:00:00. > :00:39.control. It is time now for Politics Europe.
:00:40. > :00:48.Hello and welcome to Politics Europe. Your regular guide to the
:00:49. > :00:51.top stories in Brussels. Today: David Cameron 's meet the German
:00:52. > :00:57.Chancellor and other European leaders for a summit will stop jobs,
:00:58. > :01:01.growth and Jean`Claude Juncker. Mr Cameron wants to stop this man from
:01:02. > :01:07.becoming president of the European commission. We will discuss his
:01:08. > :01:12.chances. We report on the dealing in Brussels as newly elect did MEPs
:01:13. > :01:17.tried to form a new pan`European groupings. Did you know that as well
:01:18. > :01:34.as its own flag, the EU has its own official anthem? It is very, very
:01:35. > :01:38.simple. More simple you cannot. All that to come and more in the next
:01:39. > :01:42.half`hour. It has been a busy week in Russells. Newly elected MEPs turn
:01:43. > :01:50.up and strike deals to form new political deals. `` groups. First, a
:01:51. > :02:00.guide to the latest political news from Europe in just 60 seconds. You
:02:01. > :02:05.wait for a taxi and then they all turn up at once. European cities
:02:06. > :02:10.were gridlocked as registered drivers are streets in a game of
:02:11. > :02:16.Monopoly protesting over an apt. The European commission will look at
:02:17. > :02:19.Apple and Starbucks to see if deals with the Irish and Dutch governments
:02:20. > :02:25.mean they are not paying their fair share. It was three men and a
:02:26. > :02:30.powerful woman on a boat in Sweden. David Cameron went there to what was
:02:31. > :02:37.billed as a stock Jean`Claude Juncker summit. They seem to have
:02:38. > :02:40.sunk after the discussions. We are here to discuss the policies and
:02:41. > :02:45.approach of the commission should take over the next five years.
:02:46. > :02:56.Meanwhile, Jean`Claude Juncker was in a media bunker. I do not give
:02:57. > :03:05.interviews. And looking decidedly fed up with us Brits.
:03:06. > :03:20.With us for the next 30 minutes I am joined by two newly elected MEPs.
:03:21. > :03:26.Welcome to you. The Jean`Claude Juncker problem. The main political
:03:27. > :03:29.groups, except the Conservatives, have said they would be an
:03:30. > :03:36.institutional crisis if Jean`Claude Juncker is not nominated. What is
:03:37. > :03:39.going to happen? It is quite clear there are a number of people
:03:40. > :03:45.concerned about Jean`Claude Juncker. He is clearly yesterday 's man. Some
:03:46. > :03:51.people look at him as it is as usual. The Sepp Blatter of Europe.
:03:52. > :03:57.All the extreme groupings on the left and right, including Angela
:03:58. > :04:02.Merkel, say there will be a crisis if he is not nominated. That is not
:04:03. > :04:07.true. The groups will discuss it, they will try to push for
:04:08. > :04:11.Jean`Claude Juncker. They will want this process based on a loose
:04:12. > :04:18.interpretation of the Lisbon Treaty. But they said clearly David
:04:19. > :04:24.Cameron... They want a candidate for reform will stop it is what most
:04:25. > :04:30.people voted for. It is quite clear that Jean`Claude Juncker does not
:04:31. > :04:40.represent reform. Can anything stop him? Who would you like? It is
:04:41. > :04:47.irrelevant. They are all the same. Who would you like? One thing we are
:04:48. > :04:51.clear about is we are waiting to see what the commission will propose in
:04:52. > :04:58.terms of the new president, the Council of ministers... The Council
:04:59. > :05:03.of ministers. We are not in support of Jean`Claude Juncker. It is
:05:04. > :05:08.disappointing really that David Cameron has played this so badly in
:05:09. > :05:19.terms of Britain's influence. So publicly. The way he initiated it.
:05:20. > :05:25.The battle plan drawn. It just seems he has done everything to alienate
:05:26. > :05:32.his allies across Europe. It did not want somebody, it helps to have an
:05:33. > :05:47.alternative. There are plenty of other candidates. I have a number of
:05:48. > :05:52.candidates. Actually, maybe it is about time we had a female
:05:53. > :05:59.candidate. Actually... Who would that be? What is important is we do
:06:00. > :06:06.not squabble about who it would be. So could would your candidate be? I
:06:07. > :06:23.and David Cameron want to see which other alternatives... Who? ! The
:06:24. > :06:30.Danish Prime Minister? It is a nice job... Not really... It does not
:06:31. > :06:35.answer my question. Let's see what comes out of this process. You are
:06:36. > :06:41.at the head of this European conformist reformist group, the
:06:42. > :06:45.largest group, and will will come to some of your allies in a minute,
:06:46. > :06:56.but, what are you advising your Prime Minister? You know more about
:06:57. > :07:01.this and he does. It is an institutional stand`off. A
:07:02. > :07:07.misreading of the list on. Heads of government should be the once
:07:08. > :07:12.considering who it should be. Are you supporting Jean`Claude Juncker?
:07:13. > :07:20.Speaking on the heart of the Labour Party... The group you are a part of
:07:21. > :07:22.his supporting Jean`Claude Juncker. The Labour party for political
:07:23. > :07:28.reasons is opposed to Jean`Claude Juncker. He has been an architect of
:07:29. > :07:35.the austerity imposed across the European Union. His political
:07:36. > :07:41.background... What part did he play in the austerity? His role in the
:07:42. > :07:46.commission and that side of things. Therefore, we are absolutely wanted
:07:47. > :07:53.to see somebody that is aimed to implement... Who will be that
:07:54. > :08:01.person? I cannot give you names or cannabis because it is the Council
:08:02. > :08:08.`` it will be the Council of ministers that decide that. You do
:08:09. > :08:15.not have a view, you do not have a view and you do not care. They all
:08:16. > :08:24.dance around the same table. We will move on. Both agreeing not to answer
:08:25. > :08:32.the question. The European elections ` three weeks ago already. On the
:08:33. > :08:38.political right, a consequence of the ongoing economic crisis. As a
:08:39. > :08:41.result, Brussels will look and feel very different as many new and even
:08:42. > :08:49.younger faces are trying to influence how Europe is run. We went
:08:50. > :08:54.to meet some as they try to form new political alliance. It seems getting
:08:55. > :08:59.elected is just the beginning. As the party struggle to form power
:09:00. > :09:02.bases in the European Parliament. Building political alliance with
:09:03. > :09:06.like`minded people is the key to winning votes. But it is a tricky
:09:07. > :09:11.business, as this week 's negotiations in Brussels have shown.
:09:12. > :09:15.Many of the winners in these elections were from new protest
:09:16. > :09:20.parties challenging the status quo. One them, the German anti` Europe
:09:21. > :09:26.alternative, opponents of Angela Merkel, were clear who they wanted
:09:27. > :09:30.to sit with in Parliament. We are going to look for people who think
:09:31. > :09:33.alike, lack the British Conservatives. In our party
:09:34. > :09:39.programme for the European elections, we made references to
:09:40. > :09:45.David Cameron's programme. There are a lot of similarities. Yesterday
:09:46. > :09:49.there was good news for a FD. The deals are being done all the time
:09:50. > :09:53.here in the European Parliament and in this meeting room, the European
:09:54. > :10:00.Conservatives and reformist groups, of which David Cameron?
:10:01. > :10:07.Conservatives are a, at admitted a new German political group. Making
:10:08. > :10:11.new political acquaintances risks alienating more important friends.
