EU: The incoming President of the European Commission, Mr José Manuel Barroso, has promised to offer the EU strong leadership and political courage for the next five years.
Speaking in Strasbourg after the European Parliament voted by a large majority to confirm his appointment, Mr Barroso said he would build a dynamic coalition for Europe. "I see myself as a political leader who can build bridges. I will reach out and work with those who supported me but also with those who did not vote for me. We need a coalition of the willing to advance the European project," he said.
He will succeed Italy's Mr Romano Prodi, whose term ends on October 31st. His nomination was approved by 413 votes to 251. He said he wanted women to occupy at least one-third of the portfolios in his Commission, and that he would move all the Commissioners from buildings around Brussels into the restored Berlaymont building.
The former Portuguese prime minister offered few hints about the distribution of portfolios within the Commission but he restated his opposition to a German proposal for a super-commissioner in charge of economic and industrial affairs.
"My ambition is to have not one but 24 super-commissioners," he said.
Mr Barroso said he had not made a final decision about the Commission's structure but insisted that there would be no new hierarchy of senior commissioners overseeing the work of their colleagues. He made clear that he would put economic growth centre-stage.
"Wealth creation is the key to our model of social solidarity and sustainability," he said.
He said the EU should consider a reform of the Stability and Growth Pact but ruled out any change in its actual wording.
"What we can do, and some ideas have already been floated, is to look for flexible interpretations which, without putting the principles of the pact in jeopardy, would nevertheless not impair our growth prospects," he added.
Mr Barroso won the support of conservative and liberal MEPs, but most socialists and greens voted against him. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael voted in favour of his appointment, with Sinn Féin and Labour's Mr Proinsias De Rossa voting against. Mr Barroso received a standing ovation when the result of the vote was announced.
Some MEPs criticised him for his support for the US-led war on Iraq but he said his unpopular stance on this would not prevent him from promoting a common EU foreign policy.