Barroso makes last-ditch plea to MEPs

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso will make one last appeal to Euro MPs tomorrow to approve his new Commission team and avoid a political crisis.

He will address the European Parliament in Strasbourg on the eve of a knife-edge vote by MEPs on whether to reject all 25 in protest at the inclusion of controversial Italian right-winger Rocco Buttiglione.

As MEPs gathered in Strasbourg, speculation was growing about whether a majority would muster the courage to use the “nuclear option” and veto the Commissioners, including Peter Mandelson, just days before they are due to take office.

Socialists, Greens, and other centre-left MEPs seemed solidly behind a No vote, with centre-right MEPs insisting they will vote Yes.

That leaves Liberal Democrat MEPs holding the balance of power and holding private meetings to thrash out strategy in the run-up to the vote.

“This is too close to call,“ said one eurocrat in Strasbourg. “People are number-crunching like crazy and some say that if the publicly-voiced intentions are carried through in the vote, Barroso could lose by about 40 votes.”

The main target of MEPs’ wrath is Mr Buttiglione, a staunch Catholic and close friend of the Pope, over his remarks that homosexuality is a sin, that women should “have children and be protected by their husbands” and that single mothers are “not very good people“.

But increasingly targeted is Mr Barroso, who gave Mr Buttiglione the sensitive job of dealing with justice and home affairs policy – including fundamental rights, discrimination, minority rights and civil liberties – and now refuses to move him.

Euro Socialist leader Martin Schulz will remind Mr Barroso tomorrow that the European Parliament’s members were elected by 156 million people – compared with just 24 EU leaders who gave the former Portuguese Prime Minister the top Commission job.

The message is that the European Parliament’s views on Mr Buttiglione must be listened to – or MEPs will wield their ultimate power and bring the EU executive to a grinding halt.

Mr Barroso has already promised to “ring-fence” Mr Buttiglione’s influence on civil liberties issues by setting up an inner core of Commissioners to deal with policy matters which might conflict with Mr Buttiglione’s personal beliefs.

Another concession when he addresses MEPs could be on the cards – unless Mr Barroso is confident that Mr Schulz and the centre-left cannot deliver a majority against his new Commission team.

The betting in Strasbourg as MEPs dashed from one huddled consultation to another and struggled with the voting maths was still on a narrow Yes vote on Wednesday.

But even if Mr Barroso gets the backing of a majority of MEPs and begins work as planned on November 1, relations are already soured and political life will be tough for the new Commissioners when they need policy approval from MEPs.

“If Mr Barroso does manage to get sufficient votes, it will be nothing more than a humiliating victory,” said one official.