New commission takes shape amid speculations and wishlists
VALENTINA POP
27.11.2009 @ 09:28 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso could announce the composition of his new team as early as Friday, with most powerful economic portfolios already pinned down, according to various press reports.
The EU commission's most influential jobs – competition and economic affairs – seem to have been earmarked for two veterans on the Barroso team – Spaniard Joaquin Almunia and Finn Olli Rehn, news wires and national media in Germany, France and Italy report.
All commission pieces need to fall into place for Barroso to announce its composition. (Photo: wikipedia)
Mr Rehn, currently the enlargement commissioner known for his rigour in applying EU rules to candidate countries, will take up Mr Almunia's present portfolio, economic and monetary affairs. His task will not raise his popularity among EU capitals – to make sure that national governments bring their deficits down, after lax spending policies due to the economic crisis.
Mr Almunia will be promoted to the competition file, where he sill oversee anti-trust cases, the commission's most feared instrument. Its current commissioner, Dutch Liberal Neelie Kroes, is set to take over telecoms, a dossier with fast-growing prominence around internet copyright issues.
Germany's surprise candidate for the EU commission, Gunther Oettinger, is set to get the energy dossier, which has risen in prominence after Russia's gas cut-offs in the winter of 2006 and 2009. Some diplomats quoted by Reuters allude to Mr Oettinger's nationality as a warranty of having more clout when dealing with Moscow on energy issues than the current commissioner, Andris Piebalgs from Latvia.
Another relatively new face to the EU commission, Belgian commissioner Karel de Gucht, will most likely win the trade portfolio, Der Spiegel and Belgian media report. Mr de Gucht, a Flemish centre-right politician, has been in charge of development in the past four months, after former commissioner Louis Michel resigned to take up his mandate as an MEP following the June elections.
One point of uncertainty concerns France's Michel Barnier, who could get the internal market file, but stripped of its financial regulation elements, which most likely will become a separate portfolio. It is still unclear what Paris' next move will be if this is the case. President Nicolas Sarkozy could even withdraw Mr Barnier and put forward Christine Lagarde, whose strong credentials could re-jig the whole scheme, some EU officials speculate.
As for Italy, Adkronos reports that "chances are at 70 percent" that its current commissioner Antonio
Tajani will get the industry portfolio. Otherwise he could also stay on as transport commissioner, which he held since May 2008 when former Italian commissioner Franco Frattini resigned to become foreign minister in Rome.
Another sure bid seems to be Denmark's enviroment minister Connie Hedegaard for climate commissioner, which will be split from the current environment portfolio.
New member states, especially eastern ones, seem to be less certain of what they will get, with several options on the table, such as enlargement, justice and home affairs, research, education, agriculture and fisheries. It is unlikely, however, that Bulgaria, as has been speculated, will get justice and home affairs, due to its constant problems with corruption.
Romania is still strongly pushing for the agriculture portfolio, with a former farming minister put forward for this specific file. But MEPs may object to giving agriculture to a country that has had some farm aid frozen due to problems in the management of funds. Fishieries may be a compromise option.
The European Parliament will hold hearings on all the commissioner nominees in January.
