Rome, 29/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - At the signing of the European Constitution in Rome on Friday, heads of state will have held discussions on the fringes of the official ceremony about the reshuffling of the Barroso Commission, suspended on Wednesday due to widespread opposition from the European Parliament.
After dinner, Jose Manuel Barroso said for the first time that he is planning to replace some members of his stalled EU executive to satisfy European Parliament critics. The President designate said he was planning to work very rapidly, but did not give any time scale. He said the changes would be limited, telling reporters: 'We need more time so I can go back to some of the prime ministers so that I can get better choices. I'm sure I can get a better team.' Jean Peter Balkenende, prime minister of the Netherlands which holds the EU Presidency, said that EU heads of state had reaffirmed their support for Barroso so he can form a Commission with wider support.
In the morning, consultation was being held right, left and centre between heads of state. British prime minister Tony Blair was seen holding tete-a-tete talks with the French President, Jacques Chirac. At a press conference, Chirac said he hoped Barroso would take appropriate decisions in forming his team and hoped a decision could be reached as soon as possible. French diplomats suggest his comments were addressed to the President designate of the Commission, the European Parliament, and the Member States (which designate Commissioner). Stating he was not planning to get involved with either the Commission or the EP, but the French President said he regretted the crisis between the two institutions, which Europe certainly didn't need. Chirac said Europe needed a strong, independent Commission able to get down to work as soon as possible to deal with the problems facing the European Union, but added that Barroso was right to postpone the presentation of the new Commission to the European Parliament, referring to the telephone call the President designate is reported to have made on Tuesday, the day before the vote at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, explaining to Chirac of the danger of presenting a Commission only approved with the votes of the far right, a danger Chirac is reported to have also warned against.
Gerhard Schroder said that the spat between the European Parliament and the new Commission would be solved in the next two weeks. The German Chancellor said he would not call it a crisis if agreement is reached in the next fortnight. He said he would have preferred the new Commission to have been approved by the European Parliament, but the EP had made it clear what it wanted and what it did not.
The Spanish head of government, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, expressed the most direct views, implicitly calling for the withdrawal of Italian Rocco Buttiglione. He told reporters the situation was clear - the problem was due to the European Parliament's disapproval of the statements made by one Commissioner. The problem, he said, is limited to one person and so that's where discussions had to start. The Spanish prime minister said changes had to be made and desirable changes would be ones that should open the door to the European Parliament's support. Like Jacques Chirac, Zapatero urged EU Member States to be 'constructive' and support Barroso in his attempts to resolve the crisis.