Negotiators ordered to nominate European Commissioner

Kris Peeters (CD&V) and Charles Michel (MR), the two negotiators working on the formation of a new Belgian government, have been ordered to put forward a candidate for European Commissioner this week.

The new president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, called on Belgium to nominate its commissioner within three days. He made the ultimatum on Saturday during a summit in Brussels to appoint a new European Council president to succeed Herman Van Rompuy, along with a new EU foreign policy chief.

The federal government is responsible for nominating Belgium’s commissioner, but Peeters and Michel wanted to delay the decision until they had concluded the complex talks on forming a new centre-right government.

Outgoing Belgian prime minister Elio Di Rupo represented the country at the summit and told Juncker he was waiting for the formateurs to propose a candidate for the post. The choice is a sensitive political decision that will affect other appointments in the new government.

Belgium is the only EU country that still has to come up with a candidate for a commission post. Until a name is proposed, Juncker cannot begin the process of allocating key posts within the EU administration.

In a statement yesterday, Peeters and Michel said they took the ultimatum seriously but that Belgium was the only member state involved in forming a government. They said they would propose a candidate to the king on Thursday.

The main candidates appear to be Marianne Thyssen of the Christian democrats (CD&V), Didier Reynders of the French-speaking liberals (MR) and Karel De Gucht of the Flemish liberals (Open VLD). Junckers has asked Belgium for a female candidate, which puts Thyssen in a strong position.

The allocation of the commission post is likely to have an impact on the shape of a future Belgian government, as the party that gets the post will probably lose some influence in the government.

Photo: Elio Di Rupo at the European Council summit with the prime ministers of Greece and Luxembourg

©Thierry Tronnel/Corbis