EU summit: A mirage of ambition: summit falls short on EU reform, climate and economy
Commenting on the result of the EU summit of heads of government and state in Brussels, Greens/EFA Group Co-Presidents Monica Frassoni and Daniel Cohn-Bendit commented:
"Ireland's decision to hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty represents a real chance to bring in new rules that the EU urgently needs. We regret, however, that the Irish government lacks the will to hold the referendum before European elections, and make it possible to introduce the reforms in time for the next mandate of the European Parliament and European Commission.
"The concession on each member state having a Commissioner could prove to be a Pyrrhic victory for Ireland. The decision goes against the spirit of the Commission as a body that acts for the EU as a whole, and it opens the risk of a renationalisation of interests.
"The economic package is a mirage. It is not a truly EU integrated package but a compilation of national measures. An effective Green New Deal for Europe would go further, committing 2% of GDP and linking with upcoming measures in the US.
"Meanwhile the climate package deal represents some kind of step forward, but it falls far short of the action we need to take to combat climate change. EU heads of state and government have shown that they are not up to the task of meeting the biggest challenge of our time."
