Barroso's EU executive faces biggest test

José Manuel Barroso will compromise in a bid to convince senior MEPs that his European Commission line-up is the right one to run the EU.

He will hope that rifts over controversial EU justice chief-designate Rocco Buttiglione can be healed with offers to juggle civil rights responsibilities among the EU executive.

But the European Parliament’s Socialists – the second biggest bloc of MEPs - have demanded a completely diffrent job for the Italian.

Socialist leader Martin Schulz has already warned the new commission president against “cosmetic” changes to Buttiglione’s brief.

“During a two-hour discussion in the [socialist] group, one speaker after another set out their deep reservations about the Barroso team,” said Schulz.

“We expect and demand a complete change in portfolio for Buttiglione.  We will not accept any cosmetic solution or tinkering at the edges of his responsibilities.”

Rocco's rights role rethink

Barroso is set – indicate parliament sources – to offer a compromise deal, taking away Buttiglione’s roles as the EU’s civil rights policeman.

"The status quo is not an option," said an aide, reported in Le Monde.

He will tell MEPs that Buttiglione is, anyway, not the lead commissioner on anti-discrimination – EU social affairs chief Vladimir Spidla will take that role.

And Barroso will pledge to set up a cross-departmental working group on human rights, chaired by himself, with Spidla, Buttiglione, EU communications czar Margot Wallstrom and development commissioner Louis Michel on board.

The new Brussels chief will also promise MEPs to take account of criticisms directed at other commissioners.

Hungarian energy chief Laszlo Kovacs, Dutch competition watchdog Neelie Kroes, Latvian taxation chief Ingrida Udre, and Danish agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel have all been criticised.

Catholic controversy

Buttiglione has outraged MEPs with unapologetic, conventional Catholic views on gays, women and the family.

His traditional opinions on the role of women in the home or his belief that homosexuality is a sin have sparked an inter-institutional row.

MEPs have argued that the Italian’s politics rule him out of a brief that upholds anti-discrimination measures enshrined in the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights.

And, in a historical first, the parliament’s justice committee rejected Buttiglione after a three hour hearing for his new appointment.

But it is unclear how Buttiglione, and the Italian government, who have presented the commissioner-designate, as a martyr for Rome, will regard the compromise.

The line-up of the new executive is the prerogative of Barroso, not the parliament, and the former Portuguese leader is reluctant to set a precedent by climbing down to MEPs.

Vote in six days

The parliament – while voting, on October 27, for the commission as a collective institution – has no powers over the policy portfolios of individual EU executives.

Socialists are confident that they can carry the parliament’s smaller political groups if the Buttiglione issue triggers a vote rejecting the whole commission-designate next Wednesday.

Barroso received heavy criticism last week for ignoring parliament’s concerns over Buttiglione, while he was touring European capitals.

“It’s not about Buttiglione anymore, it’s now about Barroso,” said a parliament source.

This view is echoed by some Liberals meeting in Brussels who agreed that the commission president must take account of parliament’s position.

“In July we voted in favour of commissioner Barroso, because he said he would take parliament’s views into account,” said French MEP, Marielle de Sarnez.

Pressure is on

Further pressure on Barroso to reshuffle his team came on Wednesday afternoon from parliament’s Greens who said Buttiglione was “unacceptable” as a commissioner.

One solution doing the rounds in parliament’s corridors late on Wednesday is for a three way swap of portfolios between the Italian, Dutch and French commissioners-designates.

Buttiglione would take over the transport portfolio, Neelie Kroes would move to justice and Jacques Barrot would take on the competition dossier.

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