ࡱ> DFC > bjbj 4"{  8?$c ^+o```*******$-/~*9``*+;;;*;*;;V$@%P@]/% *.+0^+;%x(0@(0%%&(0%`*;t.```**4```^+(0````````` : its the commission, stupid ! Baron Frankal To understand Europe, you must understand the most vital of the 3 European Institutions: the Commission. Usually, the government controls the legislator, Parliament, through a majority. However, Europe has a more classic executive. The Commission proposes laws, but the (elected) European Parliament and the European Council (of Member States ministers) pass them. Today, all 27 Member States have a Commissioner: Hungarys Lszl Kovcss portfolio is tax. His big project, a common corporate tax base, has enormous potential but no chance of being adopted by the ministers in the Council. As well as acting as the main agenda setter, the Commission has powers of its own, e.g. ensuring big companies play by the rules. Last year, Microsoft was fined 350m. Previously, the Commission single-handedly stopped a merger between GE and Honeywell, two of the US s biggest companies. For those following the Constitutional Treaty debate, the number of Commissioners is a crucial sticking point. 27 is inefficient and means that, sometimes, Commissioners represent their countries, rather than the European interest. This is a big problem: why should Malta and Germany (with 160 times the population) have one vote each ? But everyone wants a Commissioner. The Constitution had 18 rotating members, but now France objects, harking back to the good old days when the bigger Member States had 2 Commissioners each (one left, one right). Even without any new Treaty, the number must change before 2009, to a smaller Commission. If the Commission is somehow a government, why isnt it elected ? Currently, its President is selected by a majority of Member States (Barroso was opposed by France). Now, indirect election is on the agenda. If Parliament elected the President, who could then choose their own team, the Commission would be much more accountable and more clearly reflect the left-right balance elected to the Parliament. The current Commission is centre-right, but this is almost by stealth and many are reluctant to admit it, preferring to talk of the Commission in terms of splendid neutrality. Meanwhile, it pushes hard for liberalising measures such as the Services Directive, which tried to establish a single market for services with just one directive, when creating the single market for goods took several hundred pieces of legislation over decades. Parliament does have muscle: in 2004, it forced Italys Commissioner (Buttiglione) to resign and in 1999 the whole (Santer) Commission. But it should have more. In a bigger Commission, the Presidents powers increase. More power and credibility would come from a transparent election, instead of a compromise name emerging from behind the Councils closed doors. This would enhance the position, forcing different candidates to make promises against which their performance can later be measured: the basic stuff of democracy. First published as Elect the EU President, in the budapest sun, 6 february 2007,  HYPERLINK "http://www.budapestsun.com/cikk.php?id=25771" WYfgh  + N _ f g r v xmxhBphUuCJaJhBphXCJaJh7CJaJh#9CJaJhUuCJaJh7hXCJaJh1CJaJh^CJaJh7hCJaJh CJaJh$.hdWo5CJaJh 'h 6CJaJh 'h 5CJaJhg5CJaJh 5CJaJ&gh  N_`/ 0 2 3 5 6 8 9 ; < = >  $xa$gd $dhx]a$gd#9$dhx]a$gdX $dha$gdg     ! " , / 2 C E ` f o y    & t  2 \ j    y߹~~vh1CJaJh7h7CJaJhNwFCJaJh?XDCJaJh7CJaJhUuCJaJhBpCJaJh^CJaJh7hXCJaJ$hBphBp0J>*B*CJaJphh CJaJhBphXCJaJhBphUuCJaJhBph^CJaJ-yPT  36;Pt|2;EQjk>KLlsw~ źźźźźدددh2h#9CJaJhBphBpCJaJhBpCJaJh7hx^CJaJh#9CJaJhXCJaJh1CJaJhNwFCJaJhx^CJaJE& ^_` , - / 0 1 3 4 6 7 9 : = > ĸՏhUjhUUh hg0J6CJaJU jh hg6CJUaJh hg6CJaJh 6CJaJh^CJaJhNwFCJaJh#9CJaJh.hXCJaJhXCJaJh1CJaJ!http://www.budapestsun.com/cikk.php?id=25771     21h:pC. 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