The Liberal group in Parliament, headed by former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, held a meeting yesterday (27 August) to discuss possible scenarios for the approval of the next Commission president.
Under the first scenario, leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament would agree to hold a plenary vote on Barroso's nomination on 16 September after approving his proposed "five-year plan" during separate hearings with the candidate on 8 and 9 September.
Under a second scenario – described as "the worst case" by the Liberals - group leaders choose to reject Barroso's candidacy straight away during the September hearings and call on the Swedish Presidency to convene an emergency EU summit in order to find another candidate.
Under a third scenario, political groups remain unconvinced by Barroso's programme and decide to postpone the Parliament's vote until October, calling on the candidate to reconsider some of his commitments.
That scenario, however, needs to take into account "the Irish factor" – the second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty on 2 October – and whether the outcome fits with the expectations of the Irish public, Verhofstadt told the meeting of the Liberal group.
Barroso's potential rejection would play badly in an Irish context, Verhofstadt reportedly said, because it would create an institutional crisis, a source at the meeting told EurActiv.
In any case, according to the former Belgian PM, the effect would be worse than if the vote was only postponed until October, the source put it.
Reaction from Verhofstadt's spokesperson
Koert Debeuf, spokesperson of Guy Verhofstadt, called EurActiv to say that the remarks attributed to Barroso have not been made at a group meeting, and there were no "Verhofstadt plans" or "Verhofstadt scenarios" on Barroso's future.
Barroso meets European Parliament
President Barroso spoke briefly to the press yesterday (27 August) after receiving European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek in his office. No news emerged from the statements – Buzek indicated his intention to propose to the political groups that the Barroso vote be held on 16 September, while Barroso said that timing was not an issue for him, and he would be ready when the Parliament is ready.
Sources in the European Commission indicated that the 27 commissioners were preparing to stay on as caretakers until the end of the year because of possible delays in ratifying the Lisbon Treaty in the Czech Senate (EurActiv 24/08/09).
According to a Parliament source, Czech President Václav Klaus wants to give the British Tories a chance to call a referendum and "kill" the Lisbon Treaty if they manage to seize power soon enough.
But this procrastination cannot go on forever. "Klaus is running out of pretexts, of excuses," the source said. In the perspective of Gordon Brown calling early elections by May 2010, Klaus would not have the resource of postponing ratification until May or June, the official said.
