Madam President, Mr President-in-Office of the Council, Mr President of the Commission, ladies and gentlemen, I would like first of all to welcome Mr Prodi and thank him for his speech and also to welcome the candidates for the Commission. I think we should remember now that we are having this debate on this side of the Rhine and not on the other side. On the other side, there are domestic issues which can very well be resolved in Germany, but this is not the place to bring them up. (Applause) Madam President, I hope we are capable of overcoming this first great crisis which is currently facing us in the European Union. According to the opinion polls, the citizens are still in favour of the European Union. However they do not participate in great numbers in the elections. We have the responsibility, as elected representatives, for construction rather than destruction. This means that we have to respond to the problems which are worrying our fellow citizens: unemployment, Kosovo, consumer problems, the management of the euro. This must be done as soon as possible. We can neither carry on with a Commission in total ruin, nor delay its investiture until next year. How could we explain such a thing? Mr Prodi, you have spoken of the Commission as the government of Europe. I will offer you a more sporting simile: a team. We are playing here a European league. The German, Italian, Spanish and Danish leagues each play against each other in their own countries, but not here. Here we have to take the lead as Members of the European Union. I therefore believe that there is a basic truth in your talk of this team and this government. Your Commission must be invested in a democratic fashion. You have begun to take steps. You have announced reforms. I agree with you that it is impossible to make known the list of Directorates General, and I am grateful that the change is going ahead. We cannot subordinate the work which must be done by the Commission – and I say this, Madam President, with all respect for what you have demonstrated this morning – to this report by the Committee of Experts. The report of the Committee of Experts is a useful instrument, not a basis for law. We must show political judgment and responsibility in order to understand what we can ask of the new Commission and in order to await and support the reform process proposed by President Prodi. (Applause) With regard to such a critical matter as the hearings – which for us are fundamental – we believe that these must be directed at Commissioners regardless of the political persuasion of the particular Commissioner. Questions should be asked of the Commissioners – first in writing and then orally – in order to discover whether they are in a position to fulfil their responsibilities and also to identify their political criteria with regard to Europe. This is absolutely legitimate, but we must not turn this into a sort of fairground shooting-gallery where we blast away and see how many candidate Commissioners remain standing. It seems to me that this would be enormously dangerous and, of course, my group intends to ask questions, responsibly and on our own terms – without waiting for third parties to tell us what to do – and we will ask them in a way which will deliver us, as soon as possible, a Commission which is in a position to carry out its duties. (Applause) Secondly, Mr President Prodi, we have listened attentively to what you have said in relation to the individual responsibility of the Commissioners. In politics, responsibilities may be accepted, above all, when they are taken up. But I believe that you have touched upon a constitutional matter which is tremendously important and the standards which can and should be adopted by the Parliament, which has already expressed its view on this question, must be taken into account. I think this should be discussed with a little more calm. With regard to the European Union reform process – which is absolutely necessary, not only in terms of enlargement but also in terms of making the Union more democratic and efficient – Madam President, I believe that we cannot have another Intergovernmental Conference behind closed doors. It should be done in the way that we carry out reforms in our own States: transparently and on record, in Parliament and before our co-citizens. (Applause) How can we explain that we have the euro – a common currency which is not common to all – but at the same time we are implementing reforms which not even we are able to comprehend or justify. In this respect, we believe this to be an absolutely critical matter. Therefore, Madam President, Mr President of the Commission, we do not participate in the threats made by some political groups in this Parliament, who want to take the Commission, which presents itself to our scrutiny, hostage. We do not believe we should take it hostage. Our future is genuinely at stake with this Commission. Furthermore, we should remember that if we go along the route of concessions we will never know where we will end up and we must act responsibly. For some people, the principal objective is not to achieve institutional equilibrium but to undermine it and destroy it. We do not share that opinion; we believe that the European Union, our fellow citizens, deserve better, they deserve a Parliament which acts responsibly and with an approach which looks to the future, with hope and towards the construction of a united Europe. Madam President, may I conclude my intervention – if President Prodi will allow me – with a quote in my own language, written by an immortal Italian, by Manzoni, who says in I promessi sposi: ‘Adelante, Romano, con juicio’ (“Go ahead, Romano, wisely’). (Applause)

Political group: PSE