Favourite is appointed to top job

Date: 22/05/1997

AFTER ten years in the number two slot, Dutch official Carlo Trojan will become the European Commission's new secretary-general before the summer recess.

Trojan, whose appointment was announced by the Commission yesterday (21 May) after a surprisingly swift decision, will take over his new responsibilities on 1 August as the institution faces a number of key challenges.

Internally, he will be involved in the personnel and financial management reforms now being put in place to overhaul and streamline the heavily hierarchical structure.

These may be followed by even more radical changes if the Commission goes ahead with proposals to reduce the number of its portfolios.

On the external front, Trojan will encounter a series of challenges as talks gather pace in the autumn on the future financing of Union policies and negotiations with up

to a dozen countries applying for Union membership get under

way early next year.