Barroso begins forming team

Three nominations today – by Denmark, Malta and the Netherlands – completed the roster of nominees from whom José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, will form his second team.

Barroso wants to announce which commissioners will hold what portfolios next week, setting the stage for formal hearings of the individual nominees with the European Parliament in the second week of January. That would be followed by a Parliamentary vote on the entire Commission, currently expected to be held on 20 January. Once the Parliament has voted, the new Commission can take office. That is expected to happen on 1 February.

A late flurry of nominations of women – including two today, Denmark’s Connie Hedegaard and Neelie Kroes from the Netherlands – may remove the imbalance of the genders as a fundamental obstacle for the Parliament. With nine women among the nominees, Barroso’s new line-up has one more woman than in his first team. A range of senior female members of the Parliament had warned Barroso that a college of commissioners with fewer than eight commissioners could have faced difficulties securing approval.

The next commission will have a strong centre-right bias. There will be 12 commissioners (including Barroso himself) from the centre-right European People’s Party, nine from the liberal group and six affiliated to the centre-left Party of European Socialists.

The leader of the socialists’ grouping in the Parliament, Martin Schulz, said today that he wanted commissioner from his group to have major posts. He mentioned the portfolios for economics, social and employment policy, transport and climate change, a new portfolio.

Barroso today confirmed today that he would appoint a commissioner for climate action to ensure the “mainstreaming” of climate-change policy across a range of policy areas. He also said he would split the current single portfolio for justice, liberty and security into two, with one commissioner responsible for justice, fundamental rights and civil liberties and one for internal affairs and migration.

The portfolios that national governments are lobbying hardest for are the major economic portfolios. Germany is interested in the portfolios of economic and monetary affairs or energy. Poland would like the budget portfolio. Neelie Kroes, the Dutch nominee, is reported to want to move from competition to trade, but Barroso is said to be considering giving her for the information-society post.

France would like its candidate Michel Barnier to have responsibility for the internal market, including financial services, but Barroso may turn this into a separate portfolio.

Sweden is also competing for the internal-market brief, but is reportedly interested in the enlargement and fundamental-rights posts as well. The Czech Republic and Bulgaria are vying with Sweden for the enlargement portfolio.

Barroso is expected to give new jobs to the 11 commissioners who have been nominated to stay on for a second term. Six of those served a full term: Estonia’s Siim Kallas (administrative affairs), Luxembourg’s Viviane Reding (information society), Slovenia’s Janez Potočnik (science and research), Latvia’s Andris Piebalgs (energy), Finland’s Olli Rehn (Finland) and the Netherland’s Kroes. The other five joined the Commission during its five-year term: Cyprus’s Androulla Vassilliou (health), Italy’s Antonio Tajani (transport), Lithuania’s Algirdas Šemeta (budget), Belgium’s Karel de Gucht (development) and the UK’s Catherine Ashton (trade).

One commissioner – Ashton – already knows her portfolio. EU leaders last week selected her to be the EU’s high representative for foreign and security policy, a post that includes a position as vice-president of the Commission.

Ashton will take office on 1 December, when the Lisbon treaty comes into force. She will address the foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament on 2 December before undergoing a formal hearing in January along with the other 25 nominees.