US embassy cable - 04BRUSSELS3234

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 003234 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
DEPT FOR EUR/ERA, EUR/RPM 
 
E.O.: 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT SELECTS NEW VICE- 
PRESIDENTS AND QUAESTORS 
 
 
1. (U) Summary: The European Parliament (EP) elected 
14 Vice-Presidents and 5 Quaestors (in charge of EP 
financial and administrative matters) on July 20 and 
21 in Strasbourg.  These elections -- which follow 
Josep Borrell's victory in the EP presidential 
election (septel) -- complete the elected leadership 
of the EP.  The Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of 
Committees and Delegations are not elected in 
Plenary but are appointed by the political group 
leaders and then elected by acclamation during 
constitutive committee meetings:  Committee 
chairmanship and membership allocations were 
concluded on July 22-23 (septel) but Delegation 
members and leadership will not be decided until 
September.  End Summary. 
 
------------------- 
THE VICE-PRESIDENTS 
------------------- 
 
2. (U) EP vice presidents have three formal roles: 
to preside over plenary sessions when the President 
is not in the chair, to stand in for the President 
in representing the EP externally, and to take part 
in the work of the Bureau.  The Bureau, which serves 
as Parliament's executive committee, is made up of 
the President, 14 VPs, and 5 Quaestors (para 5). 
 
3. (U) The 14 vice presidents of the European 
Parliament, whose terms will end at the January 2007 
mid-term elections, are (in official order of 
precedence based on the number of votes received): 
 
- Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca (EPP, Spain):  After 
receiving  Ph.D. in physics, Vidal Quadras, 59, 
taught nuclear physics at universities in Spain and 
Ireland; he is the author of a number of scientific 
publications.  In parallel, he led a political 
career in Catalonia and was elected to the EP in 
1999.  This will be Vidal Quadras' second term as a 
vice president; he will also remain a member of the 
Industry Committee.  For the last five years, he has 
been a member -- albeit not a very active one -- of 
the Delegation for Relations with the U.S. 
 
- Antonios Trakatellis (EPP - Greece):  A medical 
doctor specializing in biochemistry, Trakatellis, 
72, studied in the U.S. and was a professor at the 
Mt Sinai School of Medicine of the City University 
of New York in the 1970s.  A rector of Aristotle 
University in Thessaloniki until 1994, he is also a 
member of the Greek National Research Advisory 
Board.  An MEP since 1994, he has been an active 
member of the Environment Committee and was in 
charge of drafting the important report on GMO 
labelling and traceability in 2001 that was closely 
followed by the USG. 
 
- Dagmar Roth-Berendt (PES - Germany):  Roth-Berendt 
was an adviser in the chancellery of the Governing 
Mayor of Berlin in the 1980s following an early 
career as a lawyer.  Elected to the EP in 1989, she 
has been the Socialist group spokesperson on 
environment, health policy, and consumer protection 
issues and was also the Chairman of the BSE 
Committee of Inquiry.  The 51-year-old Roth oversaw 
preparation of the report on animal testing of 
cosmetic products. 
 
- Edward McMillan-Scott (EPP-ED - UK):  A public 
affairs professional, McMillan-Scott, 54, has been 
an MEP since 1984.  As the leader of the British 
Conservatives in the EP until 2001, he negotiated 
the entry of the British Conservatives into the EPP- 
ED group.  He remains a member of the Foreign 
Affairs Committee. 
 
- Ingo Friedrich (EPP-ED, Germany):  Leader of the 
CSU (Bavarian Christian Democrats) delegation in the 
EP, he is a businessman and has been the President 
of the European Small Businesses Forum since 1990. 
Friedrich, 62, has been an MEP since the first 
Parliamentary elections in 1979 and a vice president 
since 1999. 
 
- Mario Mauro (EPP-ED, Italy):  Mauro, 43, has been 
an MEP since 1999.   A member of the Cultural 
Affairs Committee from 1999-2004, the former teacher 
(who has a degree in philosophy) wrote two reports 
on education and new technologies.  He will now join 
the budget committee. 
 
- Antonio Costa (PES, Portugal):  The 43-year-old 
Costa, a new MEP, is the leader of the Portuguese 
Socialist delegation.  He was Portugal's Justice 
Minister from 1999 to 2002.  Costa will be a member 
of the Civil Liberties Committee, which is 
responsible for Justice and Home Affairs issues. 
 
- Luigi Cocilovo (ALDE - Italy):  A lawyer and 
University researcher, he has been an MEP since 
1999.  Cocilovo, 57, was a member of the EPP-ED 
group in the last legislature but moved to the newly 
created ALDE group with the Italian "Unita 
del'Uliva" list. 
 
- Jacek Emil Saryusz-Wolski (EPP-ED - Poland): 
Saryusz-Wolski, 56, was the chief negotiator of the 
Poland-EC Europe Agreement in 1991 and subsequently 
chairman of the office of the Polish Government's 
Committee for European integration.  A new MEP, he 
will be a member of the Budget Committee. 
 
- Pierre Moscovici (PES - France):  A well-known 
figure in Paris, Moscovici, 46, became Secretary 
General of the French Socialist Party in 1990 and 
was Minister-Delegate for European Affairs from 1999 
to 2002.  He represented the French government at 
the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted 
the EU constitution.  In 2002, Moscovici became the 
French Socialist party's Foreign Affairs Spokesman. 
In addition to his vice-presidency, he will be a 
member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.  Moscovici 
has degrees in philosophy and economics. 
 
