| In Brussels, portfolios worth 18 thousand euros are divided monthly The European Commission, like other governing bodies of the European Union, is on vacation. Most commissioners are on their last leave of absence in their position. The “second team” of vice-commissars churns out directives of secondary importance, and the press service has shrunk by half and every week gives out the mobile phone numbers of those on duty, who are tasked with monitoring affairs on a rotating basis. But 48-year-old Jose Barroso, the former Prime Minister of Portugal, who was confirmed as the new President of the European Commission on July 22, has no vacation. He needs to form a cabinet. Moreover, he must have time to do this before November 1, when he officially replaces the Italian Romano Prodi in the chairman’s post.
The matter appears to be complicated. Following the accession of ten new members to the EU in May, the number of commissioners has also increased. There is now one from each country - that is, 25 (before the EU enlargement there were 20, since large countries had two). Just the day before yesterday, the process of appointing commissioners was completed: all governments of EU countries named their appointees to this main executive body. Moreover, Barroso's office has already set a kind of record - there are now eight women there. (The salary of each commissioner, according to an EU press release issued in August, is at least 18 thousand euros per month. The Chairman of the European Commission receives 22.2 thousand euros monthly. And his deputies receive 20 thousand euros each. - Ed. )
There were more commissioners, but meanwhile the functions of the Brussels bureaucracy did not increase. This means that existing functions need to be divided. Moreover, there are now at least two applicants for some positions, while there are no applicants for others. Two new commissioners who served as foreign ministers want to deal with international cooperation and assistance: Louis Michel from Belgium and Benita Ferrero-Waldner from Austria. Michel made it clear that if he had to give way to a lady, he was not against the difficult file of European Union enlargement. The Turkish problem alone is worth it. But Slovenian Commissioner Janez Potocnik is eager for this job. It's closer to the region for him.
Barroso will have to travel around the capitals of the member countries, take note of the wishes and sense the hints of presidents and governments, so that he can then juggle them in search of a balance: between the desire to establish himself and not to offend anyone. Barroso intends to present his cabinet in the last week of August. His room for maneuver is small, given the pressure from states seeking to secure the posts of Deputy President of the European Commission and the most important commissioners: competition, internal market, trade... It is necessary to find a replacement for the incomparable Mario Monti, the brilliant Pascal Lamy or the meticulous Fritz Bolkestein.
Günther Verheugen, having completed his mission as the locomotive of the largest expansion of the European Union, will take up quieter matters. For example, industry. Also vying for economic positions are Poland's Danuta Hübner, Frenchman Jacques Barrault, Spaniard Joaquín Almunia, Briton Peter Mandelson, Irishman Charlie McCreevy, Dutchwoman Nely Cruz... Barroso rejected the initiative of Berlin and Paris to create a special post of “super commissioner for the economy.” All 25 should be “super commissioners.” He himself stated that in addition to chairmanship, he would take charge of the budget and audit. Most likely, energy and transport, agriculture and fishing will be separated - so that there are more portfolios. It is still unclear what the nominees of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will do in the new “European government”.
The problem of the successor to the Englishman Christopher Patten, the Commissioner for International Relations, is a delicate one (Patten himself is retiring from politics). If the constitution approved at the EU summit in June is ratified and comes into force, then from January 1, 2007, there will be a Deputy Chairman of the European Commission - the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the European Union. His name is known: the Spaniard Javier Solana. Then, firstly, he will completely take away the powers of Patten’s successor, and secondly, Commissioner Joaquin Almunia will have to resign, because there cannot be two Spaniards in the Brussels conclave.
When solving this crossword puzzle, Barroso should keep in mind the arrival in 2007 of commissioners from Bulgaria and, possibly, Romania and even Croatia, if, of course, these countries join the European Union by then. And then a cabinet reshuffle is inevitable. Alexander MINEEV, Brussels, staff correspondent for Novaya Gazeta, -- for Vremya Novostei |
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