Problematic appointments mean new Commission may not be agreed until December writes Denis Staunton.
Jose Manuel Barroso yesterday sought to put a brave face on his decision to withdraw his entire Commission rather than endure certain rejection in the European Parliament. Saying it was better to "take time to get it right", he told MEPs that he had come to the conclusion that the outcome of any vote taken yesterday would not be positive for European institutions.
"In these circumstances, I have decided not to submit a new Commission for your approval today," he said.
Mr Barroso's Commission line-up was doomed when most Liberals and all Socialists told him that they could not support a team that included Mr Rocco Buttiglione as Justice and Home Affairs commissioner.
As he pleaded for votes yesterday, Mr Barroso told MEPs that he could not reshuffle his Commission to move the controversial Italian to a less sensitive portfolio. Now he is preparing to do just that.
Mr Barroso said that he would make whatever changes to his team were necessary but no more than are sufficient to secure a majority in the European Parliament.
He will discuss the impasse with EU leaders when they meet in Rome tomorrow to sign the constitutional treaty agreed under Ireland's EU Presidency. If national governments and the commissioners-designate are co-operative, Mr Barroso could redistribute portfolios by the end of next week.
The simplest option would be for Mr Buttiglione to withdraw and for Italy to nominate a more acceptable candidate for the Justice portfolio. However, MEPs are also unhappy with a number of other commissioners. Most observers in Strasbourg yesterday expected a reshuffle of at least four portfolios.
Another problematic appointment is that of the former Dutch businesswoman, Ms Neelie Kroes, as Competition commissioner. Ms Kroes has served on the board of numerous companies, including some of Europe's biggest, and she has promised to opt out of decisions affecting up to 50 firms.
The most likely move for Ms Kroes is a swap with Mr Charlie McCreevy, who is currently earmarked for the Internal Market post. Mr McCreevy's economic policy experience would qualify him for the Competition portfolio and he has no history of business links to complicate such an appointment.
The Hungarian commissioner-designate for Energy, Mr Laszlo Kovacs, also failed to impress the European Parliament's Energy Committee, who complained that he had not mastered his brief. Questions also surround the suitability of the designated Agriculture commissioner, Ms Mariann Fisher Boel, who is Danish. Allegations of past corruption also cast doubt over Ms Ingride Udre, the Latvian commissioner-designate for Taxation.
Mr Barroso's scope for manoeuvre is limited by the willingness of national governments to withdraw their nominees, if requested, and by sensitivity within the European Parliament's political groups over changes to the political balance within the Commission.
Of the five commissioners-designate under discussion, Mr Buttiglione is a conservative associated with the European People's Party, Mr Kovacs is a Socialist, Ms Kroes and Ms Fisher Boel are Liberals, and Ms Udre is a Eurosceptic Green.
Any reshuffled nominees will face fresh hearings before MEPs and the new team must be approved by a majority in the European Parliament, probably in December.
A minor change in the Commission line-up would have satisfied many MEPs earlier this week but the dynamics of parliamentary life are such that what was acceptable yesterday can seem too meagre a concession today.
Mr Barroso struck the wrong note during his appearances in Strasbourg this week, warning "pro-European" MEPs against allying themselves with Eurosceptics. His appeal for unity among all those who want the European project to succeed sounded a little old-fashioned and out of tune with the political assertiveness of today's MEPs.
The former Portuguese prime minister acknowledged yesterday that part of the problem that has arisen over his Commission is due to the EU's half-hearted endorsement of MEPs' right to approve the Commission.
Unlike ministers in most national governments, commissioners face hearings before European Parliament committees in advance of their appointment. Unlike the US Congress, however, the European Parliament cannot reject an individual commissioner without voting down the entire Commission.
Much of this week's trouble was caused by Mr Barroso's own political ineptitude, however, and his failure to read correctly the signals emerging from Parliament. A small concession offered to Mr Buttiglione's critics two weeks ago could have secured a majority in the European Parliament in favour of the new Commission.
Instead, each of Mr Barroso's overtures towards MEPs came just too late to be effective, so that by yesterday, the demands were too great for him to satisfy.
Yesterday's decision to withdraw the new Commission from consideration by MEPs has left the EU with an unprecedented leadership vacuum and has obliged Mr Romano Prodi's team to remain in office for a few more weeks.
The crisis represents an important shift in the political culture of the EU, however, which enhances the authority of the European Parliament and underscores the value of political conflict within the European institutions.
If Mr Barroso responds imaginatively to the challenge created by this week's imbroglio, his new Commission could emerge stronger, with the broad support of a confident Parliament.
Indeed, after Mr Barroso's climb-down yesterday, the Green leader and former revolutionary, Mr Daniel Cohn-Bendit, offered the former Maoist Commission president-designate the consolation of some words of Mao Tse Tung: "Understanding defeat is preparing for victory."