:10:12. > :10:15.The reason why David Cameron warned his own NEP is to vote against
:10:16. > :10:22.admitting the German Chancellor's archrival because Angela Merkel
:10:23. > :10:26.would be furious. It was not enough, the new chairman put on a brave
:10:27. > :10:34.face. Does this put you in conflict with David Cameron? He has made his
:10:35. > :10:40.views clear. He asked me as leader to pass that view on. Now it is not
:10:41. > :10:46.the time to look back at forward. Why add their Conservatives sitting
:10:47. > :10:50.with the Danish parties whose views on immigration and Islam are
:10:51. > :10:55.unacceptable according to labour. , Nigel Farage was on a charm
:10:56. > :11:03.offensive with the Italian media. He needs Pepper Grillo movement to form
:11:04. > :11:09.a group. Without it, there will be no access to funding, committee
:11:10. > :11:17.posts. He has been at the one floating with us, more than others.
:11:18. > :11:25.How? Not with me personally but with my party. He has been talking to us.
:11:26. > :11:38.He probably sees a different vision of Europe. Last night, Pepper Grillo
:11:39. > :11:43.was celebrating with Nigel Farage. Federalism versus euroscepticism is
:11:44. > :11:50.not the only fault line. Pro` and anti` austerity groups are also due
:11:51. > :11:56.to do battle. One party wants an end to the austerity measures. Angela
:11:57. > :12:03.Merkel's political line is a catastrophe for the whole of Europe.
:12:04. > :12:09.It is an explosion of inequality and does not work. It creates a lot of
:12:10. > :12:16.pain. Its other goal is to stop the rise of far right party, like the
:12:17. > :12:22.French party which came first in the country. Sources say, they are still
:12:23. > :12:40.one country short. We have the beginning of a group
:12:41. > :12:46.with Beppe Grillo and UKIP. But as I understand it, we do not have enough
:12:47. > :12:51.countries. You have enough MEPs, but not enough countries. We are working
:12:52. > :12:58.at it but still negotiating. We are at it but still negotiating. We are
:12:59. > :13:02.not going to the beach just yet. What other possible candidates would
:13:03. > :13:11.you like to see? What are the targets? The negotiations are wide
:13:12. > :13:18.open at the moment, so I cannot say... Not even one political party?
:13:19. > :13:24.I cannot. Do you still roll out the French National front? Yes. They
:13:25. > :13:30.have very far right views and we do not and will not sit with them. If
:13:31. > :13:37.you get a grouping, what is the benefit with that? A secretariat?
:13:38. > :13:41.More money? We will have the ability to have more staff, and that means
:13:42. > :13:50.we will get more research, more publications and more airtime. You
:13:51. > :13:54.can get the message out much more easily. Nigel Farage said the
:13:55. > :13:59.Conservatives were ganging up to stop you from forming a group. Is
:14:00. > :14:11.that right? Yes. It is what we expect. It happens. We are a fast
:14:12. > :14:17.growing group. This is very exciting. One reason is that you
:14:18. > :14:23.have admitted a rather moderate eurosceptic group from Germany into
:14:24. > :14:26.your group. However, the Conservative leadership in London
:14:27. > :14:32.told you not to. Why did you defy them. David Cameron set up the
:14:33. > :14:36.group, the fastest`growing group, and it is the third`largest group in
:14:37. > :14:42.Europe. But he did not want to include this party. But if you look
:14:43. > :14:48.at it, because we are the fastest`growing group, we are 19 out
:14:49. > :14:55.of 63 MEPs from 13 countries. We do not have the majority. Some of your
:14:56. > :15:02.MEPs voted for them. We do not know that. It was just a majority of one.
:15:03. > :15:08.Do you regret you have invited them to join your group? I am the leader
:15:09. > :15:14.of the group. I have to look forward now to the future. They tell me that
:15:15. > :15:17.they are committed to reform. We will be the only group committed to
:15:18. > :15:22.meaningful reform of the European Parliament. The third largest group.
