EU: The Socialist group in the European Parliament has called for a reform of the code of conduct for EU commissioners after the Commission President, Mr José Manuel Barroso, appeared in a TV campaign ad for a Portuguese political party.
A 36-second advertisement for the centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) featured Mr Barroso endorsing the party, which he led until last year, in Sunday's general election.
A Commission spokeswoman insisted Mr Barroso had broken no rules and that all commissioners were entitled to exercise their rights as citizens and politicians.
"These are politicians and neither the treaty nor the code of conduct, nothing stops them from acting in that capacity. . . He spoke in a personal capacity and nothing he said could be construed as representative of his position as the President of the Commission," she said.
The code obliges commissioners to seek the permission of the Commission President if they wish to campaign in national elections. It offers no guidelines on election campaigning by the Commission President himself.
The leader of the Socialist group of MEPs, Mr Martin Schulz, said Mr Barroso should either stay out of national politics or pursue a centrist line, leaning neither left nor right.
"Mr Barroso has clearly compromised his independence by taking part in this party political broadcast. He has an institutional duty to stand aside from party political campaigning and to serve the interests of Europe as a whole. Although Mr Barroso's term of office has only recently begun, there is worrying evidence that he leans to the centre-right and is failing to take on board the concerns and priorities of the rest of Europe," he said.
Mr Schulz added that the controversy highlighted the need for a thorough review of the commissioners' code of conduct to ensure the EU executive remained impartial.
"It is wrong in principle for the Commission President to engage in a political campaign, whether for 36 seconds or for three weeks. The way forward is through a review of the rules," he said.
A spokesman for Commissioner Charlie McCreevy told The Irish Times yesterday he would not campaign in the forthcoming by-elections in Kildare and Meath.
Mr Barroso's predecessor, Mr Romano Prodi, caused consternation towards the end of his term in office when he campaigned in Italy during the European Parliament elections.
Earlier this month, Mr Barroso said he would not take part in the Portuguese election campaign because it would be inappropriate as Commission President. His party has been trailing badly in opinion polls and the opposition Socialists are widely expected to win Sunday's election.
In the campaign ad, broadcast on Tuesday, Mr Barroso said he wanted to express solidarity with his former colleagues in the PSD.
"As a Social Democrat I want on this occasion to show my solidarity and confidence that the PSD will once more be able to carry out its responsibilities," he said.