The Wall Street Journal reports that the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid - the EU’s answer to Britain’s Hilary Benn - isn’t doing his job:
The European commissioner for development cooperation, Louis Michel, is currently on unpaid leave because he is taking part in the Belgian federal elections on June 10. Instead of visiting impoverished Africa, he is crisscrossing his native Wallonia to collect votes for his francophone liberal party. Mr. Michel justifies his absence by saying that he wants to “reconnect” Europe to its citizens. But in fact all he’s doing is trying to connect himself to a better job, eying the Belgian premiership…
Apparently, the College of Commissioners works perfectly without Mr. Michel. His tasks were easily taken over by the Commissioner responsible for EU enlargement, who seems to have no problems combining negotiations with Turkey, Croatia and other countries knocking on Europe’s door with visits to poverty-stricken Africa. If this is the case, the obvious question is why was Commissioner Michel needed in the first place?
What Mr Michel is doing is normally called taking the mickey. But maybe having one fewer planner for international development is a good thing. Perhaps Enlargement is the EU’s only really effective way to promote development. It could be that we don’t need need Mr Michel at all.