:15:23. > :15:29.We will break the consensus that when the Socialists are PPP and the
:15:30. > :15:34.Liberals. Let's have a look at this consensus. The Danish People's
:15:35. > :15:41.Party! Are you happy with them? A spokesman once likened the Muslim
:15:42. > :15:48.headscarf to the swastika! Are you happy with that? Only once. I asked
:15:49. > :15:52.them about these allegations and they told me that they had moved on
:15:53. > :15:56.and that they were moving towards the future of becoming a mainstream
:15:57. > :16:00.party. And these very strange people you are throwing accusations at are
:16:01. > :16:04.the very same people who voted for me, the first Muslim leader of any
:16:05. > :16:10.political group in the European Parliament. How do you know they
:16:11. > :16:15.which Tory MPs voted for the German which Tory MPs voted for the German
:16:16. > :16:19.party, so how can you tell me which members of the Danish People's Party
:16:20. > :16:25.voted for you? I know the results of the ballot and it was quite clear.
:16:26. > :16:29.The leader of the party once drew a link, he was actually convicted for
:16:30. > :16:33.publishing material of a link between a multi`ethnic society and
:16:34. > :16:38.rape, violence and forced marriages. I have spoken with him in a
:16:39. > :16:44.conversation. He says he was young and foolish and he has moved on and
:16:45. > :16:49.wants to grow up in the mainstream. Are you happy to have these people
:16:50. > :16:56.as friends? As a party committed to reform and building a Europe for
:16:57. > :17:00.2015, not the 1950s, it is exciting that we can help people move into
:17:01. > :17:08.the mainstream of politics. The Finnish National party leader was
:17:09. > :17:15.elected in 2012. You met him? I met him. He has claimed that his mum
:17:16. > :17:21.reveals paedophilia. He has not claimed that. The financial clients
:17:22. > :17:27.is wrong? The Financial Times is often wrong on these issues. I read
:17:28. > :17:39.his blog. It was a freedom of speech issue. They did not like the EPP
:17:40. > :17:44.group because they thought it was Federalist. But you are in a
:17:45. > :17:49.socialist group that is also Federalist. Why don't you come out
:17:50. > :17:54.of that group and be honest? I think it's important to have influence in
:17:55. > :18:00.the EU. We are now the only UK party that is part of the mainstream
:18:01. > :18:06.politics. But you want integration in the United States of Europe. But
:18:07. > :18:10.we are after getting reform, bringing around a Commissioner,
:18:11. > :18:16.getting investment kick started properly. But your socialist group
:18:17. > :18:21.is an explicitly Federalist group. Unless you believe in federalism as
:18:22. > :18:25.well, which I don't think you do, because you probably won't be
:18:26. > :18:32.allowed to buy Ed Miliband at the moment, you belong to a group that
:18:33. > :18:37.you don't actually agree with. But there are more things that we do
:18:38. > :18:40.agree with in this group than things we disagree with. This issue
:18:41. > :18:44.federalism would be something that is determined at the Council of
:18:45. > :18:49.ministers. It would be determined across 28 countries. And I do not
:18:50. > :18:55.believe across those 28 countries there is an appetite to suddenly
:18:56. > :19:01.federalise and roll add to that. That is the policy of Mr Schultz,
:19:02. > :19:07.who is your leader. Yes, but we did not win the election. Would you have
:19:08. > :19:18.backed him for president of the commission? We stayed neutral on
:19:19. > :19:23.that in terms of that nomination. It is an awful beauty parade, isn't it?
:19:24. > :19:31.We are talking about influence. We don't have influence. That is the
:19:32. > :19:41.problem. You do. You don't. You and the French nationalists are in the
:19:42. > :19:49.same pool. Please do not associate us with the National Front, not at
:19:50. > :19:55.all! Unlike the true Finns and the Danish People's Party. They have
:19:56. > :20:02.Somebody needs to be. It is quite Somebody needs to be. It is quite
:20:03. > :20:07.hard to get me excited these days. You probably know what the flag of
:20:08. > :20:11.the EU looks like. But did you know the European Union also has its own
:20:12. > :20:37.official anthem? And there is a special EU day every year. The gift
:20:38. > :20:39.shop at the European Parliament and prove you can put the EU flag on
:20:40. > :20:46.just about anything. But for some, just about anything. But for some,
:20:47. > :20:56.it is a serious business. Protocol means flags. We have two kinds of
:20:57. > :21:03.flags. For the member states, we have a better quality of flags. They
:21:04. > :21:13.are artificial silk. However, the usual common flag is in polyester.
