The Hindu : International : E.U. chief structuring his Cabinet

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Saturday, Aug 07, 2004

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International

E.U. chief structuring his Cabinet

By Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS, AUG. 6. The in-coming President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, is putting together his Cabinet comprising 24 Commissioners (ministers). The Commission is the executive arm of the European Union, consisting of 25 member states with a population of over 450 millions.

Speculation

Speculation is rife over the candidates for different posts in the Commission. The only certainty for now is that of the 25 Commissioners, eight will be women, nominated from Sweden, Luxembourg, Holland, Austria, Denmark and Lithuania where they have held senior political and administrative posts. In the newly-elected European Parliament, 29 per cent of the members are women.

A balancing act

Mr. Barroso is engaged in a balancing act and the perception in the media is that key economic or "money" posts in the Commission could go to the four largest member states — Germany, France, Britain and Italy. The posts most in demand are those of Commissioners for Trade, Monetary Affairs, Competition and Internal Markets.

Portfolios

The decision on the distribution of portfolios will be announced on August 20 when the new Commissioners formally meet. Mr. Barroso will take over the Presidency of the Commission on November 1 from Romano Prodi, who will return to Italian politics.

Candidates

Among those who have been nominated for the Commissioner posts are three former prime ministers, five former foreign ministers and three former finance ministers. As a Commission official put it: "There is no shortage of talent but the dilemma is to keep everybody happy and enthusiastic by giving the nearest to what they aspire for." Obviously, this is Mr. Barroso's dilemma too.

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