Levi forced out of limelight as Prodi reshuffles top jobs

Date: 04/05/2000

By Simon Taylor

EUROPEAN Commission President Romano Prodi has bowed to pressure to move his spokesman Ricardo Levi into a purely advisory role.

He has also appointed his chef de cabinet David O'Sullivan to the Commission's top administrative post of secretary-general, replacing the much-criticised Dutchman Carlo Trojan, who will become the Union's ambassador to the World Trade Organisation in Geneva from 1 September. The decision angered the Dutch government, which said it was "unpleasantly surprised" by the announcement.

Prodi said the decision to move Levi and reshuffle other top posts was designed to ensure better policy coordination within the administration. But he admitted that attacks on Levi's performance had also been an important factor. "Criticism has had a prominent role," he said, although he thanked Levi for his "excellent work" on the Commission's public image.

A stoney-faced Prodi announced that Levi would become head of a new beefed-up forward studies unit, to be renamed the Economic and Political Council, which will provide the Commission with detailed analyses on key political and social issues. The unit was initially created by former President Jacques Delors, but has lost influence in recent years.

Levi will be replaced as chief spokesman by the head of the Press and Communications Service Jonathan Faull, although only on a temporary basis to start with. Prodi said he would decide whether to make the appointment permanent by the summer, once he had seen "whether the chemistry was working".

Prodi also announced that Frenchman Michele Petite would replace O'Sullivan as his chief adviser.