A view from Brussels. The Barroso Commission. A tale of lost innocence

The present note analyses the origins and significance of the crisis that enveloped the incoming Commission led by José Manuel Barroso in October and November 2004. Based on confidential information as well as published sources, the paper throws fresh light on an episode which was as important as it was fascinating. It also places the crisis in perspective. A famous victory for Parliament, it has not altered the institutional balance between Parliament and the European Commission, which after five years of a weak president was in poor shape to cope with a crisis of these dimensions. President Barroso and his team are therefore confronted by an enormous additional challenge as they embark on their five year mandate. There is no objective reason why they should fail to meet it. A great deal will however depend on President Barroso himself, whose previous career in Portuguese politics Ludlow reviews.