Stormy start to Barroso's reign

On his first day in office, EC President Jose Manuel Barroso was under fire from the European Parliament, which urged him to suspend Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot.

MEPs demanded Barroso take action after it was revealed that the former French politician received a suspended prison sentence in 2000 for his role in a party-funding scandal but was pardoned and now has a clean record.

The EU assembly’s Socialist leader Martin Schulz has demanded Barroso hold a meeting with senior parliament officials to clarify Barrot’s past.

British Liberal Democrat leader Graham Watson said that Barrot’s failure to inform Barroso or MEPs of his past conviction “constitutes an unacceptable abuse of trust”.

“Mr Barrot is seriously compromised by the revelation of his conviction and suspended jail sentence for conduct that is illegal in many EU member states,” Watson said.

He called on Barrot “to resign, or at the very least to ask to be relieved of his duties until this matter can be discussed and resolved”.

The Barrot affair overshadowed Barroso’s first day on the job after receiving the European parliament’s belated approval to take office last week.

The EC said on Friday that Barroso had been unaware of Barrot’s previous conviction, but said Barrot was open to meeting with MEPs to resolve the issue.

Officials said Barroso only learned of the conviction on Thursday, when his 25-member commission was approved by the European Parliament, ending a three-week showdown that forced Barroso to reshuffle his team and drop two incoming commissioners.

The position of Barrot, a close ally of French President Jacques Chirac, was never at risk during the turmoil over the make-up of the new commission, which runs the EU’s day-to-day affairs.