- Miroslav Ouzky (EPP-ED, Czech Republic):  Ouzky, 
46, is little known even in the Czech Republic 
despite having been  a member of the Czech 
Parliament since 1998.  A member of the main Czech 
opposition party, the centre-right and euroskeptic 
Civic Democrats, Ouzky -- who has a medical degree - 
- has largely focused on social policy and health 
care issues and should keep this focus as a member 
of the Environment Committee.  An observer in the EP 
since May 2001, he is now the highest-ranking Czech 
MEP. 
 
- Janusz Onyszkiewicz, (EPP-ED, Poland):  A former 
mathematician and a leader of "Solidarnosc" in the 
1980s, Onyszkiewicx, 67, became Poland's defense 
minister in 1997.  As such, he oversaw the entry of 
Poland into NATO.  Onyszkiewicz will be a member of 
the Transport Committee and of the newly created 
Subcommittee on Defense. 
 
- Gerard Onesta (Greens, France):  Founder of the 
Young European Greens, former architect, Onesta, 44, 
was an MEP from 1991 to 1994 and was re-elected in 
1999.  He has been an EP vice-president since 1999. 
 
- Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann (GUE-NGL, Germany):  A 
Japan expert, she has been Vice-Chairman of the 
German PDS since 1991.  An EP observer from 1991 to 
1994 (before German reunification was finalized), 
she has served as an MEP since then.  Kaufmann, 49, 
was an active member of the Convention that drafted 
the EU Constitution; she will remain a member of the 
Constitutional Affairs Committee. 
 
4. (U) There is some specialization among the Vice- 
Presidents, with each entrusted with general or 
specific tasks.  For example, three are appointed by 
the Political Groups as permanent members of the 
Conciliation Committee.  These Members will 
negotiate with the Council in conciliation meetings 
to find a compromise on matters where they share co- 
decision with the Council, and are still in 
disagreement after the second reading of the 
legislation.  Two Members are also appointed to lead 
Parliament's delegations to meetings with national 
Parliaments (COSAC meetings).  These specialized 
roles will be allocated by the President in 
September. 
 
------------- 
THE QUAESTORS 
------------- 
 
5. (U) The five Quaestors are responsible for 
administrative and financial matters concerning 
individual Members.  They cover issues such as 
external information offices, members' assistants, 
security, and finances.  The Quaestors take part in 
the meetings of the Bureau in an advisory capacity, 
where they do not have the right to vote but can 
speak on a wide range of issues, with a strong 
Quaestor able to have considerable influence. 
 
6. (U) The 5 Quaestors of the European Parliament, 
whose appointment runs until the 2009 elections, 
are: 
 
-- Jim Nicholson (UK - EPP-ED):  The Ulster Unionist 
Party's only MEP, Jim Nicholson, 59, has been an MEP 
since 1989.  As Chairman of the EP delegation 
responsible for relations with the U.S., a post he 
held from 2002 to 2004, he was a close contact of 
USEU.  Nicholson worked to revive the Transatlantic 
Legislators Dialogue (TLD) that brings together MEPs 
and congressmen twice yearly, alternating between 
the U.S. and the EU.  He also introduced DVC 
dialogues on issues of common interest for 
legislators on both side of the Atlantic. 
 
- Genowefa Grabowska (PES, Poland):  A new MEP, 
Grabowska -- a 60 year-old law professor -- is the 
head of the Faculty of International and European 
Law of the Silesian University in Poland.  She is 
also a specialist in environmental law.  As the 
chairwoman of the foreign affairs and European 
integration committee of the Polish Senate, she took 
part in the convention that drafted the EU 
constitution.  Grabowska will also be a member of 
the Constitutional Affairs Committee. 
 
- Mia de Vits (PES, Belgium):  Holder of a social 
sciences degree, de Vits, 54, joined the Socialist 
Party at a young age.  She became Secretary General 
(in 1989) and then President (in 2002) of the 
Flanders branch of the main Belgian trade union. 
 
- Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl (EPP, Germany):  An 
MEP since 1999, Quisthoudt-Rowohl, 57, holds a Ph.D. 
in chemistry.  A Member of the Industry Committee, 
she was responsible for reports on the fourth and 
fifth "Research Framework Programs".  She has been a 
quaestor since 1999 and will be a member of the new 
Committee on International Trade. 
 
- Astrid Lulling (PES, Luxemburg):  The 75-year-old 
Lulling led a long career in Luxemburg, both as a 
member of the Social Democrat party and member of 
the national Parliament, before being elected to the 
EP in 2004.  She was also very active in trade 
unions and led the European trade union secretariat 
of the food industry in the 1960s and 1970s. 
Lulling will be a member of the Committee on 
Economic and Monetary Affairs. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
7. (SBU) Among the Vice-Presidents, former French 
Minister-Delegate for European Affairs Pierre 
Moscovici, former Polish Defense Minister Januszs 
Onyszkiewicz, and former Portuguese Justice Minister 
Antonio Costa have the most experience in political 
and international affairs, including transatlantic 
relations and the fight against terrorism.  However, 
among the three, only Januszs Onyszkiewicz has 
expressed support for U.S. policy in Iraq. 
Moscovici has often been openly critical of the 
current U.S. administration.  He said in June, 
before the D-Day commemoration that "Mr. Bush's 
visit should not be used as an excuse for `anti- 
Americanism'. We have shared values and a long 
friendship with the United States.  We should 
absolutely not think that Bush and America are one 
and the same."  The former Chairman of the U.S. 
Delegation in the EP, Jim Nicholson, while a good 
contact for the USG, will not be active on 
transatlantic issues in his new position as 
quaestor.  He may, however, remain a member of the 
new EP delegation responsible for relations with the 
U.S., which will be shaped in September. 
 
 
(DRAFTED:POL:MVANAVERBEKE) 
SAMMIS