Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Brussels divided on future shape of EU commission

  • The commission's Berlaymont HQ in Brussels - a big building, but is there any room for more commissioners? (Photo: Wikipedia)

The European Commission is showing signs of division on EU institutional reform, with Polish commissioner Danuta Hubner attacking German commissioner Guenter Verheugen's idea that small EU states do not need fully-fledged commissioners.

"Creating two categories of member states and accepting size as a criterion, on the basis of which a country would have the right to designate a commissioner, is groundless and, speaking frankly, unacceptable," Ms Hubner told Polish press agency PAP on Thursday (4 January.)

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

One day earlier Mr Verheugen - industry commissioner and commission vice-president - had suggested that small states should get deputy commissioners in key policy areas rather than full commissioners with light portfolios to create "an efficient, small and highly competent commission."

The debate comes ahead of the EU's attempt to revive its moribund treaty-reform process this year, with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria in January straining the credibility of the one-state one-commissioner system after Bucharest got a new "multilingualism" portfolio, widely seen as negligible.

The EU's 27 member states contrast starkly in terms of size with Germany on 82.5 million while Malta has just 400,000 people in a situation that is reflected in the EU's "qualified majority" decision-making mechanism which gives more votes to big countries.

But the idea that small states are less equal than big ones remains a political taboo, with all capitals keen to have their man at the commission's top table to guard prestige and make sure that information about Brussels' internal thinking flows back home.

The draft EU constitution - rejected in French and Dutch referendums in 2005 - sketched out an equal rotation system for commissioner posts while the current Nice treaty says the number of commissioners should be reduced once the EU has 27 members, with Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey also waiting to join.

MEPs should get more say

Meanwhile, Poland's commissioner for regional policy backed Mr Verheugen's suggestion the European Parliament should select the commission president who would then select his own team, instead of the current situation where member states sort out all the appointments behind closed doors.

"You could consider the merits of a smaller commission," Ms Hubner said. "But a small commission would have to have a totally different method of selection, where commissioners are not selected by member states...The method of selection should be grounded in the European Parliament."

She added the 27-strong team of commissioners is functioning well but the bigger the commission gets the more power ends up in the hands of its president, amid claims by some observers that the current commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso already has a presidential style.

"I don't see any weakening of the commission...Work is going well. But there is a natural tendency, the bigger a body is, the more the presidential system dominates, because it is necessary to look for ways to take decisions efficiently, even if these ways are less democratic, to speak brutally," Ms Hubner explained.

Ukraine slams grain trade restrictions at EU summit

Restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU could translate into military losses in their bid to stop Russia's war, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned EU leaders during their summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Difficult talks ahead on financing new EU defence spending

With the war in Ukraine showing no signs of ending any time soon, EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday (21 and 22 March) to discuss how to boost the defence capabilities of Ukraine and of the bloc itself.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  2. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  3. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult
  4. EU unveils plan to create a European cross-border degree
  5. How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route
  6. 2024: A Space Odyssey — why the galaxy needs regulating
  7. Syrian mayor in Germany speaks out against AfD
  8. Asian workers pay price for EU ship recycling

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us