Ones to watch

Michel Barnier

The commissioner-designate for the internal market and services was a controversial choice for taking charge of financial services regulation. France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy stoked the controversy by citing the nomination as a French victory over the UK. British MEPs will seek commitments from the Frenchman not to damage the City of London’s competitiveness through burdensome regulation. Liberal MEPs are likely to test his commitment to furthering the single market, given the French government’s past resistance to proposed legislation. MEPs are likely to question Barnier on his plans for reforming EU rules on intellectual property rules, a controversial subject which the commissioner-designate has identified as a priority area.

Catherine Ashton

MEPs were not impressed by Ashton’s evasive answers when she held a first ‘exchange of views’ with MEPs on 2 December, the day after taking office as the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice-president of the European Commission. They warned that they would expect more substance during her formal hearings, especially on the Middle East and the Balkans and relations with Russia and China. MEPs also want to know what she plans for the EU’s new diplomatic corps, the European External Action Service.

Dacian Ciolos

Another controversial choice because agriculture in Romania is so unreformed. Successive commissioners have pushed an agenda of reform, but those wanting to reform the Common Agricultural Policy fear that the Romanian will side with France to maintain levels of support. Ciolos¸’s task will be to set out his expertise on the subject – he is an agriculture specialist who worked in Romania’s embassy to the EU and later became agriculture minister. The delicate questions will be about his commitment to change.Karel De Gucht

The commissioner-designate for trade has a reputation for being outspoken and sure of himself. A former foreign minister of Belgium, the Flemish liberal will have to tread carefully. Under the Lisbon treaty, the European Parliament’s consent is required for the ratification of all trade agreements, which will whet MEPs’ appetite for hearing about De Gucht’s plans for the ongoing trade negotiations with Canada, India and Ukraine, among others, and prospects of reviving talks at the World Trade Organization.

Günther Oettinger

The Green group has expressed concern that Oettinger, the candidate for energy commissioner, will favour Germany’s large energy companies, such as E.ON and RWE. Oettinger may also face questions about a eulogy that he gave in April 2007 at the funeral of Hans Filbinger, his predecessor as minister-president of Baden-Württemberg. Filbinger was a naval judge during the Second World War and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that Oettinger should have shown more respect for the victims of Nazi oppression.

Štefan Füle

MEPs are likely to question Štefan Füle, commissioner-designate for enlargement and neighbourhood policy, on his background in the Czechoslovak Communist Party. Füle studied at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, an elite institution, before entering the Czechoslovak diplomatic service in 1987, just as Soviet communism headed towards extinction. A mysterious car accident during his time as ambassador to Lithuania might also be raised.