ANALYSIS: EU heavyweights win with new commission team

By Nicholas Rigillo Nov 27, 2009, 15:20 GMT

Brussels - Analysts placed Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel in the winning camp Friday, after the leaders of France and Germany secured two of the most influential posts in the new European Commission.

But other European Union heavyweights - among them Spain, Italy and Poland - were also in a position to smile, having obtained good portfolios within the second EU executive of Jose Manuel Barroso.

Despite sending relatively unknown figures to Brussels, the European Commission president rewarded the French president and the German chancellor with the internal market and energy portfolios respectively.

Spain's Joaquin Almunia, the outgoing commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, will now be in charge of competition, while Poland's Janusz Lewandowski faces a tough job as budget commissioner.

Barroso also rewarded Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi by promoting one of his party faithful, Forza Italia co-founder Antonio Tajani, to the industry portfolio.

'These nominations clearly indicated that the big member states are the big winners,' said Piotr Kaczynski of the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), a Brussels thinktank.

'They either got exactly what they wanted or beefed-up portfolios,' Kaczynski told the German Press Agency dpa.

While commissioners are not meant to defend national interests, governments are eager to shape EU policy by controlling the most important jobs in Brussels.

Michel Barnier, a former French foreign minister, has been a fierce critic of Anglo-Saxon style capitalism, repeatedly blaming it for the recent collapse of global financial markets.

As internal market commissioner, he will now oversee the imminent overhaul of the bloc's financial market, setting him on a potential collision course with the City of London.

While Sarkozy had always set his sights on the post, diplomats noted that securing it involved intense negotiations with Barroso.

'The French said they wanted the post months ago, and there was never really any doubt that they would get it,' said Hugo Brady, an analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform (CER).

But in order to allay British concerns, Barroso imposed Jonathan Fall, a highly respected civil servant from Britain, as Barnier's director general.

Germany's Guenther Oettinger, meanwhile, will be in a position to defend his country's close ties with Russia - a major exporter of gas to the EU - as energy commissioner.

'We are very happy about the decision' to reward Oettinger with a 'key post,' said a German government spokesman.

Any optimism emanating out of Paris or Berlin could be misplaced, however.

Since commissioners must adhere by EU rules, both Barnier and Oettinger may soon find themselves clashing with their governments.

Earlier this year, for instance, Barnier's predecessor - Neelie Kroes - imposed huge fines on Germany's E.ON and on France's GDF Suez, after the two energy giants were caught sharing sensitive gas market information.

France is particularly keen to defend its national champions, placing it at odds with the commission's traditionally staunch defence of free competition.

Analysts said Barroso had shown consummate skills in distributing the jobs available for his new team, which mixes new faces with loyal and trusted figures.

Finland's Olli Rehn for instance was rewarded for his patience in dealing with the enlargement berth by being assigned the economics and monetary affairs portfolio.

And Almunia was expected to remain a similarly loyal and competent figure as Kroes's replacement.

The biggest question mark hovered over Romania's commissioner, Dacian Ciolos, who was given the coveted agriculture portfolio despite his country running into trouble with the outgoing commission over its management of EU funds.

Ciolos could run into trouble when the European Parliament vets the new team in January.

Barroso has already responded to criticisms over Ciolos' appointment by saying that no candidate should be discriminated against because of their country of origin.

Analysts also included Barroso in their list of winners, noting that the recent appointment of a little-known Belgian - Herman Van Rompuy - as the bloc's first-ever, full-time president inevitably increased the Portuguese's clout.

'Barroso is now the strongest among the weak,' Kaczynski said.