Accent on clarity as McCreevy faces EU reprimand

THE German leader of the Socialist MEPs has urged Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso to reprimand Charlie McCreevy, but said Ireland’s commissioner was impressive — when he could understand his accent.

Mr McCreevy triggered widespread criticism last week by publicly commenting on a Swedish legal row over a Latvian company wanting to set up in Sweden but refusing to sign a Swedish wage agreement.

The commissioner in charge of Europe's single market was interpreted as siding with the Latvian company in resisting wage bargaining agreements as a restriction the free movement of workers.

Mr McCreevy has already been summoned to the European Parliament in Strasbourg next week to explain his comments.

Now the German leader of the Socialist MEPs, Martin Schulz, has called on Mr Barroso to deliver a public reprimand to Mr McCreevy and Mr Schulz, who has a strong command of English, had a dig at Mr McCreevy's accent into the bargain.

"Mr McCreevy's remarks are completely unacceptable," said Mr Schulz. "He cannot just question the fundamental social polices of a country recognised as one of the most successful in the world.

"It is up to Mr Barroso to get a grip on his commissioners. He has a tough job with 25 of them, including some strong personalities in Mr McCreevy, Peter Mandelson, Margot Wallstrom, Neelie Kroes and Gunter Verheugen, but he must take charge.

"Barroso cannot allow McCreevy to go to a country such as Sweden to deny the value of a very efficient, successful, social system."

Mr Schulz continued: "I will be seeing Mr Barroso about this very soon because it's useless to criticise McCreevy: he will not listen to a Socialist MEP. But we will not accept what he is doing and what he is saying. McCreevy is one man who can be sure that we are in total opposition to his policies."

Later Mr Schulz made clear he was impressed by Mr McCreevy when he could understand him.

Mr Schulz said: "I met him. I didn't understand one word of what he said, but after it had been translated, I found that he was very impressive."

Last week Mr Schulz described Mr McCreevy as "a loose cannon whose arrogant opinions have provoked anti-EU feeling across Europe".

The Swedish government has threatened to remove Swedish support for moves to open up the European services sector Mr McCreevy's priority policy.

However, a European Commission spokesman said there had been a "simple misunderstanding" over Mr McCreevy's comments.

Mr McCreevy insists he has not interfered in social policy in his comments, because the case is about whether Sweden is following EU rules on the free movement of workers, not labour rights.