Caretaker commissioners put new jobs on ice until Barroso gets ‘OK’

By Anna McLauchlin

Date: 28/10/04

EUROPEAN commissioners have had to abandon their career plans for the immediate future after President Romano Prodi announced they would have to stay in Brussels as part of a 'caretaker' Commission. They will run the EU executive until incoming President José Manuel Barroso wins the European Parliament's approval for a new team.

As an emergency measure, existing commissioners' contracts have been extended until December, but this extension will end when the new Commission is appointed. Commissioners-designate have the option of becoming 'special advisors', which means they will be paid almost their whole Commission salary while they wait to discover their destiny.

Prodi's spokesman Reijo Kemppinen said he was not aware of any commissioner who would not be able to prolong his mandate. "I think they are all willing to make the sacrifice," he said. Even Franz Fischler, who was supposed to be going on holiday to Bali when his term ended, has agreed to stay on.

"Politics is full of twists and turns," said Health Commissioner David Byrne. "I was supposed to start work with the World Health Organization from Monday as special envoy but obviously this is on hold until I vacate office as European commissioner." The UK cultural organization the British Council, which was to welcome Commission vice-president Neil Kinnock as its chairman next week, said that Kinnock had delayed his appointment until December. The British Council had to ask its acting chair to remain in his post.

Péter Balázs, who was nominated as commissioner before the Hungarian prime minister decided to replace him with the then foreign minister László Kovács, said he would happily step into Kovács shoes. The Parliament's industry committee described Kovács as "incompetent" and "unfit" to become energy commissioner.

"I like this job," Balázs told European Voice. "But it depends on Barroso and the Hungarian prime minister. I'm just waiting."

Pavel Telicka, the outgoing Czech commissioner who was ousted by former premier minister Vladimir Spidla, told European Voice: "I have my own obligations and commitments but until the next Commission meeting on Wednesday (3 November) I cannot discuss it." Spidla was brought in to replace Telicka at the end of July after he resigned as prime minister.

Other commissioners, aware of the imminent reshuffle of Barroso's first team, are lying in wait.

A member of Sandra Kalniete's cabinet said the Latvian commissioner had no fixed post in Latvia to go back to and would wait for developments. Ingrida Udre, who was brought in to replace Kalniete in August, has also been criticized by MEPs for being incompetent.

Several commissioners, including Mario Monti (competition), Michaele Schreyer (budget), and Antonio Vitorino (justice) were planning to take up university posts. "I don't know how that will work," said one EU official.

"You are not allowed to be a commissioner and have other sources of income. Will they just teach and not be paid? Or postpone their move?" he said.

Kemppinen said the next Commission meeting would take place on 3 November as usual.

"We will work the best way that we can," he said. "Luckily we tried to evacuate as many things from the agenda as possible before the beginning of November so there are not that many things that urgently call for attention."

Even if there is no legislative work on the Commission's agenda in the immediate future, commissioners are called to deal with non-legislative matters such as infringements of EU law, internal market matters and administration, he said.

As an emergency measure, European Commissioners' contracts were extended until December 2004 after the withdrawal of the proposed new Commission by President-designate José Manuel Barroso. The extension was to end with the appointment of the new Commission. Commissioners-designate had the option of becoming 'special advisors', which means they would be paid almost their whole Commission salary.