Reacting to Barroso's presentation of the Commission’s work programme to Parliament, Portuguese GUE/NGL MEP Miguel Portas said the title of the programme document "Time to Act" was evidence of an effort to hide indolence behind a mountain of words.

"Now is the time to act?! Why hasn't the Commission acted already?" Portas demanded, going on to point out the gap between Commission rhetoric and policy.

"If we are fighting poverty and social exclusion in Europe then the poor sure haven't found out about it. This paper talks about a wider distribution of profits from economic growth in Europe when there is no growth. Meanwhile, the stability pact continues to force cuts to social services and deficit reduction programmes that straightjacket economies and oblige governments to minimise spending while unemployment soars."

"Ask European citizens what they think of this! They could only laugh in the face of this message - humour, after all, is free."

GUE/NGL PRESS:

Gianfranco Battistini + 32 475 64 66 28

Sonja Giese + 32 486 94 50 21

David Lundy + 32 485 50 58 12

www.guengl.eu

Gauche Unitaire Européenne / Gauche Verte Nordique

European United Left / Nordic Green Left