Prodi names ‘shadowing’ jobs for ten incoming commissioners

By Martin Banks

Date: 19/02/04

THE EU moved closer to becoming a club of 25 yesterday (18 February) when commissioners from the ten new member states set to join the Union were told who they will be "shadowing" when they start work on 1 May.

The newcomers, all high-flying serving or former ministers or senior officials at home, will be commissioners without portfolio until 31 October, when the term in office of the present Commission team ends.

As of 1 November, a 25-strong Commission will take over, in which each state will have one member.

Romano Prodi, Commission president, said he was delighted with the new seven men and three women. "They are experienced people of outstanding quality and I am certain they will make an active and positive contribution to the work of this Commission."

Prodi decided against a reshuffle for the remaining six months of the present team's mandate, so the new members will shadow the existing 20 until November.

Like current commissioners, the newcomers will earn a monthly salary of €18,000.

Each will have a "cabinet" of three A-grade officials, compared to six for the veteran members.

The Commission rejected the term "trainees in Mercedes" to describe the new commissioners, which implies that they are being paid too generously for doing what some say amounts to little more than work experience punctuated by a long summer holiday.

Prodi's spokesman Reijo Kemppinen said: "They will be full members of the College and will play a full and active role in the decision-making process."

The newcomers will be twinned with the following commissioners:

• Markos Krprianou (Cyprus) - Michaele Schreyer (budget);
• Siim Kallas (Estonia) - Pedro Solbes (economic and monetary affairs);
• Péter Balázs (Hungary) - Michel Barnier (regional policy);
• Sandra Kalniete (Latvia) - Franz Fischler (agriculture and fisheries);
• Dalia Grybauskaite (Lithuania) - Viviane Reding (education and culture);
• Joe Borg (Malta) - Poul Nielson (humanitarian aid);
• Danuta Hübner (Poland) - Pascal Lamy (trade);
• Jan Figel (Slovakia) - Erkki Liikanen (enterprise);
• Janez Potocnik (Slovenia) - Günter Verheugen (enlargement);
• Milos Kuzvart (Czech Republic) - David Bryne (health and consumer protection).

Ten nominee Commissioners from the Member States set to join the European Union in May 2004 have been told who they will be 'shadowing' when they start work on 1 May 2004.