Thursday, 17 September 2009

Barroso II: what is next?

EU autumn agenda
18 September: Germany's Bundesrat (upper house) to adopt law on implementation of the Lisbon treaty
27 September: General elections in Germany and Portugal
2 October: Irish referendum on the Lisbon treaty
4 October: General election in Greece
29-30 October: EU leaders scheduled to agree on nominations for president of the European Council and high representative for foreign and security policy
31 October: Mandate of the current Commission expires
November: Hearings in the European Parliament for nominated commissioners
õ December: Plenary vote on the new Commission
õ 1 January 2010: Target date for entry into force of the Lisbon treaty
European Voice

16 September 2009: 'Europe party'

In his acceptance speech, Mr Barroso said that as head of the Commission "my party is going to be Europe".

"Anyone who wants to come on board for this exciting journey, that is the construction of a united Europe, it is with them that I would like to build the necessary consensus to strengthen the European project," he told MEPs.

He now faces the task of assembling a new team of 26 other commissioners, who will take office on 1 January. But these appointments cannot begin until Irish voters give their verdict on the Lisbon Treaty in a second referendum on 2 October. See the BBC coverage

The Right Plans?

Plans for posts
The next set of European commissioners is set to include one focused on tackling climate change, under plans unveiled yesterday by José Manuel Barroso (...) He presented plans for three new commissioners - one for fundamental rights and justice, who would protect human rights; one for internal affairs and immigration, to help define a common EU immigration policy; and another for climate action, who would oversee the bloc's fight against global warming.
Joshua Chaffin, FT reports

Sunday, 13 September 2009

Why Barroso deserves a second chance

He is a more effective president than his two immediate predecessors, Romano Prodi and Jacques Santer. It helps that he is a skilled communicator in six languages. Of course, there are other people who could do the job very well. One of those is Pascal Lamy, a former commissioner and aide to Delors, who now heads the World Trade Organisation. Lamy tempers his commitment to European integration with a steely pragmatism and is very tough. But he is a socialist. Given that so few heads of government are centre-left, and given that the socialists were decimated in the European elections, Lamy has no chance of the job. The next president needs the approval of the European council and of the parliament, and of those who stand a credible chance of winning their support, Barroso is the most committed to the kind of openness that Europe needs.

Click here to read the full The Guardian article.

BARROSO IS BACK - with a plan for the next five years

Click here to read Euractiv's analysis of José Manuel Barroso's five-year plan published on September 3.