THE EUROPEAN Commission has decided on an extensive reshuffle of its top management posts this week, in what it has described as an effort to ensure mobility, strengthen its teams in certain areas and move foreword with recruitment from new member states to achieve a better geographical balance.
However, the changes have not been welcome in all circles in Brussels, with some believing the British influence and hold over the EU’s executive has emerged strengthened at the expense of traditional heavyweights France and Germany.
One particular change as has been seen as “bad news for Cyprus and Greece, and very good news for Turkey”. This concerns the appointment of top British Commission official, Michael Leigh, to the post of Director General in the Enlargement Directorate General.
Leigh has been described by some in Brussels as one of the Commission’s most “pro-Turkish” fonctionaires. No-one doubts he has an extensive knowledge (and thus positions) on issues related to Turkey and Cyprus as he had headed the Turkey team of enlargement.
Given that Commissioner Olli Rehn does not have the knowledge on Cyprus, which is why he appointed former ambassador Blomberg as his advisor, and is not a politician, he will depend heavily on his DG in the handling of this portfolio, one source says.
In addition, even though the Commission insists that nationalities and national interests do not have a bearing on policies, the
fact that Leigh is British raises big concerns for Nicosia. Britain is one of the few member states that actually has its own policy and agenda on Cyprus, and there are fears the new Enlargement Director General, who takes over in January, will definitely affect policies and push London’s goals.
For some time, according to one source, London has been trying to have its own person on any file dealing with Cyprus and Turkey, and have its bearing on enlargement.
It is also an open secret amongst all who deal with the EU that not
only Britain, but the majority of member states hold regular meetings with ‘their’ officials at the Commission. This is after all one of the reasons why all governments ‘push’ to have their ‘own’ people in positions selected according to their own national interests.
Enlargement and Turkey are high up on the British agenda so London pushed hard to get the DG dealing with this policy, a source said, while another noted that in this way London also achieved its goal of “widening versus the deepening of the EU”.
The changes in the Commission executive have not gone down well with the French either. Not only do they loose the chief spokeswoman Françoise Le Bail, but also their liberal Transport man François Lamoureux is moving to a function that is yet to be specified by the Commission President. Transport is considered an important portfolio for France.
Over the past few days, the French press has been lamenting the fact
that the county is loosing its influence in Brussels to more liberal Anglo-Saxon forces. Britain, sources note, has bagged five top posts in the new reshuffle and thus a bigger influence then the Franco-German axis.
