Why I’m backing Verhofstadt for Commission President
Over on his blog, North West MEP Chris Davies explains why he is backing former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt to continue leading the ALDE grouping and be the group’s nominee for president of the European Commission.
Over to Chris to explain why:
He is a man who can provide the European Union with a degree of leadership and inspiration that it has been missing.
I am seriously concerned that Europe is stagnating while countries elsewhere gain greater economic influence. Verhofstadt is absolutely right in saying that we must break free of our self-imposed shackles and move forward.
National governments should retain control over their domestic affairs, but in a growing number of instances the problems we face can only be fixed by our working together and promoting our shared values.
As a former Belgian Prime Minister, no-one has greater understanding than he of the need to recognise different points of view and find ways of taking Europe’s nations forward with a sense of common purpose. LibDemVoice
Interesting coment on this article:
Verhofstadt is a charismatic and engaging speaker but he would be a huge problem in getting Lib Dem MEPs elected at the European elections. He believes in a United States of Europe (see here – https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1903403863) , an EU army, scrapping the rebate, a huge increase in EU taxes, the Commission becoming an EU government and scrapping the UK’s seat at the UN Security Council. He would be a PR disaster for the party and a gift to UKIP, the Tories and the Mail. Worst of all he wants Britain to have the choice between a United States of Europe and becoming an ‘associate member’ of the EU (see here – https://www.spinelligroup.eu/article/fundamental-law-european-union) which would be no better than Norway’s situation at the moment – all the rules, no influence. Certainly not ‘why I am in’.