Barroso urges positive vote as Borg writes to MEPs with pledge

A letter to all MEPs by commissioner-designate Tonio Borg professing his belief in the "innate dignity of all, regardless of their sexual orientation or distinctions", has been followed by an endorsement from Commission President José Manuel Barroso who told EP president Martin Shculz that "a positive vote on Borg's appointment is in our mutual interest".

In his letter to the President of the European Parliament, Barroso said that Borg has "shown that he is fully qualified on the substance matter of the portfolio".

"In this respect, I note the positive evaluation given by the relevant parliamentary committees. I am confident that this, together with the additional reassurances in [Borg's] letter, will fully satisfy Parliament's expectations," Barroso told Schulz.

The President of the European Commission went on to urge the European Parliament to vote "positively" over Borg's nomination.

Barroso warned that the EC and the EP were in the "middle of demanding challenges, decisive for Europe's political, economic and social future". He said that the two European institutions had a "joint interest to proceed without further delays on the important initiatives to be taken in the sector".

"This is why I think that a positive vote on Borg's appointment is in our mutual interest," Barroso urged Schulz.

Borg's letter, coming in the wake of a request by members of the ENVI committee to pledge his full commitment to several of his promises and statements made during a hearing last week, outlines Borg's promise to MEPs to fight discrimination in all its forms.

In his letter, Borg commits himself to the principle of Article 21 of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, Article 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, and EU anti-discrimination and case law as fulfillment of his pledge to fight any sort of discrimination, after he was accused of having made homophobic statements in the past.

He also refers specifically to a resolution of the European Parliament of September 2011, to pledge his support in the fight "so stop considering transgender people as mentally ill and support a non-pathologising reclassification for gender identity."

Borg also says he will support a quota for gender balance on the executive boards for publicly-listed companies, a proposal pushed by justice commissioner Viviane Reding which Malta had opposed; and that he will "actively support EU policies with regard to women's rights."

The commissioner-designate will also see that the Tobacco Products Directive is adopted by the College of Commissioners by January 2013, table novel food and cloning proposals by mid-2013, and make sure the ban on marketing of animal-test cosmetics comes into force by March 2013. Another commitment he makes is to see enforcement of the laws for animal transport is kept high on the agenda.

"Finally I would like to once again reaffirm my full commitment to the Charter of Fundamental Rights in its totality and without reservation, and to actively support it throughout the EU."

Tonio Borg was asked to deliver a public "unambiguous and full commitment" to seven separate pledges by the chairman of the ENVI committee Matthias Groote, if he was to be endorsed by a majority of the European Parliament.

The pledge is part of a compromise between political groupings after no agreement was reached on Borg when he was grilled for three hours by some 150 MEPs last week.

"The appraisal of the commissioner-designate proved to be highly controversial," Groote said of the positions of the political groups in his committee, which mainly deals with the health portfolio Borg is expected to assume.

While Borg appears to have been fully endorsed by his own political grouping, the European People's Parties, and the European Conservatives and Reformists, he faced jagged criticism from the socialists, Greens, liberals, and communists from the ENVI committee. No objections were registered from the IMCO and AGRI committees.

But for Borg to be endorsed by a majority of the House, whose secret ballot is a non-binding vote, the commissioner-designate will have to reaffirm publicly, prior to the final vote, his "unambiguous and full commitment" to:

-       (1) delivering the Tobacco Products Directive by January 2013, (2) adopt laws on animal cloning by mid-2013, (3) and ban animal testing for cosmetics by March 2013;

-       (4) better enforce EU law on animal transport;

-       (5) fully respect and abide by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, in particular Article 21, as well as EU anti-discrimination and case-law;

-       (6) recognise the innate dignity of all EU citizens, regardless of sexual orientation and to treat all citizens "fairly and equally, actively working to address health inequalities and act against stigmatisation of people suffering from HIV/AIDs, and (7) actively support EU policies with regards to women's rights."