European Parliament must decide Barroso's future 'by September'
Photo Jerzy Buzek
(WARSAW) - The European Parliament should vote in September at the latest on a second term in office for European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso, the parliament's new president said Friday.
"The election of the president of the European Commission should take place in September. Delaying this nomination for a month or two would be deadly for the EU," Jerzy Buzek told reporters in the Polish capital.
He said the chances of Barroso's candidature for a second term being torpedoed by any possible challenger were "minimal".
Running for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission -- the European Union's executive arm -- Barroso, an ex-prime minister of Portugal, enjoys the support of all 27 EU member states.
But his bid for the job must still be approved by the European Parliament, where the conservative European Peoples' Party which backs him has too few seats to carry the ballot on its own.
The heads of the various political party caucuses in the parliament decided Thursday in Strasbourg to delay a decision on when to hold the vote until September 10.
"The Commission needs a president who can get to work straight away," Buzek said.
"... there will be a lot of work in creating a new Commission. If it must be in place by November or December, then September is the last date to nominate its president."
All parties in the European Parliament have agreed for Barroso to present his candidature in the 736-seat chamber during its September 15 opening session after the summer recess.
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