The seminar also provided the Members of Parliament with an opportunity to assess the prospective commissioners’ qualifications and visions for the future of the Union, as well as to question them on specific aspects of their work within the Commission.
Dr Borg is currently attached to the Development Policy and Humanitarian Aid portfolio under Commissioner Poul Nielsen. As such, the main thrust of questioning directed at Dr Borg concerned his own views on how European aid programmes and structures could be improved.
The former foreign minister began his 10-minute address with a personal overview of the significance of 1 May, which he termed as “the formal end of one phase in a long process, and the beginning of an another”... warning in the process against complacency now that the long-awaited historical milestone has been reached.
Dr Borg then enumerated what he defined as the main challenges faced by the Union in its immediate future. These include his personal view that the Union’s institutions “must be brought closer to the citizen,” and also that the union’s interests are best served by “widespread stability, peace and prosperity in the world”.
Making direct reference to the threat of internal terrorism, Dr Borg added that while the Union’s response to terrorism must be “robust and determined”, its strategy should be the identification and subsequent address of the root causes of terrorism. To this end, the eradication of poverty and the bridging of cultural differences are of paramount importance.
After his address, individual Members of Parliament were invited to put questions to Malta’s Commissioner Designate. These questions were distributed evenly among Christian Democratic MPs and other less friendly factions within Parliament, including the European Socialists and other Left-leaning groups.
First to ask questions was Mr Max van den Berg, acting chairman of the Committee on Development Cooperation, who also co-chaired this particular hearing. Referring to Dr Borg’s declared intention to prioritise the eradication of poverty, Mr van der Berg asked whether Dr Borg intended to make this goal his ultimate aim as possible future Commissioner... to which the former foreign minister replied that “combating poverty should be the commission’s number one objective”.
Elsewhere, Dr Borg was asked specific questions on his views regarding the agricultural policy, the failure of the Cancun summit, the relationship between the commission and NGOs within recipient countries, and whether he had any plans to reform the Commission to encourage greater investment in micro-industries.
One particular area in which Dr Borg received a grilling was his personal view on family planning and abortion, with Labour MEP Gladys Kinnock claiming that Dr Borg’s written replies included “serious omissions” in this regard.
In particular, Mrs Kinnock complained that she was not satisfied with Dr Borg’s repeated declarations of concurrence with the outcome of the United Nations population conference in Cairo, which had strongly impugned “coerced abortion” and was critical of the promotion of abortion as a means of population control. For his part, Dr Borg reiterated his belief that abortion should not be encouraged, but should nevertheless be safe in those countries where it was legal.
An altogether friendlier approach came from the PN-nominated Maltese observer, Mr Jason Azzopardi, who allowed Dr Borg to dwell on his vision for the role of the Mediterranean region within the wider framework of European security.
A final vote is expected to be taken by the european parliament on 5 May. Meanwhile, the
hearings of the remaining Commissioner designates continue today and end tomorrow with a final press conference.