Barroso Ups Ante with European Parliament

Incoming Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso has decided to keep his controversial new team of Commissioners exactly the way it is - increasing the risk of the whole team being voted down by MEPs next week. Following a meeting with the leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament on Thursday, Barroso asked, "is it reasonable to make a Commission fall because two or three Commissioners are not satisfactory?" He told MEPs that he would keep Rocco Buttiglione -- the Italian Commissioner under fire for his conservative views on gays and women -- in the justice and home affairs portfolio. He said he would set up a team of Commissioners, which he would personally chair, to make sure there is no discrimination on the grounds of gender or sexual orientation in the Commission's policies.(EUobserver.com)