EU's Jean-Claude Juncker Faces Pressure to Reshuffle Team
File photo of European Union's incoming boss Jean-Claude Juncker. (Agence France-Presse)
Lawmakers in Brussels have raised doubts over key members of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm for the next five years, including the British, Spanish, Hungarian and Slovenian nominees.
Juncker was in talks with senior parliamentary figures to cut a deal which could see him change some portfolios, or even drop one or more members, in order to push the team by the deadline of later this month, officials said.
His spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said he was "happy" that "certain obstacles" were out of the way but would not comment on whether Juncker was prepared to make any compromises.
"The relevant committees are meeting tonight to discuss their assessment, and Mr. Juncker will then meet with the European Parliament leaders to discuss the overall assessment," she said.
The row stems from a power struggle between an increasingly assertive parliament and the European Commission, as well as from a split between conservatives and socialists in parliament itself.
The European Parliament can ask for European Commission candidates to be changed or be assigned new portfolios, as it did in 2004 and 2009.
It will also vote to approve or throw out the full Juncker team line-up on October 22.
On Tuesday, Britain's candidate Jonathan Hill faced further questions over his suitability for the role of financial services commissioner after being summoned for an unprecedented second hearing by parliament's ecomomics committee.
"I've had to overcome some suspicions about being a Brit, especially about being a Brit in this portfolio,' he said, referring to doubts about whether he would be biased towards Britain's huge financial services industry.
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EU's Jean-Claude Juncker Faces Pressure to Reshuffle Team