By Bruno Waterfield - 22nd November 2005
It is one year to the day that José Manuel Barroso’s European Commission took the helm in Brussels.
The jury is still out on an EU executive that has faced a bumpy first year in office.
Right at the outset, Barroso’s commission was delayed for three weeks amid a row over an Italian right-winger earmarked for the justice job.
Straight-talking Catholic hardliner Rocco Buttiglione was dropped after opposition in the European Parliament – and misjudgement by Barroso on the strength of feeling among MEPs.
Barroso’s authority in the parliament has never quite recovered and he has been forced to give MEPs a freer rein on key justice, chemicals and services legislation.
Even as the former Portuguese PM opened up for business in the Berlaymont on November 22 2004, old scandals over French party political funding threatened to consume Commission Vice-President Jacques Barrot.
Barroso has faced personal criticism for a July 2004 free holiday aboard the yacht of a Greek shipping magnate – a bad judgement call that may yet see changes to EU ethics rules.
While seen as an astute political wind vane, Barroso is widely regarded as staying too quiet as Europe faced referendums on the EU constitution, despite trumpeting engagement with citizens as he assumed office.
Speaking right back in July 2004, Barroso called on Europe’s elites to “make the case for Europe every day”.
“The challenge now is ratification [of the constitution]. It will be a crucial moment and lead to a broad discussion on the kind of Europe that people want.”
“The new commission, this parliament and the member states must be ready with the answers. We must make the case for Europe and this will be a huge communication challenge,” he said.
“To win that debate we should not have a bureaucratic or a technocratic approach. We need instead political leadership and courage.”
Some voices argue that Barroso is tarnished by referendum rejections in France and the Netherlands.
The commission’s post-constitution ‘Plan D’ has also disappointed many in the EU institutions, not least Barroso’s constitution czar Margot Wallström.
Barroso may as well find himself implicated in the EU’s failure - after the constitution collapse - to agree a budget for 2007 to 2013.
Some believe Barroso – a second option for the Brussels job in the eyes of many European capitals – to be too weak to jump EU leaders into action.
On the legislative front, his commission’s decision to axe more laws than it has proposed has raised eyebrows but played well in national capitals – MEPs with less to do may not be so impressed.
Barroso’s pro-business outlook, declared support for ‘globalisation’, and plans to revise environmental and employment legislation will trigger rows ahead.
His tendency to hands-on, micro-management within the commission has already rubbed up some colleagues the wrong way, spelling potential problems in future.
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