Dear President,

According to press reports, you have reservations about the proposal that the European Parliament should elect the President of the Commission, because you fear that this would politicise the Commission and lead to a Commission that is subservient to a particular political majority in the European Parliament.

I beg to disagree for the following reasons:

· It is only the President, and not the Commission as a whole, who would be determined in this way - the rest of the Commission would continue to be chosen by agreement between the President and the national governments, as now. It would inevitably continue to be a “coalition” with members of different political parties.
· Once appointed, the Commission can only be dismissed by a two-thirds majority in Parliament and is therefore immune from undue pressure from one side only within Parliament.
· We are not a system of a powerful executive - as now, the Commission's proposals for policy would need to be approved by Council.
· The Commission is in practice responsible not just to the European Parliament but to the Council too. It is inconceivable that a Commission would continue in office if the European Council called for it to resign.
· European political parties would obviously have to indicate who their candidate would be for President of the Commission before the election campaign starts, (which would enhance their role and visibility too). Within parties, it is likely that party leaders and prime ministers will have a decisive say in choosing their party’s candidate, so there will still be involvement of heads of government in the procedure. Heads of government will be well aware that candidates must have the necessary credibility and attributes to work with the other institutions, including the European Council and its members.

Election of the Commission President by Parliament would therefore not have as dramatic a consequence as some people imagine. But it would have a number of advantages:
It would give more visible democratic legitimacy to the Commission, helping to counter the perception that it is an unaccountable bureaucracy with no democratic legitimacy.
It would enhance the significance of European Parliamentary elections. One problem with these elections has been the lack of visible effect – all that is at stake is the exact balance between political groups in a “hung” parliament. Voters are used, in national parliamentary elections, to seeing a consequential effect on the executive. Giving the European Parliament the right to choose the President would link the election results to the choice of the head of the EU's administration. This is something that most voters are familiar with and even expect.

I would therefore urge you to give favourable consideration to this idea.

Yours sincerely

Richard CORBETT MEP
PES Group Co-ordinator on Constitutional Affairs