It could be argued that Barroso bent to the will of the larger EU members and rewarded loyalty, writes Arthur Beesley
JOSÉ MANUEL Barroso aims in his second European Commission to secure Europe’s economic recovery and embolden its battle against climate change.
He would deny it, but the formation of his second team is also open to the interpretation that he has bent to the will of the EU’s dominant powers and rewarded loyalty.
The crucial economic and monetary affairs post went to Finland’s outgoing enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn, and Danish nominee Connie Hedegaard received the prestigious climate action post.
Although Máire Geoghegan-Quinn secured the innovation brief the Government had sought from the start, each of the larger EU members emerged with big portfolios.
Barroso formed the new team against the backdrop of the deal that brought former Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy into the presidency of the European Council and bestowed the role of EU foreign policy chief on Catherine Ashton, Britain’s outgoing trade commissioner.
The pact involved trade-offs between the top three EU powers – Germany, France and Britain – and required support from countries such as Spain to be set in motion. The composition of Barroso’s new team appears to have facilitated that arrangement.
The aim of French president Nicolas Sarkozy was always to secure power to regulate hedge funds and private equity funds via the internal markets post. So there was scant surprise yesterday when his nominee, Michel Barnier, emerged with that very job, lining up to succeed Charlie McCreevy.
This was the price of French assent to Ashton’s appointment, itself designed to appease British prime minister Gordon Brown after Tony Blair’s campaign for the council presidency ran foul of European socialists.
In spite of speculation that financial services might move to economic and monetary affairs from internal markets, dulling French regulatory power, Barroso said the time was not right for that.
In practice this is code for giving Barnier freedom to regulate at will, something that has financiers in the City of London in despair.
Having played the Ashton card, however, Brown was in no position to block Barnier. Still, diplomats expect that senior British official Jonathan Faull will be made director general of financial services to keep Barnier in check.
There is more. While Spain had its own candidate to rival Ashton in foreign minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos, prime minister José Luis Zapatero backed the Briton at a crucial point in pre-summit talks.
Barroso has now moved Spain’s respected economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquín Almunia to competition, the most powerful economic portfolio of them all. Almunia was due a promotion, but moving Moratinos into the foreign policy post would have squeezed him off the commission.
Almunia also received a commission vice-presidency, a mark of seniority and a reward for loyalty. Similar honours went to the Dutch commissioner, Neelie Kroes, who moves to the digital agenda portfolio from competition.
Kroes had been tipped for trade, but that job went to Karel De Gucht of Belgium. Agriculturalist Dacian Ciolos of Romania secured the agriculture portfolio while Czech nominee Stefan Füle secured the enlargement job vacated by Rehn.
Meanwhile, German nominee Günther Oettinger secured energy. Barroso took care to point out that Oettinger sought that brief and that “six or seven” nominees pursued it.
With energy security looming ever larger in political debate, he added that not a single nominee to his 2004 commission sought the brief.
Even so, German eyes remain fixed on another prize altogether. German chancellor Angela Merkel remains determined to install Bundesbank president Axel Weber as head of the European Central Bank when Jean-Claude Trichet retires in 2011.
That battle is for another day. For the moment at least, the priority for Barroso’s incoming team is to secure a positive vote for the college at large after confirmation hearings at the European Parliament in January.
New portfolios: who gets what
José Manuel Barroso(Portugal): President
Joaquín Almunia(Spain): Competition
Catherine Ashton(UK): Foreign Affairs High Representative
Michel Barnier(France): Internal Market and Services
John Dalli(Malta): Health and Consumer Policy
Dacian Ciolos(Romania): Agriculture
Olli Rehn(Finland): Economic and Monetary Affairs
Connie Hedegaard(Denmark): Climate Action
Karel De Gucht(Belgium): Trade
Stefan Füle(Czech Republic): Enlargement
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn(Ireland): Research and Innovation
Janusz Lewandowski(Poland): Budget/Financial Programming
Günther Oettinger(Germany): Energy
Janez Potocnik(Slovenia): Environment
László Andor(Hungary): Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
Neelie Kroes(Netherlands): Digital Agenda
Maria Damanaki(Greece): Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Siim Kallas(Estonia): Transport
Johannes Hahn(Austria): Regional Policy
Rumiana Jeleva(Bulgaria): International Co-operation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response
Andris Piebalgs(Latvia): Development
Cecilia Malmström(Sweden): Home Affairs
Algirdas Semeta(Lithuania): Taxation and Customs Union
Antonio Tajani(Italy): Industry and Entrepreneurship
Androulla Vassiliou(Cyprus): Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth
Maros Sefcovic(Slovakia): Interinstitutional Relations and Administration
Viviane Reding(Luxembourg): Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship