I'm Still Number One
President Barroso gives every impression of being the happiest man on Earth and he is rarely seen these days without a huge grin. Certainly everything seems to be going his way; his re-election with a Lisbon-proof mandate, the appointment of a Council President and High Representative who will not outshine him, and now with his gender friendly new commissioners.
One of the big winners in Commissioner Viviane Reding whose new brief covers “Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship”. This also includes communications and there are signs that she has radical plans. One involves EuroParl TV, described by a senior official in Parliament as a “disaster”. Few would disagree, especially if their viewing figures are anywhere near the reported figure of “less than 300 a day”. It is said that Reding intends to rescue the channel by merging it with the European Commission’s Audio and Visual Service to form a European Online TV Channel.
If she can save the Parliament’s embarrassment over EPTV, she could get an easy ride of the January hearings. It is also being said that she will take a very different line from Commissioner Wallström and flagship initiatives, such as the Citizens Consultations could be under threat.
Another winner was Connie Hedegaard, Denmark’s climate minister, who now heads a new portfolio of Commissioner for Climate Action which is going to be very high profile and is expected to be heavily endorsed by the President, who is proud of Europe’s role in Climate Change.
The new DG Climate Action, based on the existing Directorate C of DG Environment will be up and running by Summer 2010. President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel will also be celebrating as France’s Michel Barnier, a former foreign minister, who gets Internal Market and Services, a position some were pushing UK PM Gordon Brown to acquire.
Sarkozy also got his way when the Romanian Dacian Ciolos takes Agriculture and its €50bn budget. Germany’s Günter Oettinger heads Energy, a position that has risen in importance over the last ten years. This appointment also gives Germany a chance at the presidency of the European Central Bank in 2011. Belgian Karel De Gucht moves to Trade where he inherits dealing with the Doha round and China.
There has been widespread approval for the new team, EPP Leader Joseph Daul said “José Manuel Barroso has put together a strong team and with his proposals for new and innovative portfolios has shown he is preparing the Commission for the new challenges facing Europe and the wider world.”
ALDE leader, Guy Verhofstadt was pleased and commented that, “At the end of the day actions speak louder than words and president Barroso can be pleased that he has both high quality and an even balance of men and women amongst the Liberal colleagues in his new team.” Martin Schulz of the S&D Group also welcomed the news, “It gives me satisfaction to note that we will have more vice-presidencies than any other political family. This will ensure a proper balance at the highest level of Commission decision-making.”
However, he also added that, “We will now set about our preparations for the parliamentary hearings of the Commission nominees. These hearings will be serious tests of the nominees and their ambitions for Europe, and we will not pre-judge their outcome.”
The only people feeling gloomy are those working in the Commission who are looking at the structural changes and some of the groupings of responsibilities with reactions varying between puzzlement and alarm, but once again, Barroso’s luck is in, but he would say that he makes his own luck. He will be smiling for some time to come.
In the meantime it will be worth re-reading his Political Guidelines for the Next Commission. Some dismissed it as lacking substance, but it looks like it is a plan he fully intends to implement.
