The New EU Commission
Monday 08 February 2010By EU Reporter Correspondents
Tomorrow, February 9th, the European Parliament will vote on the appointment of the new Commission. As always, this will be a done deal - albeit with some posturing on the sidelines by MEPs with a fondness for the stage that the hemicycle is in danger of becoming.
The ECR group, however, is going one step further, and is tabling a motion that is effectively a "vote of no confidence" in the new Commission. Asking that in future, questions about the personal integrity of would-be commissioners might be more adequately addressed, and referring to "evasive answers" and "poorly conducted hearings", the ECR declares itself "unable to register the same degree of confidence in the Commission" that it has in its President.
The group also questions the legality of the previous Commission, which has actually served beyond its mandate.
The debate may actually be, for once, rather stimulating!