Netherlands wants 'important' EC portfolio
(THE HAGUE) - The Netherlands wants an "important portfolio" in the new European Commission, Dutch foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Jan Peter "Balkenende is working towards obtaining an important portfolio for the future Dutch commissioner," the minister told journalists in The Hague.
The Netherlands, which has not yet officially put forward a candidate for the new commission, set to come into operation in the coming weeks, is said to be particularly keen on the competition portfolio currently held by Dutchwoman Neelie Kroes.
Verhagen said there was "no party-political veto" of Kroes's reelection, as she had claimed in a recent Dutch television interview.
Each of the 27 member states of the European Union will designate a commissioner to the commission, its executive arm, but their portfolios are negotiated with recently reelected commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.
Countries are vying for the best places, starting with the economic portfolios.
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