PREVIEW-EU assembly flexes muscles, fast reforms may be hard
* EU parliament to delay Barroso's reappointment
* Parliament to choose Poland's Buzek as president
* Crisis is assembly's priority but reforms difficult
By Marcin Grajewski
BRUSSELS, July 13 (Reuters) - The newly elected European parliament starts its five-year term on Tuesday in a combative mood which could slow the passage of laws intended to fight Europe's worst economic crisis in decades.
At its first session since an election in June, the assembly will put off for at least two months a vote on reappointing European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, although he is backed by all 27 European Union governments.
The parliament will also elect Jerzy Buzek, Poland's former centre-right prime minister, as its president, a move that reflects the growing influence of the EU's new member states from central and eastern Europe. [ID:NLD666841] The defiance over reappointing Barroso for a second five-year term as president of the EU's executive Commission is meant to show the 736-member parliament's political muscle.
But it could also undermine the leadership of the EU as it drafts laws to tighten financial regulations and puts together a deal on fighting climate change. [ID:nLD708719]
"It was a mistake to delay this decision (on Barroso), because it weakens Europe at the time many look at it for leadership on climate change and the economy," said Paul Hofheinz, chief of the Lisbon Council think-tank, before the session in the French city of Strasbourg.
The combative mood could also mean a bumpy road ahead for legislation intended to restore confidence in financial markets, such as on supervision, hedge funds, derivatives, capital requirements and executives' pay. [ID:nLD650047]
Those laws have been or will soon be proposed by the European Commission and will be subject to negotiations between EU governments and the assembly under complex procedures.
"The main priority ... in these times of crisis is to regulate the international financial systems and to create conditions for sustainable growth to create jobs," said Joseph Daul, head of parliament's main centre-right group, the European People's Party.
BATTLE OVER BARROSO
Barroso, who served as Portugal's prime minister, is expected to be reappointed eventually, but the opposition says he has not handled the economic crisis well and wants to show its displeasure by delaying the approval vote.
Barroso, 53, needs the approval of EU governments and the parliament to be re-appointed. His centre-right allies were confirmed as the strongest force in the June election but do not have a majority in the assembly. Voter turnout was a record low.
The delay could weaken the Commission, a powerful regulatory body, as it leads efforts to find a common EU position for climate talks in Copenhagen in December at which a new United Nations treaty on harmful emissions is sought. [ID:nLO732689]
Another uncertainty is over Ireland's referendum on Oct. 2 on the Lisbon treaty which would introduce institutional reforms, including handing more power to the parliament.
Socialists demanded on Monday "a new direction for Europe" in a statement that called for covering all financial actors and instruments by regulations and for studying the possibility of a common Eurobond issue in the bloc.
The new parliament includes right-wing groups that made gains in some countries because of disillusionment with the EU's handling of the economic crisis. (Editing by Richard Balmforth)
* Parliament to choose Poland's Buzek as president
* Crisis is assembly's priority but reforms difficult
By Marcin Grajewski
BRUSSELS, July 13 (Reuters) - The newly elected European parliament starts its five-year term on Tuesday in a combative mood which could slow the passage of laws intended to fight Europe's worst economic crisis in decades.
At its first session since an election in June, the assembly will put off for at least two months a vote on reappointing European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, although he is backed by all 27 European Union governments.
The parliament will also elect Jerzy Buzek, Poland's former centre-right prime minister, as its president, a move that reflects the growing influence of the EU's new member states from central and eastern Europe. [ID:NLD666841] The defiance over reappointing Barroso for a second five-year term as president of the EU's executive Commission is meant to show the 736-member parliament's political muscle.
But it could also undermine the leadership of the EU as it drafts laws to tighten financial regulations and puts together a deal on fighting climate change. [ID:nLD708719]
"It was a mistake to delay this decision (on Barroso), because it weakens Europe at the time many look at it for leadership on climate change and the economy," said Paul Hofheinz, chief of the Lisbon Council think-tank, before the session in the French city of Strasbourg.
The combative mood could also mean a bumpy road ahead for legislation intended to restore confidence in financial markets, such as on supervision, hedge funds, derivatives, capital requirements and executives' pay. [ID:nLD650047]
Those laws have been or will soon be proposed by the European Commission and will be subject to negotiations between EU governments and the assembly under complex procedures.
"The main priority ... in these times of crisis is to regulate the international financial systems and to create conditions for sustainable growth to create jobs," said Joseph Daul, head of parliament's main centre-right group, the European People's Party.
BATTLE OVER BARROSO
Barroso, who served as Portugal's prime minister, is expected to be reappointed eventually, but the opposition says he has not handled the economic crisis well and wants to show its displeasure by delaying the approval vote.
Barroso, 53, needs the approval of EU governments and the parliament to be re-appointed. His centre-right allies were confirmed as the strongest force in the June election but do not have a majority in the assembly. Voter turnout was a record low.
The delay could weaken the Commission, a powerful regulatory body, as it leads efforts to find a common EU position for climate talks in Copenhagen in December at which a new United Nations treaty on harmful emissions is sought. [ID:nLO732689]
Another uncertainty is over Ireland's referendum on Oct. 2 on the Lisbon treaty which would introduce institutional reforms, including handing more power to the parliament.
Socialists demanded on Monday "a new direction for Europe" in a statement that called for covering all financial actors and instruments by regulations and for studying the possibility of a common Eurobond issue in the bloc.
The new parliament includes right-wing groups that made gains in some countries because of disillusionment with the EU's handling of the economic crisis. (Editing by Richard Balmforth)
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