The outgoing EU Justice Commissioner is hopeful that once the economic crisis is over it will be “more possible” to convince a majority of member states to voluntarily re-settle migrants caught up in Malta.
The timeframe may not be to Malta’s liking and Mr Barrot, who also serves as Commission vice-president, believes not all member states would pitch in. But a voluntary burden sharing mechanism is more efficient, he insists.
It would take more to convince a sceptical Maltese public of the EU’s value of solidarity. Even Nationalist Party MEP Simon Busuttil, following on the steps of the Labour Party’s proposal, this week pronounced himself in favour of mandatory burden sharing. However, Mr Barrot prefers the path of conviction, urging member states to be more ambitious since issues such as migration will be more efficiently managed on an EU-wide basis.
“We have to continue trying to persuade member states to show solidarity. At the moment we have only five or six countries that have accepted resettlement of refugees. I am hopeful we can persuade more to participate,” he says.
Interviewed by The Times before leaving for Poland, Mr Barrot says Europe would be more effective if it spoke with one voice when it dealt with transition countries such as Libya and Turkey.
However, his vision of an ambitious EU does not stop with the issue of migration. Energy security, climate change and pan-European regulation for the financial services sector are priorities for the next Commission, he says.
During the past five years Mr Barrot’s Commission has had to deal with three popular rejections of institutional and political reform. In 2005, the French and Dutch voters slammed the EU Constitution and last year the Irish turned down its replacement, the Lisbon Treaty.
He is unfazed by the argument that Brussels is out of touch with the people. The EU moved on despite the negative votes in France, the Netherlands and Ireland, he says, underlining the fact that these countries eventually said yes.
He cites the example of the Erika III regulations, which he had pushed for as Transport Commissioner and that introduced stricter controls on ships and ship registers, and the open skies agreement with the US.
“These five years have been a difficult period for constituencies but Europe has also moved on.”
The Lisbon Treaty now awaits ratification by Poland and the Czech Republic. The Polish President would be ratifying the treaty today but the Eurosceptic Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, is insisting on an exemption from a key EU Charter before he signs the Lisbon Treaty. Mr Barrot is miffed by the attitude of the Czech President: “It is incredible that one man could go against the will of the whole of Europe and the will of his people. But I am confident the treaty will be ratified by all states before year’s end”.
The treaty would mean an EU president is elected for a two-and-a-half year mandate and it also creates the post of foreign affairs minister.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is being touted as a possible candidate for the post of president but Mr Barrot insists the roles of the new positions would have to be defined before any names can be bandied around. Some member states only want a chairman focused on organising the Commission’s work and running the day-to-day affairs, he says, while others want a stronger executive chairman with a more visible face on the world stage.
Mr Barrot favours the first option, preferring a president focused on the daily affairs and a foreign affairs minister who would be the face of the EU.
“Perhaps Tony Blair will be a good candidate but he represents the more executive-type president who would give the EU a global face. Other candidates being mentioned are Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende or Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean Claude Juncker, who would be more focused on the day-to-day operations,” he says.