Presidential choice vital for EU’s identity
While at times member states treat the commission like the enemy, they in fact exert major control over the body that proposes law and monitors implementation.
Each government appoints a commissioner. For some countries the appointment is well thought-out. For others it's whatever suits domestic politics.
While they are supposed to be independent, each commissioner is expected to lobby for their national government.
The President of the Commission is selected by the member states and then approved by the European Parliament. There is no application form, no voting system and no criteria for the job other than what the prime ministers agree on the day.
The next President of the Commission will be decided at the June summit, when final agreement will also be reached on the Constitution.
While names for president have been floated, the matter has been largely confined to gossip. However, that changed on Saturday, Enlargement Day, with a well-timed story in The Financial Times saying External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten was interested in the job.
Parliament President Pat Cox's name is hovering in the background but no country has so far suggested him.
Part of the problem is that nobody is quite sure what the job entails.
The member states hark back to Jacques Delors the strong Frenchman who kept all in check from 1985 to 1995 and moved the EU along with a firm grasp of Europe's wider interests and domestic political needs.
In proposing Romano Prodi, British Prime Minister Tony Blair thought he was putting forward another man of strength. After all, Mr Prodi managed against the odds and almost against the rules to bring Italy into the euro-zone.
An academic and accomplished politician in his own country, Mr Prodi failed to gain the respect of national leaders. His own college of commissioners has remained remarkably loyal to the man who has been the butt of euro-sceptic jokes since he took up office almost five years ago.
Many of the things he has said stupidity pact; a plan B if Ireland voted against Nice which were portrayed as gaffs, and many of the priorities he has set have been correct. But the mix proved wrong and Mr Prodi was unable to deliver the leadership the EU needed over the past few years.
Perhaps the reason was the refusal or lack of ability of many prime ministers to behave responsibly where Europe was concerned; maybe it is because the EU has still to find its identity.
The politicians leading Europe have not been able to agree or shape this identity and it is not something a public relations firm can do either.
As the Taoiseach said in Dublin last weekend, the EU is a unique experiment.
But identity should be central to the choice of commission president.
The EU's identity is evolving.
The working assumption is a Europe of values and democracy.
However, its frequent inability to follow through on this, especially in foreign policy issues, weakens politicians' allegiance, confuses the public and fuels the identity crisis.
The identity will be shaped by the enlargement, the constitution, the constitution referenda and the next commission president.
Therefore, the decision calls for a flash of insight, community thinking and bravery by the member state leaders.
