all the elements on the table, in a clear and consistent way, even if some of them may sound like political science fiction today. They will be reality in a few years' time."

Mr Barroso's announcement that he will set out plans for a European federation next spring, before elections to the European Parliament in May 2014, will further deepen Conservative divisions over the EU. Read on and comment » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Cyprus Fallout: Moscow Accuses Euro Zone of Theft -- and Worse

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: Russia has sharply criticized the bailout deal for Cyprus, with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev accusing the EU of theft. Russian state television even likened the forced levy imposed on wealthy investors -- many of them Russian -- to the expropriation of Jews by Nazi Germany.

The verdict of Russian state television on Europe's effort to save Cyprus was damning. The last week "will enter the history books of the EU as a destructive one," said Dmitry Kiselev, the presenter of the popular news program Vesti Nedili on the Rossiya channel.

Kiselev heaped criticism on the forced levy to be imposed on bank deposits in Cyprus. He said the last time a Western European government proceeded so recklessly was when Adolf Hitler expropriated the Jews.

Nazi propaganda at the time described the money held by Jewish people as "dirty," said Kiselev. That was precisely how Europe was talking about Russian assets deposited in Cyprus, he added.

"The new world order is being founded against Russia, at Russia's costs and on the rubble of Russia," said a Rossiya correspondent from the Mediterranean island nation.

The Kremlin feels it has been sidelined in the tug-of-war over the Cypriot bailout, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso visited Moscow for talks last Friday, but just a few days later, Europe's new attempt to avert a financial meltdown in Cyprus has elicited fierce criticism from Moscow. » | Benjamin Bidder in Moscow | Monday, March 25, 2013

Nick Clegg Defends Nobel Peace Prize for European Union
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says awarding the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union recognises more than 70 years of peace in Europe, with "arguing across negotiating tables" replacing "conflict across battlefields".

Barroso: Unabhängiges Katalonien muss aus EU austreten

DIE PRESSE: Die nordspanische Region Katalonien hat vorgezogene Neuwahlen als Schritt zur Unabhängigkeit ausgerufen.

EU-Kommissionspräsident Jose Manel Barroso hat den katalanischen Unabhängigkeitsbestrebungen am Samstag einen harten Rückschlag versetzt. Am Rande des 22. Iberoamerikanischen Gipfeltreffens im südspanischen Cadiz stellte Barroso klar, dass eine Region, die sich von einem EU-Mitgliedsstaat trennt, automatisch aufhören würde, Teil der Europäischen Union zu sein. Die Einwohner der betreffenden Region würden ebenfalls sofort den Status als EU-Bürger verlieren, so Barroso weiter. » | DoePresse.com | Samstag, 17. November 2012

Barroso: Friedensnobelpreis große Ehre für die gesamte EU
Der Präsident der Europäischen Kommission, José Manuel Barroso, hat die Vergabe des Friedensnobelpreises als Ehre für alle 500 Millionen Bürger der Europäischen Union bezeichnet. | 12.10.2012

Das Video hier abspielen

Bukarest im Visier – EU: "Das Vertrauen in Rumänien ist erschüttert"

KRONE.AT: Die EU stellt Rumänien ab sofort unter verschärfte Beobachtung. Kommissionspräsident Jose Manuel Barroso erklärte am Mittwoch in Brüssel bei der Präsentation des neuen Fortschrittsberichts zu Rumänien, das Vertrauen der Europäischen Union in Bukarest sei "erschüttert". Die in den vergangenen fünf Jahren seit dem Beitritt Rumäniens 2007 erfolgten Fortschritte im Justizbereich und gegen die Korruption seien durch politische Ereignisse der letzten Wochen gegen das Rechtssystem in dem Mitgliedsstaat "infrage gestellt" worden. » | AG/red | Mittwoch, 18. Juli 2012

Barroso Tells G20 'We Have Not Come to Receive Lessons'
BBC: European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has mounted a strong defence of the EU's handling of the financial crisis.

