Joe Borg's portfolio 'unclear' to EP committee chairman

Philippe Morillon, the chairman of the European Parliament's committee on fisheries, said yesterday it was difficult to understand the exact meaning of the portfolio given to Maltese Commissioner Joe Borg.

He said one has "still to understand what the President of the Commission meant when assigning maritime affairs together with fisheries". It was unclear, he added, whether Dr Borg also had to cover aspects related to transport and the environment since his portfolio included maritime affairs.

Last month, the President-designate of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso, named Dr Borg as Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner for the five-year term starting on November 1.

The committee on fisheries has adopted a draft questionnaire to be sent to Dr Borg.

The new European Commission can only start operating after being approved by the European Parliament. The Parliament's specialised committees will now conduct a series of hearings with the 24 new commissioners in preparation for its vote of approval. The hearings will take place between October 8 - 27 in Brussels.

Based on the outcome, the Parliament will proceed to a formal vote of approval at its October session in Strasbourg.

Mr Morillon said that although the date for the hearing with Dr Borg had not yet been set, it was supposed to be held in the first week of October. Although the questionnaire was important, it was usually compiled by officials and therefore the viva-voce hearing with Dr Borg was much more important, he said.

He added that due to the fact that maritime affairs has been linked with fisheries, members of the environment and transport committees would be invited for the hearing in order to put their questions directly to Dr Borg. Such a hearing is considered to be one of the toughest assignments a new commissioner faces.

The draft questionnaire to be sent to Dr Borg, seen by The Times, includes various questions related to the fisheries sector. Among them are requests for Dr Borg's opinion on the development of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy, the newly created Fisheries Control Agency, illegal fishing and what proposals the commissioner will come up with in his areas of competence.

On September 17, just days before the commencement of the individual hearings, the 24 new commissioners will meet again under the presidency of Mr Barroso.

During their first informal meeting earlier this month, the Commission designate adopted its code of conduct. The code foresees that the commissioners must report to the Commission protocol service any gifts worth over €150. They are not allowed to receive payment for participating in conferences. They must also declare any financial interest or assets which could lead to a conflict of interest.