Liberals propose abolition of European social committee

The European Economic and Social Committee, the EU’s civil society forum, is not amused by suggestions from the Liberals in the European Parliament that it should be abolished to cut unnecessary costs.

The EESC’s vice president, Malta’s Anna Maria Darmanin, took exception to the suggestion, saying the committee’s position was enshrined in the EU Treaty and it was contributing positively to the European project.

The committee’s role is a consultative one, allowing the voices of different interest groups in various areas, including social, economic, educational and health, to be heard by the European decision-making institutions.

The Liberals, the third largest group in the European Parliament, have pre-empted the debate expected to start later this year on the next seven-year cycle of the EU budget (2014-2020).

Presenting a position paper this week on the reforms needed in the budget, they made it clear the time had come for a complete overhaul by slashing certain administrative costs. The money saved, they argue, could be directed towards more productive objectives such as the creation of more jobs.

They propose that the Committee of the Regions (CoR), which represents local authorities in the EU, should be cut down to size while the EESC should be abolished.

According to the Liberals, the two committees cost the EU about €200 million a year. “This is an awful lot of money considering the added value they bring to the EU. The problem is that in their present form neither brings sufficient added value and that is why we say they need radical restructuring,” said Carl Huglund, the Finnish Liberal MEP responsible for the dossier.

The group would also like to see Brussels established as only seat of the European Parliament, eliminating the need for the massive institution to be transferred lock, stock and barrel at least once a month to Strasbourg as well as a reduction of funds directed towards agriculture policy and the abolition of the British rebate.

Malta participates actively in the two committees, with the island’s delegates – five per institution – travelling to Brussels almost every week to attend meetings and working groups.

Many EU officials privately admit the committees bring no added value to the EU and the way it takes its decisions. “It is good to have everyone involved in the discussions and decisions at EU level, however, the two committees have grown too much over the past years and something has to be done to reduce their costs,” an EU official responsible for the European Commission’s liaison with the committees said.

Although members of the committees are not officially paid, they are remunerated handsomely for the costs involved in their work and are entitled to generous tax-free travel and subsistence allowances.

In response to the attacks on the EESC’s existence, Ms Darmanin stressed the EESC’s budget was very small, representing just 2.56 per cent of the EU’s overall administrative budget and yet it brought important added-value to the union’s work.

“Scrapping the CoR and the EESC would hardly result in major economies,” she said.Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Liberals and a former Belgian Prime Minister, said the group’s paper was the first produced by any group in the EP on the upcoming debate. “The Liberals want to see drastic changes to the way the EU is financed in future,” he said.EU member states are prepa-ring their positions on the tough negotiations awaiting them on the next financial perspectives.

The negotiations, which are expected to take until the end of 2012, will confront two main positions.

The old member states want to freeze the spending to save on their contributions towards the EU coffers while the new member states seek more EU funding.

As usual, the Commission’s recommendations, to be published in June, are expected to try to strike a balance between the two opposing scenarios.