Barroso aims for balancing act over key EU posts
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Your support makes all the difference.José Manuel Barroso, the new European Commission president, has revealed who will be holding Europe's top jobs from November. His announcement, a week before deadline, sets out a fine political balance.
José Manuel Barroso, the new European Commission president, has revealed who will be holding Europe's top jobs from November. His announcement, a week before deadline, sets out a fine political balance.
The former Portuguese prime minister has crafted a "redesigned" executive with a jobs share-out that he hopes will please the European Union's big players, appease smaller states concerned about a "carve-up" and bring new European countries in on the act.
"Commissioners from new countries have equally important portfolios as commissioners from the 'old' 15 member states. All commissioners will have equal powers... there will be no first and second-class commissioners," Mr Barroso told journalists yesterday.
The EU's "big three" - Germany, France and Britain - pushed hard for top Brussels economic positions but Mr Barroso, while giving them key posts, has ensured his neutrality by handing plum policy portfolios in competition and the internal market to the Netherlands and Ireland.
The commission, the 25-nation EU's executive arm, proposes legislation, enforces anti-trust laws, manages trade policy and administers the bloc's €100bn (£67bn) budget. Mr Barroso, 48, aims to boost growth that slowed to its weakest pace in a decade last year. "I will make my first priority the process of reform in Europe," Mr Barroso said.
He is aiming to balance the demands of big countries for senior posts with a need to ensure some independence from national governments that put up the candidates for commissioners. In the new executive, commission vice-presidents are increased from two to five, which creates a new dynamic within key European policy sectors and sets up new "groups of commissioners" to fight the Brussels corner at councils of ministers, meetings that represent national governments.
Germany's Günther Verheugen, now the EU enlargement chief, heads a powerful enterprise and industry role as vice-president. He also chairs groups of commissioners on economic issues. Included in his empire will be Peter Mandelson. The former Northern Ireland secretary will be part of a "group of commissioners for the competitiveness council [of ministers]" chaired by Mr Verheugen. Mr Barroso denies that Germany has scooped a "super-commissioner" brief, although Berlin's EU chief will "co-ordinate" the work of at least six of his colleagues.
The UK, France and Germany also had their sights on the EU's internal market job, an important competition watchdog post, but Mr Barroso backed the former Irish finance minister Charlie McCreevy for the job, which will play up to a desired reputation for independence. The Netherlands' Neelie Kroes is appointed competition commissioner.
Spain's commissioner Joaquin Almunia stays in the important economic and monetary affairs job until he is replaced by Javier Solana. Europe's foreign policy chief becomes vice-president and European "foreign minister" in 2006 or 2007 under a new European constitution.
THE NEW COMMISSIONERS
INDUSTRY
Gunter Verheugen, Germany
COMPETITION
Neelie Kroes, Netherlands
INTERNAL MARKET
Charlie McCreevy, Ireland
TRANSPORT
Jacques Barrot, France
JUSTICE
Rocco Buttiglione, Italy
TRADE
Peter Mandelson, UK
INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS
Margot Wallström, Sweden
ADMIN, AUDIT AND ANTI-FRAUD
Siim Kallas, Estonia
ENLARGEMENT
Olli Rehn,Finland
REGIONAL POLICY
Danuta Hübner, Poland
FINANCIAL PROGRAMMING
Dalia Grybauskaite, Lithuania
MONETARY AFFAIRS
Joaquin Almunia, Spain
EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austria
AGRICULTURE
Mariann Fischer Boel, Denmark
FISHERIES AND MARITIME
Joe Borg, Malta
ENERGY
Laszlo Kovacs, Hungary
ENVIRONMENT
Stavros Dimas, Greece
HEALTH AND CONSUMER
Markos Kyprianou, Cyprus
EMPLOYMENT, & SOCIAL AFFAIRS
Vladimir Spidla, Czech Republic
HUMANITARIAN AID
Louis Michel, Belgium
SCIENCE AND RESEARCH
Janez Potocnik, Slovenia
INFORMATION/SOCIETY/MEDIA
Viviane Reding, Luxembourg
EDUCATION AND CULTURE
Jan Figel, Slovakia
TAXATION AND CUSTOMS
Ingrida Udre, Latvia
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