09 February 2010 - The new European Commission was approved by the European Parliament today (1), thanks to the support of Conservative, Socialist and Liberal Euro-MPs. Caroline Lucas, Green MEP for South-East England, who voted against the returning President Jose Manuel Barroso and his new Commission team, said:

“Along with my Green colleagues in the Euro-Parliament, I voted ‘no’ to the new Barroso Commission today in protest against a team that has done nothing to suggest it has the vision needed for another five years in office – let alone the longer-term future of the economy and the planet.

"Unfortunately, the new Commission has been approved by a coalition in the Euro-Parliament, including Socialists and Liberals who played the charade of criticising the Commission time and again but didn’t vote against it when it really mattered.

“We are now faced with a Commission that has no vision and no determination. It is simply not up to the challenges of the converging economic, social and environmental crises and will not give Europe the basis to be a player on the world stage.

“For years, economic growth has been fuelled by unsustainable exploitation of the environment and at the expense of widening social equalities. As the 27 Commissioners start their new jobs, they must learn the lessons of the economic crisis and take action to address the plight of millions of unemployed across the Union.

“The Commission has the potential to be the heart of the necessary changes because of its unique powers to propose and defend EU legislation. A Commission with vision could lay the foundations of a "Green New Deal". The right policies and investment would make the EU a world leader in green technology, creating millions of new jobs.

“Sadly, it appears that instead we are set for more of the same: a backseat Commission that follows the lead of Member State governments, big business and heavy industry – a Commission with the ambition to prop up, not shake up.”

Lucas continued: "What’s more, Barroso has shaped this Commission with the philosophy of "divide and conquer". He assigned portfolios without respect to the prospective Commissioners’ competencies. Worse still, he moved Commissioners from posts where they were doing a good job.

“The EU’s Member States have also had a hand in the weakness of this Commission. Far too many of national government nominations were made on the basis of domestic political manoeuvres instead of finding the best candidate for Europe."