Peter Mandelson has made a point of sticking almost as closely to his current boss, European commission president José Manuel Barroso, as to his old one, Tony Blair. But a dispute over mobile phone operators has prompted their first bust-up. The rift over roaming fees—the charges levied for using foreign networks within the EU—could presage a broader split on economic policy.
After a fractious meeting of the college of 25 commissioners, Mandelson was left fuming at the way the matter was handled. The British commissioner had lobbied hard for a lighter form of intervention, although he finally agreed with a watered-down version of the proposal sent to senior officials from all commissioners' cabinets. At the eleventh hour, that blueprint was hardened by the relevant commissioner, Viviane Reding, with the help of the commission president. Artfully, Reding persuaded Barroso, who had publicly backed the crackdown on roaming fees, that he had personally staked too much on the initiative to allow its dilution. So—with Barroso's agreement—tougher proposals, with accompanying legal advice, were circulated just 15 minutes before the crucial commission meeting. Outnumbered and outgunned, Mandelson was left complaining that the plan, which will cap some fees levied by operators, was ill thought-through.
Another economic liberal, Ireland's Charlie McCreevy, also made known his doubts about the commission getting involved in price regulation. But McCreevy did not put his head above the parapet. By contrast, Mandelson allowed himself to be portrayed as an opponent of the policy on high roaming fees, then to be seen to lose the battle.
So why did he do it? The commission's band of free marketeers is worried that Barroso is abandoning his early talk of economic liberalism in favour of a cruder form of populism. As if to confirm the theory, Barroso appeared at Reding's press conference to hail the attack on mobile phone firms. Under his leadership, the commission has cracked down on bank card fees and threatened to get tough with the makers of sunscreen. Being on the side of the consumer is now seen as the way to close the gap with the citizen. Moreover, Barroso seems to be yearning for something new to say. As one official puts it: "Barroso has been saying the same thing for some time now and you can't keep repeating a similar message for years on end. He may also be finding it a difficult agenda to deliver on."
Chirac praises Putin, slams Lamy
With less than a year to go in office, Jacques Chirac is showing all the signs of being demob-happy. At July's G8 summit in St Petersburg, Chirac regaled his fellow leaders with a paean of praise to the leadership skills of his host Vladimir Putin. Here, said the French president to sharp intakes of breath, was someone who really knows how to run a country.
By contrast, Chirac's venom was reserved for a Frenchman. The G8 took place just a couple of weeks before the collapse of the Doha development round of trade talks, and so the leaders were addressed by the director general of the World Trade Organisation, Pascal Lamy. A longstanding enemy of Chirac, Lamy is a French socialist and former European trade commissioner who was famously cold-shouldered by the Elysée while working in Brussels. Lamy went on to secure the WTO job without the support of the French president. At the G8, Chirac made it apparent that he was not about to forget his feud, questioning why such a gathering of world leaders was being addressed by this "international bureaucrat."
David Miliband: hot or not?
How do the finest minds of the European diplomatic circuit entertain themselves during those interminable EU meetings? The question has become more pressing since the expansion of the EU to 25 member states, resulting in ever-longer meetings of the council of ministers, the regular gatherings of representatives from national capitals. Simple mathematics shows that if every minister makes a five-minute introductory contribution, two hours will have elapsed before any real business is done. News reaches us that to while away the hours, the continent's brightest brains have been known to indulge in a game which, when played by students, goes under the name "shag or die." In this context it involves identifying which of the visiting ministers would prove the least worst option as a partner if the alternative were to face a firing squad. Lest Manneken Pis be accused of sexism, it ought to be pointed out that the main players are female diplomats rather than their male counterparts. For the record, David Miliband, our own new secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, is rated highly. However, one player expressed doubts by text message as to whether he qualified, querying whether the youthful Miliband was really the cabinet minister, and not just a junior official.
Monsieur Barrot's holiday
Meanwhile, Pascal Lamy's successor as French commissioner, Jacques Barrot, has had a narrow escape. Like his fellow Frenchmen, Barrot, who is transport commissioner, likes to take an extended holiday in the summer. But this year he has had to make a last-minute change of plan. He had been due to spend his vacation by the seaside in Lebanon.
