EC chief Juncker wants to follow in footsteps of his hero

Delors' track record, the International Herald Tribune said "Delors rescued the European Community from the doldrums", is inspiring for Junker, whose very first days in the European Commission coincide with reminders of Europe's turmoil over the last century. On Nov 9, Europeans celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall, while Nov 11 marks the anniversary of the end of World War I in the year that is the 100th anniversary of the breakout of that blood bath.

However, Juncker and other European politicians will not be able to muse over the past for long, as they have work to do.

On Nov 11, his colleagues released a report stating the economic recovery that stared in the second quarter of 2013 is fragile, economic momentum is still weak and business confidence is receding.

They also warned that downside risks to the growth outlook still dominate on the back of geopolitical tensions, fragility in financial markets and crises resulting from incomplete implementation of structural reforms.

Jobs and growth remain the top priority, and Juncker has promised to channel 300 billion euros ($371.79 billion) into private and public investments during the coming three years, although there are those who say this is not ambitious enough for an advanced economy with a population of 500 million.

His critics, most notably the British Prime Minister David Cameron, argue he is out-of-touch with the times and is not the modernizer the bloated EU bureaucracy needs, that the US has moved faster than the European Union in post-crisis economic recovery and the EU needs to adjust to the changing times.

Juncker's meeting with Kohl and scheduled debate with Delors last week are telling signs of his commitment to ever closer union as the direction to improve the vigor and efficiency of this economic and monetary union.

And five or ten years later, when he runs to the finishing line of his one or possibly two tenures as European Commission president, Juncker will know if that commitment has let him join the ranks of his heroes as a leader of European federalism or if that has served to tear their dream apart.

The author is China Daily chief correspondent in Brussels. fujing@chinadaily.com.cn