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novembro 22, 2004
Barroso's new team gets to work
Fonte: The Times
Barroso's new team gets to work
By Rory Watson
MEPs will be keeping a watchful eye on the President's 'new and improved' commission line-up
AS HIS new team takes up office this morning in the European Commission’s newly refurbished Berlaymont headquarters, José Manuel Barroso, the new Commission President, will be keenly aware that he and his colleagues are beginning work under a cloud and are still on probation.
He has made it clear that pushing through economic reform and improving Europe’s competitive base will be his top priority. Within the next two weeks, Senhor Barroso, a former Prime Minister of Portugal, will put together a team of Commissioners to join himself, Peter Mandelson, Britain’s commissioner who is in charge of international trade, and Günter Verheugen, the German member in charge of industrial policy, to promote economic growth and the creation of jobs in the Union.
The European Parliament gave its endorsement to the commission line-up last week after Senhor Barroso had agreed to sacrifice two of the original nominees and to reshuffle two other portfolios.
MEPs will be keeping a close watch on Neelie Kroes, the Dutch member in charge of competition policy with considerable powers over corporate and government behaviour. Critics believe that she will face inevitable conflicts of interest because of the extensive business contacts she built up before coming to Brussels.
To counter the criticism, Mrs Kroes has sold all her shares and pledged not to sit on cases involving companies with which she was associated.
Commission officials have so far identified only three instances among the 1,000 investigations currently being conducted where Mrs Kroes will have to stand on the sidelines.
It is unclear what role the former Dutch businesswoman, who has had links with shipping companies in the past, will play when the Commission comes to reform the competition rules that apply to maritime transport.
The biggest headache facing Senhor Barroso has come from an unexpected quarter: Jacques Barrot, the French Commissioner, who is a vice-president in charge of transport policy.
Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party, caused a storm last week when he revealed that M Barrot had received a suspended jail sentence four years ago after being convicted for embezzlement in a political party funding case dating from the early 1980s.
The French politician was involved in the legal action because of his senior party position, although he was not directly involved in the affair and never barred from standing for public office.
Senhor Barroso, who was unaware of the sentence until last Thursday, is standing behind M Barrot. But, under pressure from MEPs, he confirmed at the weekend that the commissioner would give the European Parliament “all the necessary information relating to his personal situation”.
Meanwhile, Mr Mandelson, who has twice been forced to resign as a British minister, is expected to take a leading role in the drive for economic reform and represent the 25-member European Union in sensitive negotiations with commercial partners including the United States, Russia, China and Japan.
He flies to Geneva this evening to meet officials at the World Trade Organisation, the main referee on international trade disputes. On Thursday, he will be in The Hague for an EU summit with members of the Russian Government.
Publicado por esta às novembro 22, 2004 01:36 PM