Martens: 'Sarkozy blocked Juncker as EU president'
Wilfried Martens, the chair of the largest European party, sheds light on the secretive appointment of ‘European president’ Herman Van Rompuy.
Wilfried Martens (73) is a powerful man in Brussels. As the chair of the European People’s Party, Europe’s largest political party and the former prime minister of Belgium, he played an important behind-the-scenes role in the appointment of his compatriot Herman Van Rompuy to the newly created office of permanent president of the European Council.
Wilfried Martens (73) was prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1992, albeit with a short interruption. He has chaired the European People’s Party since 1990. Of the EU’s 27 member states, 13 have an EPP prime minister. The EPP has 265 seats in European Parliament, making it the largest party by far. Almost half of all the new European Commissioners are EPP members.
Martens played a key role in expanding the EPP’s power base. Traditionally, the socialists were the most powerful block in European parliament. Martens expanded the EPP beyond its traditional Christian democrat base by joining forces with centre-right parties like Spain’s Partido Popular. Sarkozy’s French UMP party is also a member of the EPP.
Martens brought EPP to power
The appointment process was a backroom affair. The rumour mill was awash with names of potential candidates, including that of the Dutch prime-minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker. Now, days before Van Rompuy will host his first European summit, Martens sheds light on the events leading up to the appointment of the most important European politician.
November 2 of last year marked a key moment, Martens said. “Suddenly, journalists started calling me after [French press agency] AFP published a story, based on an anonymous source who said “consensus” had been reached over Herman Van Rompuy’s candidacy. It was not hard to discern who was behind that article.”
Well?
“Isnt it obvious? AFP.”
The French government?
Martens nodded in agreement. “I then realised the focus was firmly directed to the Benelux. We had three excellent candidates here of course: all prime ministers. Still, a lot of commotion followed. The then chair of the European Council for instance, Swedish prime minister [Fredrik] Reinfeldt, was keen to show the matter had not been decided yet, since he still had to consult with European leaders. I can tell you that [French president Nicolas] Sarkozy and [German chancellor Angela] Merkel were not amused."
They thought the whole thing was taking too much time.
“Merkel and Sarkozy were unhappy because the Swedish prime minister kept other options open for a long time. When they all met in Berlin to commemorate the fall of the Wall there, there was total confusion.” The EU leaders met in Berlin on November 9. They didn’t come to a definitive decision before November 19, Martens said.
Last week, Luxembourg’s prime minister Juncker said a crushing majority supported his candidacy, but that a single country blocked it.
“Everyone knows that.”
The British or the French?
“The French.”
Juncker clashed with Sarkozy one time to often. But when did Balkenende drop out of the race?
“His chances looked good for a long time. He was in touch with the French as well, that’s for sure. But there was a moment – at least, that is my interpretation of events – that Sarkozy and Merkel decided Van Rompuy was their man. When that happened, I do not know.”
Haven’t you discussed the matter with other government leaders?
“Not with Sarkozy no, but with other important ones, yes.”
You have a good relationship with Angela Merkel, don’t you?
“A very good one.”
Do you expect a lot to change in Europe now that Herman Van Rompuy is permanent president of the European council and Catherine Ashton has been appointed representative for foreign policy?
“They will have to fight for their place. And it will be a tough fight indeed. That is more than obvious already. Look at the current relationship between the chairs of the European Council [Van Rompuy] and the Commission [José Manuel Barroso]. Currently, both hail from the same political family. We wanted it that way. It improves the chances of them cooperating instead of competing.”
Why do you say that it is obvious it will be a tough fight?
“We still have a complex political structure, Obama’s recent announcement proved that point.”
The American president said he would not visit the EU-US summit to be held in Madrid this May. “I understand that he was not impressed by the summit in Prague last year,” Martens said laughing. “Where he met 27 people.”
You might laugh it off, but what do you really think?
Martens recalled a famous quote attributed to Henry Kissinger. “Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?” the former American secretary of state is thought to have said. “He never really did,” Martens said. “But the question is a pertinent one nonetheless.”