Events

EPP-ED Group: Is your election as Chairman of the EPP-ED Group just a change of face or is it a change in political direction?

Joseph Daul: The re-election of the Group's presidency has two complementary aspects: the choice of women and men who will assume the responsibilities of directing and embodying the Group and the policies it will implement. I am delighted that the fruitful debate which preceded this election was done in a fashion which characterises our political family - the respect for dignity and the courage of our convictions. As Chairman of the EPP-ED Group, I will continue in the spirit of our policies which met great success under my predecessor Hans-Gert Poettering, to whom I pay tribute, and I will also propose some new directions which will allow us to rise to new challenges.


EPP-ED Group: What are the priorities for your Group for the second legislature?

Joseph Daul: To further influence European policy in the major legislative and political areas, but also to allow Europe to decide in a more efficient way. Europe's challenges in a globalised world are numerous: security, employment, competitiveness and solidarity, energy, food safety, the environment and global warming, all place Europe at the forefront. Our political family must make itself heard on all these subjects and use all its resources to implement its proposals. To better respond to these challenges and to allow the 27 EU Member States to work well together, the EU must very quickly find a solution to the institutional problem. It goes without saying that these two priorities go hand in hand.


EPP-ED Group: How do you envisage the European Parliament's role in the quest for finding solutions to the Union's institutional problems?

Joseph Daul: Under the presidency of Hans-Gert Poettering, our Group and the EPP Party worked hard to give as much power to the European Parliament as the Council of Ministers. This is only right if we wish that the citizens of Europe who elect the European Parliament are heard in the European decision-making process. Henceforth, the European Parliament co-decides with the Council with legislative impetus from the Commission. The European Parliament for its part has the means and the will - I'd say the maturity - and the necessary policies to be at the top of the game. Our Group's wish is that national parliaments also fully play their role in European affairs, which have more often than not become national issues. The draft Constitutional Treaty touched on promising areas which we should go back to and develop. The parliamentary aspect is unavoidable if we want our citizens to get interested in European affairs. This will be one of my biggest priorities during my presidency.


EPP-ED Group: The EPP-ED Group is in a leading position in the European Parliament. Do you believe that it's possible to keep this position in the future?

Joseph Daul: For the second consecutive mandate, the Group of the European People's Party (Christian-Democrats) and European Democrats is the biggest political force in the European Parliament. It is also the only group which comprises Members from all 27 EU Member States. This is testimony to the work the Group has dedicated to European reunification. This dominance is not only numeric: in all the important votes (REACH, the Services Directive etc), our Group confirmed its positions without sectarianism but without being complex either. We have become essential on the European political scene because the citizens of Europe want it this way. As long as they put their confidence in us, we shall do everything to earn it.


EPP-ED Group: As communication is an essential element of democratic politics, do you have plans to better communicate with European citizens?

Joseph Daul: There are too many citizens who underestimate the power of European political families. Our Group, with the European People's Party, intends to change this. The major challenges of our countries have become European, even international: consequently, the way in which policies are formed must be revolutionised. The EPP-ED Group's policy on information and communication will therefore be adapted in the near future to contribute to this cause. The citizens of our countries must know what they are voting for and must be able to count on a style of policy which works in coordination and on a European level with the big players of the future. Better communication is the basis of democracy.