:21:14. > :21:17.It is a less noble material. The rules say that the European flag
:21:18. > :21:24.should be flown in every meeting room and at every event and flowing
:21:25. > :21:29.correctly. It has a sense in the way that the stars are always
:21:30. > :21:34.looking... The hat is right up and the feet, two feet are open. But
:21:35. > :21:39.imagine if it looked like this or this. These are some of the rejects
:21:40. > :21:43.from the competition to design the flag held in the 1950s. It was
:21:44. > :21:47.originally chosen by the Council of Europe, a separate body that
:21:48. > :21:52.oversees the European Court of Human Rights. The signature stars
:21:53. > :21:56.thoroughly adopted by the European Community in 1985 when a bit of
:21:57. > :22:00.global branding was wired. In the present world, it is important
:22:01. > :22:10.because as nation states, we are two small compared with large countries
:22:11. > :22:24.like India or China or Brazil. It is instantly recognisable but you
:22:25. > :22:35.cannot harm in... Beethoven's's Ode to Joy is the official anthem. It is
:22:36. > :22:42.the scale. Just the notes going up. It is just very simple. You cannot
:22:43. > :22:47.get anything more simple. Later there was a genius because of that.
:22:48. > :22:51.A simplicity found in music of all cultures and all ages. It is
:22:52. > :22:57.completely universal. More universal, more federal, more
:22:58. > :23:03.European, more for anybody, you cannot find. But who knows the other
:23:04. > :23:10.emblems? The motto, united in adversity. Europe's official day,
:23:11. > :23:14.the 9th of May. And then there is the symbol for the euro, chosen
:23:15. > :23:20.because it looks like the letter eat but also because it looks like the
:23:21. > :23:24.Greek letter Epsilon, so showcases Europe as the cradle of
:23:25. > :23:27.civilisation. The two lines in the middle are meant to represent
:23:28. > :23:35.stability and reliability. How is that going? LAUGHTER.
:23:36. > :23:45.That was our Adam. He then ate all the chocolates in the shop.
:23:46. > :23:53.Does Europe need an anthem? Certainly not! The only answer my
:23:54. > :23:58.recognise is God save the Queen! I don't imagine I need to ask you. I
:23:59. > :24:06.carry my own union jack with me at all times full of as you walk around
:24:07. > :24:15.the parliament? It is a beautiful piece of music. And where is it
:24:16. > :24:24.from? Beethoven's's nine. And which movement? I cannot recall. What did
:24:25. > :24:28.you do to celebrate EU day? As you can imagine, it was the run`up to
:24:29. > :24:31.the European elections, so I was undoubtedly on the doorsteps. I was
:24:32. > :24:36.knocking on doors, campaigning for knocking on doors, campaigning for
:24:37. > :24:43.further European reform. You must have celebrated EU Day. You know
:24:44. > :24:47.that I did not but I knocked on a lot of doors and people told me all
:24:48. > :24:51.about the ills of the EU. I was delighted people voted for us. David
:24:52. > :24:55.Cameron has talked about British values. Angela Merkel has talked
:24:56. > :25:01.about the European spirit. What is the difference? We believe in an
:25:02. > :25:06.outward looking Europe. More power back to nation states. I'm talking
:25:07. > :25:12.about British values impaired to European spirit. Britain values the
:25:13. > :25:17.individual enterprise and believes in freedom and tolerance. And the
:25:18. > :25:21.Europeans do not? They are intolerant of anyone who is against
:25:22. > :25:27.a one size fits all Europe. And that is interesting. We have to stop it
:25:28. > :25:55.there. Thank you for joining us. Goodbye.
:25:56. > :25:56.Dry for the most part and a bit settled. Cloud thinning through