Barroso strikes balance

The incoming European Commission chief unveiled the line-up of his new team yesterday, handing the top competition job to a Dutch woman and resisting pressure to give the best posts to EU heavyweights.

The EU executive's president-elect Jose Manuel Barroso said his commission would work to boost prosperity, solidarity and security in the 25-nation bloc while making it clear to sometimes sceptical citizens exactly what the EU does.

"I want to put the European Commission in the driving seat of Europe," he told a news conference. "People need to know what the EU does and why the EU is doing it."

Mr Barroso named Neelie Kroes of the Netherlands as the EU's next competition commissioner, the first woman to hold the post that decides whether multibillion-euro mergers can go ahead.

The most keenly watched portfolios were the so-called "money jobs": competition, trade, economic and monetary affairs and the internal market, which Mr Barroso split among big and small states.

"I think he has resisted the pressure from France and Germany to give them oversight over economic policy," said Daniel Gros, director of the Centre for European Policy Studies.

"He has tried to make it balanced and not let the large countries dominate."

Ireland's Charlie McCreevy was given the internal market portfolio, while Spain's Joaquin Almunia will be in charge of economic and monetary affairs, keeping his current position.

Britain's Peter Mandelson won the coveted trade post, Germany's Guenter Verheugen became the bloc's industry chief and France's Jacques Barrot took on transport.

"The French may not be entirely satisfied, the appointment probably reflects a degree of independence that Barroso managed to show," said John Palmer, head of the European Policy Centre.

France declined to comment on Mr Barrot's post. Britain said it was pleased with Mr Mandelson's role, and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he was not surprised with Mr Verheugen's brief.

Experts said Mr Barroso's choices also reflected a nudge towards a more liberal economic policy.

"It's interesting to see that the main seats in the Commission - internal market, competition, trade - all went to countries with liberal traditions," said Vincent Brophy, a partner with law firm Linklaters in Brussels.

"I think it is, on balance, more to the liberal side probably. But again we have to see how the Commission works as a group," said Daniel Gros at the Centre for European Policy Studies.

Mr Barroso said he would chair a group of commissioners who would work to give Europe's economy a lift.

"We need to reinvigorate the Lisbon Strategy, which aims to make Europe the world's most competitive economy," he said.

Mr Barroso carved up some portfolios, separating transport from energy and dividing agriculture and fisheries in order to give each member of the 25-strong team a single portfolio.

Speculation has been rife for weeks about the format of the new Commission, due to take office on November 1 for a 5-year term.

The group will meet for the first time next Friday and must be approved by the European Parliament before entering office.

Regional policy went to Poland's Danuta Huebner, agriculture to Denmark's Mariann Fischer Boel, while Italy's Rocco Buttiglione was named commissioner for justice and home affairs.

Portfolios such as education and consumer protection are seen as less attractive, though each commissioner has the same clout when the panel votes on proposing a new law or taking legal action against a member state - the executive's main powers.

The new commissioners include three former prime ministers, five former foreign ministers and three former finance ministers. More women were nominated by their governments than ever before: one-third of the new executive will be female.

Sweden's Margot Wallstrom was made vice president in charge of institutional relations and communications.