Mr President, since your nomination to the Presidency of the Commission and the candidacy of the nineteen Commissioners-designate, you and the members of the new College of Commissioners have spared no pains to get a very clear message across to the European Parliament. And we have received it. You and the Commissioners have found the words to express it: change, reforms, questioning, new culture, glasnost. Although often suspected of arrogance, the Commission has managed to come down off its pedestal. Although it has a reputation for opacity, it has committed itself to promoting transparency. Although severely criticised by the Committee of Wise Men, it has adopted the recommendations of the Independent Experts. During the hearings, the Commissioners proved to be so open to the consensus of the majority of Members that even the groups which, for reasons outside European politics, had promised to maintain an antagonistic attitude were quick to bury the hatchet. In short, you set yourself the task of regaining the confidence of Parliament, and you managed to achieve it. It must, however, be noted that you have not tackled the other challenge which you just mentioned, Mr President, a far more ambitious one, it is true, with the same strong will – that of regaining the confidence of the citizens of Europe. And there’s the rub. You, like us, will note that a real phenomenon of rejection of Neo-liberalism, bearing with it a great desire for justice, solidarity and change, is on the increase in our societies. What new solutions do you offer in response to the increasing rejection of the galloping ever-growing threat to job security and even to life itself? What new solutions do you offer in response to this thirst for resistance to the frantic rush for profits which is being expressed throughout Europe, for example, at this very moment, in my own country, in the form of the immense movement of sympathy towards the workers of the Michelin group which has just announced 7 500 layoffs in Europe despite seeing its profits climb by 20%. What new solutions do you offer the men and women who expect Europe to give the impetus for a real dynamic of alternatives to the globalisation of exclusion that is today at work, whether it is a matter of employees, rural workers, or cultured people opposing the regulations of world trade, or two young men from Guinea, victims of the flight from poverty, in default of an international order recognising the right of each and every human being to life, employment and dignity? In connection with this, I note, Mr President, that in your inaugural speech I heard no mention of the relationship between Europe and the South, that is to say the majority of the human race. Generally, the responses of the Commission to all these ethical questions are far too conventional: they do not have the ambition which generates major projects. At the start of my speech, I highlighted the efforts you have made towards fulfilling the expectations of Parliament. The comments I have just made do not deny the progress made, but put them into perspective. Still less does my group ignore the slight shift in the centre of gravity of the Commission towards Parliament which has just taken place, as this proves, in the eyes of the world, that it is possible to shift the position of seats of power, even those reputed to be untouchable, and this is very important. I would add that the working areas which have been opened up are of interest to us. In this respect, we shall be demanding but constructive partners. For all that, we cannot let ourselves be satisfied with administrative reform whilst our fellow citizens are asking us questions on the very meaning of Europe today. At this stage, therefore, we cannot, to our great regret, affirm our confidence in this Commission.

Political group: GUE-NGL