Sun, Nov 22 2009

EU chiefs formally nominate Barroso for second term

Thu, Jul 09 2009 16:21 CET byClive Leviev-Sawyer 931 Views
EU chiefs formally nominate Barroso for second term

The heads of state and government of the 27 European Union member states formally nominated Jose Barroso on July 9 2009 for a second term as President of the European Commission.
 
The next step is for the European Parliament to approve the nomination. The vote is expected to be held in September.
 
 "The (European) Council has taken its responsibility for completing the selection of a Commission President. I hope that we in Europe can move forward as soon as possible to resolve the important issues we have before us, such as the climate and financial crises," said Fredrik Reinfeldt, prime minister of Sweden, current holder of the rotating presidency of the EU.
 
The decision to nominate Barroso, coming after a so-called "silence procedure" over 48 hours during which none of the 27 member nations objected, formalises a political agreement reached at a summit on June 18 and 19, Deutsche Welle said.
 
The second-largest group in the European Parliament, the socialist bloc, currently opposes the re-election of Barroso.
 
Detractors of Barroso say that he was inert in leading the EC’s response to the global financial and economic crisis and was too inclined to kowtow during his term to powerful figures in the bloc, notably Germany and France.
 
Deutsche Welle said that the Greens held that the candidates from last time – Belgian liberal Guy Verhofstadt or Britain's Chris Patten – would be better.
 
EurActiv quoted Guy Verhofstadt, who reportedly could be an alternative candidate, as saying that Barroso should still present his programme publicly and no decision would be made by the European Parliament before the autumn.
 
The liberal group in the EP is also awaiting Barroso’s planned programme and will present him with priorities that it believes he should agree to, before the liberals agree to support him.
 

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