He told world leaders at a G20 summit in Mexico "we have not come here to receive lessons", and pointed out that the financial global crisis "was not originated in Europe". Watch BBC video » | Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Related »

José Manuel Barroso was quite right to tell those assembled at the G20 that the EU wasn't there to take lessons from them on how to manage the economy. This financial crisis was caused by the reckless bankers, not the EU. Further, the Americans can teach nobody how to manage the economy: they can't manage even their own economy. It's in a parlous state. So just who is there in the G20 to give Barroso or the EU lessons in economics, or management of the economy? And as for Obama, he couldn't manage the accounts of a McDonald's outlet, still less an economy. If the US economy were managed as well as the German economy, the country would be in fine shape.– © Mark

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G20 Summit: Barroso Blames Eurozone Crisis On US Banks
THE GUARDIAN: EC president says European leaders have not come to Mexico to receive lessons on how to handle the economy

The opening day of the G20 summit was threatening to deteriorate into a fractious row between eurozone countries and other non-European members of the G20, notably the US, as EU commission president José Manuel Barroso insisted the origins of the eurozone crisis lay in the unorthodox policies of American capitalism.

As Europe's leaders came under intense pressure to act decisively to cure the euro's ills, and a campaign gathered pace to relax some of the austerity programmes laying waste to countries burdened with unsustainable debt levels, Barroso insisted that Europe had not come to the G20 summit in Mexico to receive lessons on how to handle the economy.

When asked by a Canadian journalist "why should North Americans risk their assets to help Europe?" he replied: "Frankly, we are not here to receive lessons in terms of democracy or in terms of how to handle the economy.

"By the way this crisis was not originated in Europe … seeing as you mention North America, this crisis originated in North America and much of our financial sector was contaminated by, how can I put it, unorthodox practices, from some sectors of the financial market." » | Patrick Wintour in Los Cabos, Ian Traynor in Brussels and Helena Smith in Athens | Monday, June 18, 2012

Europe : L'"union économique totale" ou la mort ?
LE POINT: José Manuel Barroso a proposé une thérapie de choc pour éviter la désintégration qui menace : l'union bancaire européenne.

Comment enrayer la contagion ? Comment faire en sorte qu'une "Grexit", la sortie de la Grèce de la zone euro, ne déclenche pas une "Spanic", une panique en Espagne ? Comment rétablir la confiance des marchés vis-à-vis des États, des Bourses vis-à-vis des entreprises, des Grecs ou des Espagnols vis-à-vis de leurs banques ? Ces questions sont à la base du remue-méninges qui continue d'agiter les dirigeants de la zone euro. » | De correspondant du Point à Bruxelles, Alain Franco | jeudi 31 mai 2012

José Manuel Barroso: 'The Speed of the European Union Can No Longer Be the Speed of the Most Reluctant Member'

THE OBSERVER: Britain and Europe face a choice: to come closer, share a common destiny and count in the world, or face disunity and decline, writes the president of the European commission

Today, on Remembrance Sunday, the United Kingdom commemorates the end of the first world war, which brought four years of intolerable carnage to an end. The second week in November is also the week of the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, when freedom prevailed over totalitarian rule.

Both events symbolise the fact that our actions have implications. That political decisions have consequences. That history is shaped not by fatality, but by what we do.

The second week of November 2011 has seen turbulence of a different kind. The political and economic turmoil in Greece and Italy have affected us all. Today, markets trigger within seconds chain reactions to events that spill all around the globe. Economics is changing fundamentally but so too is politics. The bipolar system of the world before 1989 has been replaced by a multipolar, more unstable and more unpredictable world.

The first conclusion I draw is that as we witness fundamental changes to the economic and geopolitical order, Europe needs to advance together or risk fragmentation. The dynamic of globalisation in financial and economic terms, but also in geopolitical terms, confronts Europeans with a stark choice: live together, share a common destiny and count in the world; or face the prospect of disunity and decline. In this defining moment, we either unite or face irrelevance. Our goal must not be to maintain the status quo, but to move on to something new and better. » | José Manuel Barroso | Sunday, November 13, 2011

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Barroso Tells Europe: We Must Advance Together or Face Decline

THE OBSERVER: President of European commission issues strongly worded plea to UK to embrace European integration

José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European commission, today issues a sharp rebuke to Eurosceptics, including those in the British government, who want to use the current crisis to disengage from the European Union.

Writing in the Observer, Barroso makes a rare intervention in the UK political debate by warning that all members of the EU need to unite and "advance together".


