Brussels/Berlin - An interview with the head of the European
Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, set the sparks flying in Germany on
Monday after he criticized Berlin's attitude to Europe.
Barroso's comments were a 'provocation' which 'amazed' diplomats
in Brussels, Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SDZ) wrote on Monday.
Germany 'pulled Europe out of the crisis over the Reform Treaty,
so it has no need to catch up' with the rest of the union, Member of
the European Parliament Elmar Brok told the Frankfurter Allgemeine
Sonntagszeitung (FAS) in an implicit rejection of Barroso's comments.
On Saturday, Belgian newspaper De Standaard published a wide-
ranging interview with Barroso in which the head of the
European Union's executive arm accused Germany of 'contradictory'
behaviour towards the EU.
Germany's 'plea to leave power where it can be exercised closest
to the citizen ... is really aimed against the European
institutions,' Barroso said in an unusually direct statement.
And Germany's apparent reluctance to support reforms to the EU's
energy market and to divert unused agricultural funds to pay for the
Galileo satellite-navigation system is 'worrying,' he added.
The comments 'went far beyond' the normal framework of dialogue
between Brussels and member states, SDZ wrote.
They show that after two years of careful statements aimed at
placating member states, Barroso thinks he 'can afford to criticize
again,' FAS added.
But the comments themselves were dismissed by commentators in
Berlin as electioneering ahead of the appointment of a new commission
in 2009 - a body which Barroso reportedly wants to head for the
second time.
'It's scarcely likely that Barroso's displeasure with Germany's
policies will last. Without the German government's approval, he
won't get his heart's desire of a second term in 2009,' FAS wrote.
'Barroso's provocation should be seen less as a serious criticism
than as a performance in his own affairs. It's no secret that the
president of the commission wants a second term,' SDZ agreed.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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