Brittan calls for "radical" reform of Commission
Thursday, 18 March 1999 12:16EU Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan called on Thursday for "radical" reform of the beleaguered European Commission.
"We need a route and branch radical reform which has to be pursued with ruthless determination," Brittan told journalists.The British commissioner specifically called for an "independent element" in disciplinary procedure and reform of the appointment system.
"And I have long favoured having management consultants having a wide range brief to look at the handling of money and prevention of fraud in the commission," he said. Brittan was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on trade and development at World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva.
He said that the 20 commissioners who make up the EU executive had no desire to stay on longer than was necessary in the "present configuration", following their resignation en masse in response to a damning report on Monday on their handling of fraud and corruption.
The commission would deal with urgent business and would meet its legal and constitutional obligations, Brittan said."But we will not put forward new policy initiatives.Brittan, who has been positioning himself to take over from EC head Jacques Santer on an interim basis, said he would be "ready to serve" if British Prime Minister Tony Blair nominated him to continue in the commission until the end of the year.
