EU: Mr José Manuel Barroso today faces his biggest political challenge since his nomination as European Commission president when he seeks to persuade the European Parliament's political groups to endorse his team of commissioners writes Denis Staunton in Brussels.
Mr Barroso's meeting with the Parliament's political leaders follows a tough statement yesterday from the 200-strong Socialist group, making clear that the group will vote down the entire Commission next week unless Mr Rocco Buttiglione is moved from the post of Justice and Home Affairs.
The Socialist leader, Mr Martin Schulz, telephoned Mr Barroso yesterday after a two-hour meeting of the group revealed deep reservations about a number of the new commissioners.
"I was given a unanimous mandate by the group to establish fresh contact with Mr Barroso to make our concerns crystal clear. We expect and demand a complete change in portfolio for Mr Buttiglione. We will not accept any cosmetic solution or tinkering at the edges of his responsibilities," Mr Schulz said.
The Socialists also expressed reservations about the new Competition Commissioner, Ms Neelie Kroes; the Agriculture Commissioner, Ms Marianne Fischer-Boel; and the Taxation Commissioner, Ms Ingrida Udre.
The 42 Green MEPs have already decided to reject the Commission line-up, describing Mr Buttiglione as "unacceptable" in the Justice and Home Affairs portfolio. The 87 Liberal MEPs have also demanded that Mr Barroso should respond to the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee's rejection of Mr Buttiglione because of his views on homosexuality, marriage and immigration.
The 41 far-left MEPs in the GUE group are also expected to reject the Commission, along with some Eurosceptics and Independents.
The only groups certain to support the Commission are the 268-strong European People's Party, to which Fine Gael belongs and the 27 MEPs in the Union for a Europe of Nations, which includes Fianna Fáil.
A vote to reject the Commission next week would create an unprecedented crisis for the EU, obliging Mr Romano Prodi's Commission to remain in office while a new Commission was being formed. A number of Mr Prodi's commissioners have arranged to take up new jobs as soon as their term of office ends in two weeks.
During a visit to Warsaw yesterday, Mr Barroso declined to comment on the hardening of opposition within the Socialist group, but promised to present a "balanced" compromise proposal when he meets MEPs today.
"I am confident that a balanced solution will be found and that my Commission will receive the support of the Parliament," he said.
After talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in Berlin, he said: "We have 25 members of the Commission. Maybe in some matters we can have 25 different personal opinions, but I can tell you: we have only one policy," he said.
Mr Barroso had hoped to avoid moving Mr Buttiglione from the Justice post and to assuage MEPs' concerns by establishing a high-level working group to combat discrimination. Yesterday's statement from the Socialists suggests a more radical change will be needed if the Commission is to secure the backing of most MEPs.
One idea under discussion in Brussels yesterday was a three-way swap of portfolios between Italy, France and the Netherlands. Mr Buttiglione would move to Transport, Ms Kroes would take up the Justice and Home Affairs post and Mr Jacques Barrot would move to Competition.