José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, is to hold a final round of meetings on Friday morning with nominees for the next Commission before settling on a distribution of some 25 portfolios that could reshape responsibility for EU financial regulation.
Mr Barroso's deliberations, which have brought Brussels to a near standstill, could result in a decision as early as Friday, according to people familiar with the matter, although they warned that the process could drag on until the president returns from Monday's EU-China summit in Nanjing.
The contest for top jobs - particularly a handful of influential economic posts - has invited intense lobbying from the EU's 27 member states, in spite of Mr Barroso's insistence that the final decision will be his. The guessing game has been complicated by the fact that the president could decide to redraw specific portfolios.
The most intense speculation has settled on the fate of financial services regulation, which has traditionally rested within the internal market portfolio. France has mounted a strong campaign for the job, and it has become accepted wisdom among Brussels diplomats that its nominee, Michel Barnier, has the inside track. However, it remained unclear on Thursday whether Mr Barroso would opt to hive off financial services and banking into a separate portfolio, effectively depriving Mr Barnier of oversight of the City. The Commission has previously looked at creating a standalone department for financial services and financial stability, although those efforts were abandoned.
There were suggestions in Brussels that French diplomats were playing down the odds of the portfolio being kept intact but there was no confirmation of this view from Paris. Others argued that this might, in any event, simply be a ploy to damp expectations.
The financial services element of the portfolio will be highly active as the new Commission continues to push through legislation in the wake of the financial crisis and tries to overhaul Europe's system of financial supervision. The prospect of Paris directing such an exercise had set off alarms within the UK government. But officials in London appear to have been reassured by an understanding that Mr Barnier would probably appoint at least one British official to a prominent role.
The UK has emerged as the only certain piece in the puzzle so far after Lady Ashton, the trade commissioner, was selected by member states last week to serve as Europe's first foreign policy chief. There are also high expectations that Neelie Kroes, the current competition commissioner, will take a beefed-up telecoms portfolio after comments this week from the Dutch prime minister. As for the rest of the portfolios, they were fodder for a Brussels guessing game. "It's still anybody's guess," one business lobbyist said.
Source:ft.com
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