EURO MPs are looking to wring yet more political concessions from José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President-designate, before agreeing to vote his 24-strong team into office this week.

The European Parliament has already forced Romano Prodi’s successor to discard two of his future colleagues and to reshuffle a brace of policy portfolios after the original nominees sparked a storm of protests.

Buoyed by that unprecedented success, many MEPs aim to strengthen their powers over the Brussels Executive by securing a political commitment from Senhor Barroso that, in future, any commissioner who loses the confidence of the Parliament would have to resign.

The incoming Commission President will be very reluctant to make such a pledge. It would increase considerably the Parliament’s political leverage, since at the moment it may use only the nuclear option of forcing all, not single, commissioners, to resign — but he may be forced to agree to the commitment to end the political crisis that has hung over the European Union since last month, when Euro MPs effectively rejected his original line-up. Since then, much EU business has been paralysed as Signor Prodi’s Commission has stayed on in a caretaker capacity.

After that setback, Senhor Barroso persuaded the Italian Government to replace Rocco Buttiglione, its original nominee, who had alarmed MEPs with his deeply conservative views on homosexuality and the place of women in society, with Franco Frattini, the Italian Foreign Minister.

The Latvian Government has also withdrawn Ingrida Udre, its original candidate, who had failed to rebut satisfactorily allegations of financial irregularity in the funding of her political party. It has nominated Andris Piebalgs, a respected diplomat who was briefly Finance Minister.

Both replacements will face detailed questioning from MEPs over the next 24 hours to determine whether they are suitably qualified for their future posts. Signor Frattini could come under attack for being associated with the measures that Silvio Berlusconi has taken to protect himself and his media empire.

A spokesman for Green Euro MPs, referring to the web of judicial investigations surrounding the Italian Prime Minister, said: “Giving Italy justice and home affairs is making the poacher into the gamekeeper.”

However, both should survive their parliamentary hearings. Instead, most attention will be diverted to two other controversial appointments. The first is Laszlo Kovacs, the Hungarian nominee, who performed disastrously first time round, astounding MEPs with his lack of knowledge of the energy portfolio that he was being given.

Senhor Barroso has been forced to move the former Hungarian Foreign Minister to the taxation dossier. However, in private conversations with MEPs over the past week, Mr Kovacs has admitted that he knows little about his new responsibilities, either.

Conservative and Christian Democrat Euro MPs, in particular, are likely to subject the former communist to intense scrutiny. Many are angry that the Parliament forced the withdrawal of Signor Buttiglione, a centre-right politician, and are looking to secure a Socialist victim in revenge.

The spotlight will also fall on Neelie Kroes, the Dutch nominee, who is being put in charge of competition policy, a highly sensitive area with extensive powers over corporate and government behaviour.

To make a clean break with her extensive business background, Mrs Kroes has agreed to sell all her shares and pledged not to sit in judgment in any cases concerning companies in which she was previously involved. Despite the commitment, critics still believe that she will face inevitable conflicts of interest and want her moved to a new post.

If any of the new nominees fail to pass their parliamentary tests in the next 24 hours, Senhor Barroso will have to go back to the drawing board. If they emerge unscathed, the new Commission should be endorsed by the Parliament on Thursday and be ready to start work in a week’s time.

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