Prodi unveils plans to reform the internal organisation and working methods of the European Commission, June 2002

Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, has unveiled his personal ideas about how the internal organisation and working methods of the European Commission should be reformed before the enlargement of the European Union in 2004. Presenting his ideas to the other 19 Commissioners on 18 June 2002, Prodi said this was a timely opportunity to discuss the issue because the reform of the Council and the future functioning of the EU institutions are set to top the agenda at the Seville European Council on 21-22 June 2002.

Whilst the European Commission has already presented its initial proposals on the future of Europe to the European Convention and will follow this up with a Communication on institutional reform in Autumn 2002, Prodi is conscious that certain fundamental issues need to be tackled by day one of enlargement and any future Treaty is unlikely to be ratified until some time after that. Acting within the organisational powers bestowed on the President once the Treaty of Nice is ratified, Prodi aims to achieve 'achieve greater efficiency and consistency and a clearer distribution of roles within the Commission and vis-à-vis other institutions'. The key elements of Prodi's plans are:

• Reorganisation of Commissioners' areas of responsibility around tasks that are essential to the functioning of the Union. Work to be prepared by groups of Commissioners responsible for a general policy area, mirroring the changes that are likely to be made to the structure of the Council of the European Union.

• Creation of a number of Vice-President positions - a sort of inner cabinet - which will supervise each group of areas. Each Vice-President will work closely with two or three Commissioners depending on the scope of the fields covered.

• Reorganisation to be ready by end of 2003 so that the changes can take effect from the beginning of 2004.

• Rationalisation of the Commission's decision making process. Under the President's leadership the Vice-Presidents will prepare the decisions to be taken by the Commission. They will meet at least once a week to prepare the meetings of the College and to take decisions that the College has authorised them to take

• The full Commission will continue to meet once or twice a month to set the political priorities and plan the work

The President is also keen to prevent any national interests influencing the European Commissioners and said that he would not allow the work of the European Commission to be dictated by a 'directoire' of larger Member States. All the Vice Presidents would be chosen by himself on the basis of their ability irrespective of their country of origin.

The plans have received a mixed reaction from other Commissioners. Some fear that they will lead to internal divisions and they have also criticise the speed with which the plans have been developed since many Commissioners have only been informed of them in the last week. According to the Financial Times, one European Commission official said:

'Most people were surprised by the speed of this thing. Apparently it's been brewing for a while, but it's been kept quite close to the president's entourage'.

Despite Prodi's pledge that the European Commission would not be dictated to by the larger Member States, some Commissioners fear that the Vice President posts could go to Commissioners from these countries which would lead to a loss of support from the smaller Member States. Recently, the smaller EU countries have backed the European Commission as they fear proposals by the larger Member States to increase the powers of the Council would belittle their role even more.

Romano Prodi will now present his ideas to the European Council in Seville. Although his proposals have had a mixed response, Prodi has certainly helped to ensure the European Commission does not get left off the agenda at a summit on the future of Europe when all eyes were focused on the role of the Council and the power of the Member States.

Links:

European Commission:

• European Commission: Speech: Speaking points concerning the Seville European Council: SPEECH/02/290 [Romano Prodi]

Spanish Presidency of the European Union:

• Press Release: Details about the Seville European Council

European Sources Online: Financial Times:

• 18.06.02: Misgivings surface over Prodi shake up plan
• 18.06.02: Prodi tries to enlarge his powers
• 19.06.02: Prodi's powers

BBC News Online:

• 18.06.02: Prodi plans EU inner cabinet

European Sources Online:

• Topic Guide: European Commission
• In Focus: European Commission submits its proposals to the Convention on the Future of Europe
• In Focus: Mid-term review of the Prodi Commission

Helen Bower
Compiled: Wednesday, 19 June 2002

Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, unveiled his personal ideas about how the internal organisation and working methods of the European Commission should be reformed on 18 June 2002.