By Elinor Blair - 5th September 2004
“Stranger things have happened” than MEPs rejecting José Manuel Barroso’s EU executive, the UK’s Labour deputy leader in the European Parliament warns.
Senior Socialist MEP Catherine Stihler is cautioning the European Commission-designate not to take parliament for granted in hearings beginning on September 27.
Barroso’s chosen commission line-up must be backed by the parliament before taking the EU’s helm in November.
Stihler reminds Barroso and his team that, despite a positive reception, the process is political and not a technical “done deal”.
“Filling out a highly technical and political questionnaire and preparing for a grilling by MEPs will not be the easiest or most pleasant experience they have ever had in their lives,” she writes in Parliament Magazine.
“The likelihood of the parliament rejecting any of the commission candidates at the moment looks slim. However in the European Parliament you never say never. Stranger things have happened.”
The MEP believes that many in Brussels have forgotten that parliament has the final say on the successor administration to Romano Prodi’s commission.
“From looking at the range of press cuttings, some journalists could be forgiven for failing to recognise the role of parliament in the process,” she said.
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