For an hour or two on the day of Blair's last cabinet reshuffle, it seemed that Europe might finally be gaining a bigger profile. Geoff Hoon, the new minister for Europe, emerged from Downing Street under the impression he had been given a cabinet job. That idea was quickly quashed by No 10, which insisted that Hoon had the same status as his predecessor, Douglas Alexander: no formal cabinet seat but the right to attend its meetings. For Hoon, who was moving from a cabinet post, that meant a demotion—and going back to a job he occupied for several months in 1999.
Hoon has been trying to put a brave face on the rebuff. He argues that his cabinet experience (as defence secretary and leader of the House of Commons) gives him an edge and extra authority. He briefs the cabinet on Europe and has more responsibility to talk to the prime minister than his predecessor did. He also chairs a cabinet committee. Meanwhile, his experience as a former MEP has given him an insider's understanding of how the system works.
But in truth, there is little evidence of a new, more powerful European minister. The key European cabinet committee is still chaired by the foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett; Hoon's committee is concerned with the Balkans. Nor does Beckett seem reluctant to assert her authority on EU matters. Traditionally a champion of opening up legislative debates in the council of ministers to the television cameras, in June Britain suddenly changed tack and sought to water down the plans. The argument was that bringing in the television cameras would push sensitive decisions into the corridors. EU diplomats were more than a little surprised at the volte-face, given that transparency was much trumpeted by Britain during its recent presidency of the EU. The explanation was that this was the doing of the last foreign secretary Jack Straw; Beckett had disagreed with him at the time and has remained consistent. Hoon's views were neither here nor there.
Peter Mandelson goes shopping
In China for a five-day visit on trade issues, Peter Mandelson managed to fit in a visit to the city's trendy Dashanzi art market. The European trade commissioner was delighted to spot a squat, bulbous image not unlike a surreal version of the Michelin man. It looked, he declared, just like the EU's ambassador to China, Serge Abou. Standing next to the commissioner, the indefatigable Abou (a Frenchman and former aide to Romano Prodi) was, for once, left completely speechless. Mandelson then forked out $400 for a large photocomposition of four Tibetan children by a contemporary Chinese artist. That spelt bad news for another member of his staff. While the trade commissioner jetted off to Abu Dhabi for more talks, one luckless member of his cabinet was left to transport the cumbersome package through numerous airline security X-ray machines to Brussels.
Barroso the control freak
Is José Manuel Barroso a control freak? I ask the question because, during the commission president's 19-month reign, commission meetings appear to have been about as interesting as a wet Sunday night in Luxembourg. True, in the wake of the European constitution referendum "no" votes in France and Holland, the big political issues confronting the EU are in abeyance. However, senior officials detect a new and more centralising style under Barroso. Unlike his predecessor Romano Prodi, who used to allow divisive issues to reach the weekly meetings of the college of commissioners, Barroso seems determined to avoid signs of disunity. Consequently most dossiers tend to be stitched up before they reach the highest political level.
Formal votes took place at regular intervals under Prodi. This commission has yet to hold a single vote on any issue. Officials believe that the arrival of a new secretary-general to the commission, Catherine Day, is designed to concentrate power even further around Barroso. Day, who is the second Irish national to occupy the post in succession, has a reputation for wanting to keep a tight grip on policy issues. Only in post for a few months, she is, by all accounts, working very long hours. "Even she would admit that she has difficulty delegating," says one colleague.
Scrapping Strasbourg
Strasbourg likes to present itself as a symbol of European reconciliation but the picturesque city is fast becoming a source of conflict. MEPs are finally starting to revolt over the annual waste of €200m of taxpayers' money involved in their monthly trek from Brussels to the Strasbourg site. In April, MEPs discovered that they may have been ripped off by city authorities over their rental payments since 1979 (€2.7m last year alone). One MEP is trying to collect 1m signatures in favour of scrapping Strasbourg. The leader of the second largest group in the parliament, Martin Schulz of the Socialists, has also come out against the travelling circus. Reformers pin their hopes on Nicolas Sarkozy, who is thought to be tempted by a deal which would swap parliamentary sessions in Strasbourg for a new European Institute of Technology, a European Research Council and/or other concessions. But Sarko is keeping quiet for the moment, ahead of the French presidential elections next year. So like most other issues in the EU, the fate of Strasbourg will have to wait until after the voters of France have spoken.
