The Hindu : International : Row over E.U. official's nomination snowballs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 14, 2004

International

International

Row over E.U. official's nomination snowballs

By David Gow

BRUSSELS, OCT. 13. Jose Manuel Barroso, the new European Commission President, has strongly defended Rocco Buttiglione, his choice as the Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner and a professed opponent of gay rights, saying he had full confidence in him.

In London yesterday, for talks with the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, Mr. Barroso in effect ignored the narrow vote in the European Parliament's civil liberties committee on Monday against Mr Buttiglione's appointment, saying he was a ``very able'' Minister who could make an important contribution.

Mr Barroso rejected moves to strip Mr Buttiglione of his civil liberties duties and hand them to another colleague.

Centre-Right support

As Centre-Right MEPs rallied to the Italian Catholic on the eve of a meeting of political group leaders in Parliament to discuss Mr Barroso's team, there were clear signs that the Right would exchange support for Mr Buttiglione for that of the Hungarian socialist Laszlo Kovacs, who has been described by another committee as ``unfit'' and ``incompetent'' to be the new Energy Commissioner.

This would enable Mr Barroso, who voiced support for Mr Kovacs, to see off a prospective challenge to his authority when he meets the group leaders next week, days before Parliament votes on the Commission as a whole.

MEPs can only reject the Commission in its entirety, not individual members.

In Rome, bolstered by the support of the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, Mr Buttiglione accused his detractors of discriminating against him as a Catholic and claimed that he was blocked by a lobby ``that holds that Berlusconi's Ministers are morally, politically and I would say, even ethically unworthy to work on justice''. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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