President to Answer Critics

The President of the Commission has agreed to appear before MEPs to answer questions over his Summer Holiday.

Jose Manuel Barroso confirmed on Wednesday (18 May) that he will personally answer MEPs' questions in a motion of censure hearing next week, out of respect for the European Parliament.

Which is good news, but:

The commission also reiterated its view that the motion is "unjustified" - rejecting claims that his acceptance of a free holiday from Greek shipping baron Spiros Latsis last August created a conflict of interest.

Which is the infuriating part. I am fully willing to believe that there was no conflict of interest and will not be overly disappointed if Barroso comes out smelling of roses. The point is not whether he is guilty of something or not. What is really at issue is the idea that someone in his position should feel that it is not necessary to make public something that could be reasonably seen to compromise his position. I don’t expect him to pay his friend to stay on his yacht. Nor do I expect him to refuse invitations from friends. What I do object to is the fact that the commission and apparently most of the Parliament think that it was none of our business. If it were not for Richard North and Nigel Farage, we would never have heard about any of it.