Citing Remembrance Sunday, he warns that "actions have consequences" and claims that peace and prosperity will best be furthered by Europeans supporting and trusting EU institutions, rather than allowing the continent to fragment politically and economically. He writes: "In this defining moment, we either unite or face irrelevance. Our goal must not be to maintain the status quo, but to move on to something new and better," adding: "I hope when historians look back on these unprecedented times, they will understand that we stepped back from the brink of fragmentation. I hope they will see how the UK fully engaged with fellow member states and institutional partners to ensure the stability of the EU."

After a tumultuous week in Europe that saw Italy pushed to the brink of meltdown, Barroso's strongly worded intervention underlines the depth of anxiety in Brussels about the future of the single currency and the EU.

Reports emerged, after a brutal sell-off in bond markets sent Italy's borrowing costs soaring, that France and Germany had discussed the idea of a smaller eurozone, with weaker states such as Greece encouraged to leave, and the inevitable creation of a two-tier EU.

There have also been renewed calls from the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative party for the UK to partly or totally withdraw from the EU, culminating last month in 81 Conservative MPs defying a three-line whip to vote against the government and in favour of a referendum on membership.

But Barroso, in comments likely to generate a furious backlash from some on the right of British politics, firmly dismisses any idea that this is a time for Europe to fragment. Rather than regarding the crisis as an opportunity for states to redraw their relationships with the EU, he says that the progress of European integration must no longer be limited by "the speed of the slowest or most reluctant member". » | Daniel Boffey and Heather Stewart | Sunday, November 13, 2011

Barroso Proposes Penalties for Rogue Bankers
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Financiers accused of skulduggery could become subject to criminal sanctions under laws set to be proposed by the president of the European Commission.

Jose Manuel Barroso has said he will this week propose “individual criminal responsibility for financial players to be recognised in European law”.

The plans for an EU-wide directive would focus on curbing high frequency trading.

“We have seen abusive behaviour, and some of this caused the current crisis. We are going to clamp down on these practices,” Mr Barroso told Le Parisien. “Those who violate the rules will face criminal penalties. This will be a first in European legislation and a strong signal.”

The Commission will invoke new powers under Article 83 of the Lisbon Treaty allowing the EU to impose minimum rules and sanctions on member states when needed “to ensure the effective implementation” of EU policies.

The clause allows the EU to broaden the European Arrest Warrant beyond limited areas such as terrorism, drug-trafficking, and money-laundering to softer crimes if they have a “cross-border dimension”. Read on and comment » | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Sunday, October 16, 2011

Thank God for someone like Barroso. At least he speaks for the people. The UK government won't act. The US government won't act. It looks as if the European government is willing to act. Let them do so! The banksters need to have their wings clipped. I'm all for it. I am foursquare behind Barroso. More power to him! – © Mark

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EU May Need Treaty Changes, Says Jose Manuel Barroso

THE INDEPENDENT: Treaty changes to achieve even closer European integration will "probably" be necessary to cope with the economic crisis, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said today.

After talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Brussels at the Commission, he said the EU was putting in place a raft of economic plans which should reassure markets, including stronger eurozone regulation and supervision, a quadrupling to 440 billion euro of an existing bailout fund and a tax on bank transactions.

But more might need to be done and it might require treaty change, he said - something Mrs Merkel said last month was necessary to get the EU out of the debt crisis.

Mr Barroso said: "We may need treaty change for more integration if current (financial) mechanisms are proved not to be enough."

He said the idea was not a delaying tactic, adding: "We are not proposing to have treaty change to avoid decisions we have to take now, so it cannot be a way of postponing that.

"But yes, probably in the future we may have to have treaty change, and it is a good indication for so-called markets and investors that we are looking for forward integration in the euro area, and not less Europe." Read on and comment » | Geoff Meade | Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Barroso's 2011 State of the European Union Speech - Highlights
Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, told the European Parliament on Wednesday delivered his 2011 State of the European Union speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: EC president Barroso urges deeper economic integration: The EU faces the “biggest crisis in its history” as it struggles to hold the eurozone together amid the sovereign debt crisis, Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president has admitted. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels Correspondent | Wednesday, September 28, 2011