Blokland (EDD). – (NL) Mr President, we are delighted to welcome ten new members of the European Commission today. For us Dutch people, it is a symbolic day, because each year on 5 May, we commemorate and celebrate the end of the Second World War, a war which ended sadly, with a divided Europe. Now, 59 years later, there is true healing, and Europe is free. We hope that the Commission will be able to continue Europe's healing process in full throttle.

Yesterday, we voted on the motion of no-confidence, which we supported and had had a part in submitting. You may well expect us to be sour-faced today. Nothing could be further from the truth. These are all qualified candidates and we will give them our backing. However, we do have an urgent piece of advice for the new members. Do not adopt the usual tactics of certain Commissioners. Do not hide behind your officials, or Member States for that matter, and do not get bogged down in woolly statements, but provide concrete replies. Be clear and precise in your promises and honour them. European democracy only stands to benefit from this. In short, make sure that you are verifiable. This is something we, along with the electorate, greatly appreciate.

Finally, complete your mandate fully and do not resign prematurely. The Group for a Europe of Democracies and Diversities regrets that the area of policy of budgetary control has not been assigned separately to one of the new Commissioners, of whom there are many, and so this could have easily been done. Past experience has taught us that it is impossible for one Commissioner to be responsible for the budget and budgetary control at the same time. That leads to a conflict of interest in the fight against fraud. My group has given the new Commissioners a motto that will hopefully inspire them: do not step down, but act. We wish you God's blessing in your responsible work.

(Applause)