Five commissioners tipped to run in EU elections

European election looks set to shake up Commission
By Tony Barber
Financial Times, 9 February 2009

Five of the European Union's 27 commissioners may stand as candidates in June's European parliament elections, forcing changes at the bloc's executive as policymakers face the worst financial crisis in its history.

Those considered certain, or likely, to run for election include Poland's Danuta Hübner, regional aid commissioner; Belgium's Louis Michel, humanitarian aid commissioner; and Luxembourg's Viviane Reding, information society and media commissioner.

The simultaneous departure of several commissioners will reinforce a fin de régime atmosphere at the Commission, whose five-year mandate is due to expire on October 31 but which may, unusually, be extended.

The changes are likely to enhance the pre-eminence of José Manuel Barroso, the Commission's Portuguese president, who hopes that EU governments will nominate him in June for a second five-year term.

Other Commission heavyweights, such as Neelie Kroes, the Dutch competition commissioner, and Charlie McCreevy, the Irish internal market commissioner, are not expected to seek a second term. Germany's Günter Verheugen, industry commissioner, is retiring from politics.

The changes may not go down well with those EU government officials and parliamentarians who accused the Commission of having reacted in a disorganised fashion to the financial crisis. But EU officials say not every commissioner who runs for election will give up their job, and the Commission should be able to operate smoothly. Those who leave are thought unlikely to be replaced, as new appointees would have little interest in serving for a short spell in a lame-duck Commission.

"A number of Commissioners may take a leave of absence but we're not expecting too much disruption," one Commission official says.

Commissioners who run active campaigns in the election will be obliged to take a leave of absence. But those who simply attach their name to a party's list of candidates in order to boost its chances will be free to carry on working in Brussels. Officials say this will probably apply to Ms Reding, who is unlikely to take up a European Parliament seat.

Apart from Ms Hübner, Mr Michel and Ms Reding, two others viewed as possible European Parliament candidates are Bulgaria's Meglena Kuneva, consumer affairs commissioner, and Slovenia's Janez Potocnik, science and research commissioner. However, both are playing down the idea.

Three other Commissioners appointed in 2004 have resigned in the past 12 months - Italy's Franco Frattini, justice and home affairs commissioner; Cyprus's Markos Kyprianou, health commissioner; and the UK's Peter Mandelson, trade commissioner.

The next Commission may have room for up to 20 new members, giving Mr Barroso scope to shape his team. If they stay on, the most experienced members will include Ms Reding, Greece's Stavros Dimas, Environment Commissioner, and Finland's Olli Rehn, Enlargement Commissioner.

Mr Barroso has warned his Commission to be prepared to remain in office beyond October because of uncertainty over whether or not the EU's Lisbon treaty will come into effect. If Irish voters approve the treaty, in a referendum tentatively set for September or October, the next Commission may not take office until January 2010, allowing EU governments to agree that every member state should keep its own commissioner. If the Irish reject Lisbon, the next Commission will have to be formed in accordance with the EU's Nice treaty, which orders a cut in the number of commissioners.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009

Feature suggests that five members of the European Commission will leave their jobs during 2009 to run in the June European Parliament elections. Viviane Reding (information society), Louis Michel (humanitarian aid), Janez Potočnik (research), Danuta Hübner (regional policy) and Ján Figel (education) were mentioned.