Parliament approves Prodi's new Commission
Following months in limbo, the European Union now officially has a stable Commission, after the European Parliament voted on Wednesday 15 September to approve Romano Prodi's appointment as the new President of the Commission, and that of the 19 other Commissioners, to serve until January 2005. The approval follows the recent hearings process in the Parliament, when the Commissioners-designate were questioned both in writing and in person on their personal integrity and ability to take responsibility for their respective portfolios. Only four Commissioners on Prodi's team have previous experience of the job, having retained their status within the institution following the last Commission's resignation. Given the circumstances surrounding that Commission's fall from grace, it is not surprising that MEPs are particularly concerned about the integrity of Prodi's new team. They did, however, approve all 19 of the team. Philippe Busquin, a Belgian socialist, will now take on responsibility for research, despite suffering a hard time in his hearing with the Parliament, in what many saw as the unwelcome appearance of internal Belgian political score-settling at European level. Innovation, and the User-friendly Information Society (IST) research programme will now be the responsibility of Erkki Liikanen, a Finnish social democrat, and one of the four returnees. Before the vote, Romano Prodi had urged MEPs to vote for his Commission in its entirety. 'Together', he said, 'we can and must put Europe at the service of the people. We have to win back ordinary people's confidence in Europe and in a European vision which puts their needs first.' Yet Parliament remains concerned about the individual accountability of Commissioners. Prodi, however, believes he will be able to deal effectively with any such problems within his Commission himself. And, he stressed, 'the principle of collegiality...will not become a shield for the individual accountability which all of us have to assume as politicians, before this house and before the European public.' He went on to voice his opposition to Parliament's request that automatic suspension from duty should apply to any Commissioner if serious criminal charges are brought against them. 'Such a rule', said Prodi, 'does not respect the presumption of innocence'. He also insisted that he will not wait for Parliament's approval of the proposed 'codes of conduct' for the new Commission and its most senior officials before implementing them. 'I need these rules in place 'on day one', he said. 'I do not want any ambiguity on the immediate commitment to the reform process that these codes signal inside the Commission'. Now the EP has approved the team, Prodi has pledged his commitment to 'transparency, accountability and efficiency'. He likened opening up the Commission to public scrutiny to glasnost. 'It is time for some glasnost here! I want to bring Europe out from behind closed doors and into the light of public scrutiny. I want people to be able to look over my shoulder and check that the Commission is dealing with the issues that most concern them', he said. Amongst the most pressing of these issues, Prodi highlighted his concern that the European Union should nurture its skills in the information technology sector if it is to compete with the American economy. 'I am concerned that European countries seem reluctant to fully exploit the potential of this technology,' he said. 'Encouraging the use and development of information technologies will therefore be a priority for the new Commission'. Prodi then indicated that he plans to launch an initiative in this area at the forthcoming Helsinki European Council, in December. Health care is also a priority for Prodi at this stage. He is particularly concerned that Europe's welfare systems will be able to cope with its rapidly ageing population. 'The Commission recently proposed an ambitious strategy in this area', he said, 'and this is something to which I will be attaching particular importance. Prodi plans to present his policy perspectives for the next five years in January 2000, which will be followed by the presentation of the 2000 work plan. He plans to present an annual political and economic report on the 'state of the union' to consolidate material contained in a number of Commission reports. But the major challenges acknowledged by Prodi and his new team are: - Enlarging the EU and how this affects relationships with neighbouring countries; - Reforming the EU institutions and planning the next intergovernmental conference; - Securing economic growth, creating jobs and achieving sustainable development. Now all eyes in the European institutions and beyond will be watching the new President to see how he tackles them.