Duff calls for Parliamnet's right to sack individual Commissioners

4.00.53pm GMT Thu 11th Nov 2004

In a statement today, Liberal Democrat spokesman on constitutional affairs Andrew Duff MEP calls for the Parliament's right to sack individual Commissioners to be confirmed as part of the package that accompanies the vote to approve the Barroso Commission:-

"The Parliament has taken an important step forward in forcing the European Council to reorganise the new Commission.

"I hope it will be possible for the Parliament to approve the whole college on Thursday.

"However, the Parliament must ensure that the incoming and all future Commissions are made more accountable for their actions. This requires the Framework Agreement between the Parliament and the Commission to be up-graded.

"Top priority is to make individual Commissioners responsible for their actions. The Treaty gives the Parliament only the 'nuclear option' of sacking the entire Commission. The Prodi Commission accepted that each member would resign if, following a substantial vote of no confidence by MEPs, the President so requested. For the sake of parliamentary democracy we need now to go one step further.

"I am proposing that we write into the Framework Agreement the stipulation that if the Parliament expresses a loss of confidence in any individual Commissioner by a majority of two-thirds, President Barroso will automatically require the resignation of that member of his college.

"Such an addition may help Mr Barroso manage a potential crisis. It also responds to the legitimate demand of the public for increased democratic accountability.

"This proposal and others should be spelled out in the resolution which accompanies the approval of the Barroso Commission."

ENDS/...

Editors' Note:

1. Andrew Duff is drafting a Parliamentary report on the whole Commission approval process.

2. See annex attached for the full set of Duff's proposals for the new Framework Agreement.

ANNEX

Proposals for New Commission-Parliament 'Framework Agreement'

(1) If the Parliament expresses a loss of confidence in any individual Commissioner in accordance with the modalities of Article 201 of the Treaty, the President shall require the resignation of that member;[1]

(2) In the event of a resignation, the replacement Commissioner will not take up office until their nomination is validated by the Parliament (audition and vote in plenary);

(3) If the President reshuffles the portfolios in the Commission during its mandate, the Commissioners affected will be submitted to the same procedure;

(4) The President of the Commission shall be fully accountable for identifying a conflict of interest which renders a Commissioner unable to perform his or her duties; the President shall likewise be responsible for any subsequent action taken in those circumstances;

(5) The Commission's Code of Conduct for its members and high officials will be communicated to Parliament;

(6) Where a serious criminal charge is brought against a member of the Commission that member will be immediately suspended from his or her duties.

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[1] That is, a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, representing a majority of the component Members of Parliament (Rule 100.7).