Ho ho ho. Commission president José Manuel Barroso in London, 8 December 2008. (AFP)

Portfolio season begins

In a bid to satisfy all of the contenders for a place in the future European Commission, President Barroso plans to create four new portfolios. But, as at least one commentator in the European press has humorously remarked, perhaps the real value of a commission post should be determined by counting the number of gifts received by the previous commissioner.

Published on 14 October 2009 at 16:25
Ho ho ho. Commission president José Manuel Barroso in London, 8 December 2008. (AFP)

José Manuel Barroso is faced with an onerous task. He has to present a brand new commission at the start of 2010, but, as Handelsblatt reports, in view of the doubts about the final ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, he has no definite information on the identity of candidates for commission portfolios or on the scale of the future executive. Worse still, he will have to find work for everyone, that is to say, for 27 commissioners if the Treaty comes into force. "There simply is not enough work in Brussels to keep 27 commissioners busy," remarks the German business daily. This problem is not a new one: to wit the appointment "of Romania's Leonard Orban to the post of Commissioner for Multilingualism, which is something of a running joke in Brussels."

In response to this predicament, Handelsblatt explains that Barroso has decided to redesign the commission and to create "new portfolios, which better reflect the future challenges" faced by Europe. Having already announced a Commissioner for Climate Action to supervise the reduction of CO2 in Europe, and a Commissioner for Fundamental Rights with a mission to safeguard democratic values. He is also planning to appoint a Commissioner for Innovation with a brief to promote the commercial exploitation of the results of European research, and a Commissioner for Financial Services. Four portfolios, which as the daily remarks, "have not sparked any controversy."

Restructuring won't suit all tastes

However, the restructuring may not be to to the taste of the future Commissioner for Trade, who will likely be awarded a more limited mandate. Likewise, the Commissioner for Internal markets and Services will probably have fewer powers in the new organization. However, this has not prevented France and Germany from expressing an interest in this post, which, as Handelsblatt remarks, "appears to be more coveted than ever." The same applies to the portfolio of the Commissioner for Competition, currently in the hands of Neelie Kroes, which has also attracted a large number of contenders, "notwithstanding doubts about the real powers that that will be exercised by her replacement in 2010."

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On a lighter note, you might say that one way of evaluating the importance of each of these jobs is to count the gifts received by the outgoing commissioners over the last few years. Hospodářské Noviny reports that that the outright winner is in fact Neelie Kroes, who received a total of 33 gifts. The Czech business daily has published a list of all of the gifts worth more than 150 euros given to the commissioners in the the course of their mandate. During their five years in office, the members of Barroso's team received 249 official gifts, which, as Hospodářské Noviny reports, were often quite strange and donated anonymously.

Porcelain, vase, and hi-fi

Neelie Kroes mainly received presents of "specialist books and at least one DVD entitled ‘Complying with European Competition Law.'" No doubt her benefactors believed "she was an avid reader of European technical literature, or in need of a refresher course on that particular topic," notes *Hospodářské Noviny*.

In the banal collection of tableware, vases, statuettes and books detailed in the list, the gifts offered to the Commissioner for Industry stood out for being the most useful — Günter Verheugen can count himself lucky to have received "more practical presents like mobile phones, a television and a hi-fi with speakers."

Not everyone is so lucky

The portfolios of Enlargement, Agriculture, Energy and Communication Strategy also attracted a lot of attention from benefactors, notes*Hospodářské Noviny*, which also has a few sympathetic words to say for three unnamed commissioners, who did not receive anything during their time in office. The recipient of the most embarrassing gift — the Commissioner for Social Affairs, Vladimír Špidla, who was given an exercise bike by the "Don't Just Think about Sex" campaign — might well have preferred to be one of them.

But the number of presents offered to individual commissioners pales in comparison to the treasure trove offered to the Commission President himself. José Manuel Barroso — who received a total of 103 paintings, vases, neckties and other gifts — can rest assured that by this reckoning he still has the top job.

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