Clearly relieved and sporting a winning smile, José Manuel Barroso reenters the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg to the applause of the MEPs after waiting outside for them to cast their secret ballot that endorsed his second term as president of the European Commission.
Barroso won the absolute majority he sought, avoiding another vote later this year. He was elected by 382 votes in favor, 219 against and 117 abstentions on September 16. The approval required a simple majority of the votes as the vote took place under the rules of the Nice Treaty.
Barroso said after the vote that solidarity, freedom and a stronger Europe would be his priorities. He also vowed to fight “naked nationalism and extreme populism.”
Barroso claimed “reinforced authority” to head the European Commission. The center-right leader’s triumph reinforces his mandate to battle economic crisis and negotiate with world leaders.
“Next week I’ll be at a high level meeting of the United Nations, I’ll meet with Ban Ki-moon and others in preparing Copenhagen, then to Pittsburgh for the G20 summit,” Barroso said at a press conference following the vote. “But as president (of the European Parliament Jerzy) Buzek said there is no vacuum in European leadership so people know who is going to be responsible for leadership in the Commission. That’s extremely important because next week when I meet the president of the United States and the president of Russia and China they will know who they will be working with for in the next five years and I think that’s important from Europe’s point of view,” Barroso said.
Europe needs to be able to speak with one voice as it tries to shape a common energy policy, taking into account climate change, and build a compromise in Copenhagen. “We are a very important partner in the global scene and that’s what our citizens expect of us. We need more Europe, not only within the borders of the European Union but also world-wide,” Buzek said in his opening speech a day earlier. The new European parliament president called for a true Trans-Atlantic cooperation, developing a strategic partnership with Russia, and building ties with India and other emerging powers like Brazil and South Africa. Barroso faced tough and some times personal criticism from his opponents as he presented his program in the days leading up to the vote. But the real challenge has just begun.