Barroso_report_06 02_v3 7/2/11 00:48 Page 1
THE 2010-2014EUROPEAN COMMISSION 1 YEAR ON...
01
Introduction
About you...
Your gender is... Your nationality is...
RReesstt ooff EEUU2244,,22%%
RReesstt ooff tthheeWWoorrlldd 55,,44%%
BBeellggiiaann77,,44%%
BBrriittiisshh1122%%
DDuuttcchh55,,66%%
FFrreenncchh1144,,55%%
GGeerrmmaann99%%GGrreeeekk
44,,66%%
IIttaalliiaann77,,77%%
SSppaanniisshh55,,99%%
RRoommaanniiaann33,,77%%
............. .............
............. .............
%
Responses
Total Responses
6633,,99 3366,,11
220077 111177
332244
A year ago the Barroso II Commission took office. As the first Commission to do so under the Lisbon Treaty, BarrosoII faced the task of giving practical effect to the provisions of that text, as well as to its spirit - making the EU moredemocratic, more efficient, and better able to respond to the economic and political challenges of the day.
In addition to this perhaps daunting challenge, Commission President Barroso and his 26 colleagues have also had tolive up to the commitments they made to the European Parliament. At the time Burson-Marsteller recorded the visionsoutlined and policy pledges made to allow us all to follow the Commission’s progress.
In order to mark the Commission’s 1st Birthday we asked you, the actors in the world of EU policy-making, to tell ushow you thought they did. How did they perform in this first year? Did they live up to their policy commitments? Andwhat do you see as the most important policy challenges for the next year in office?
We received responses from across the policy-making spectrum, both in and outside of Brussels. We also opened thefloor to the future actors, those currently studying EU affairs, who provided some passionate opinions.
We hope that you find the answers interesting - we certainly did. And if you find you’d like to have more detail on howthe 1 year old Commission is perceived the full results are available on our website.
Enjoy!
.........................................David Earnshaw, CEO, Burson-Marsteller, Brussels
Barroso_report_06 02_v3 7/2/11 00:49 Page 2
Your age bracket is...
Foreign Affairs
Development
Trade
Monetary Affairs
Employment &Social Affairs
Environment
Public Health &Food Safety
Industry
Research
Energy
Internal Market
Consumer Protection
Transport
Tourism
Regional Development
Agriculture
Rural Development
Fisheries & Maritime
Culture
Education
Sport
Legal Affairs
Civil Liberties
Justice &Fundamental Rights
Home Affairs
Constitutional Affairs
Women’s Rights & Gender Equality
Petitions
Climate
Budget
Competition
Digital Agenda
Justice
Taxation & Customs Union
Enlargement & EuropeanNeighbourhood Policy
Humanitarian Aid
MMEEPP22,,22%%
Your policy expertise
Your professional activity is...
4411,,77%%
2244,,44%%
2288,,44%% 1100,,22%%
1122%%
44%%
1122,,77%%
99,,33%%
1144,,88%%
1100,,22%%
1122,,33%%
77,,11%%
55,,66%%
77,,77%%
1166,,44%%
66,,88%%
11,,55%%
1166%%
1122%%
1111,,11%%
77,,77%%
1155,,44%%
1188,,55%%
1166,,77%%
1155,,11%%
2299%%
1166,,44%%
2222,,22%%
2222,,88%%
2233,,55%%
1122,,77%%
1122,,22%%
44,,99%%
1144,,55%%
1100,,55%%
99%%
55,,66%%
1177,,99%%
1188,,88%%
1111,,11%%
44%%
OOtthheerr66,,22%%SSttuuddeenntt
99,,66%%
CCoonnssuullttaanntt1144,,88%%
LLaawwyyeerr22,,88%%
CCoorrppoorraattee55,,66%%
TThhiinnkk ttaannkk44%%
NNGGOO99,,99%%
TTrraaddeeAAssssoocciiaattiioonn88,,33%%
JJoouurrnnaalliisstt33,,44%%
NNaattiioonnaall ooffffiicciiaall88,,66%%
02
20-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61+
EEUU ooffffiicciiaall2244,,77%%
Barroso_report_06 02_v3 7/2/11 00:49 Page 3
THE 2010-2014EUROPEAN COMMISSION 1 YEAR ON...
Barroso II - How they did in 2010
How would you compare itto previous Commissionsbefore Barroso?
EDisappointing
%
DBelow
average
CAverage
BGood
AExcellent
35302520151050
1188,,33%%
2266,,77%%
3355,,44%%
1155,,55%%
44,,00%%
If you compare Barroso Ito Barroso II, thenBarroso II is...
How does Barroso II compare with yournational government?
................................................................. ................................................................. WWOORRSSEE ((4477,,55%%)) BBEETTTTEERR ((4455,,66%%))TTHHEE SSAAMMEE ((5511,,66%%))°
The Barroso II European Commission has been in office foralmost a year. On a scale of 1 - 5 (equivalent to E to A), howwould you rate its overall performance so far?OVERALL
INDIVIDUAL
03
CC++ ++
++
++
DD.............. ..............
EE EE.............. ..............
José Manuel Barroso
BB BB.............. ..............
Neelie Kroes
CC CC.............. ..............
Andris Piebalgs
BB CC.............. ..............
Olli Rehn
CC CC.............. ..............
Karel De Gucht
CC CC.............. ..............
Maros Sefcovicv vvv
CC CC.............. ..............
Androulla Vassiliou
v
BB CC.............. ..............
Janez Potocnikv
CC CC.............. ..............
Algirdas Semeta
CC CC.............. ..............
Antonio Tajani
BB CCBB.............. ..............
Michel Barnier
BB CC.............. ..............
Viviane Reding
BB CC.............. ..............
Joaquín Almunia
CC CC.............. ..............
Siim Kallas
Catherine Ashton
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
.................................................................
Total Responses
332222 .................
-- --
----
++ ++
++
++ --
--
--
++
++
--
++ --
++
//
Barroso_report_06 02_v3 7/2/11 00:50 Page 4
04
CC CC.............. ..............
Günther Oettinger
CC CC.............. ..............
John Dalli
BB BB.............. ..............
Kristalina Georgieva
CC CC.............. ..............
László Andor
CC CC.............. ..............
Janusz Lewandowski
CC CC.............. ..............
Connie Hedegaard
.............. ..............CC CCMaria Damanaki
CC CC.............. ..............
Stefan Füle
CC CC.............. ..............
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn
CC CC.............. ..............
Johannes Hahn
What is immediately striking about this survey is that the general perception of the first year of the Barroso II Commission,both as a whole and as individual Commissioners, is that it must do better!
One word captures the performance of the Barroso II College over its first year: average. This applies both in terms of overallperformance and for living up to the individual commitments made at the outset. Admittedly, Barroso II is only twelve monthsinto its life, with its members having another four years in which to excel. But on current perceptions, it appears that we needto be guarded about expectations of success.
This general perception of Barroso II is clear across all groups of respondents but with some small nuances here and there. So,for example, NGOs and students have the most negative opinion of the Commission as a whole, with higher percentages than inother categories ranking it as “disappointing” or “below average”.
While hardly comforting, it is also true however that the image crisis facing the Barroso II Commission is apparently noworse than that faced by national governments in Europe: compared with the national government they know best, nearly 75 percent of respondents ranked the Commission as “better” or the “same”.
But compared with its predecessors, nearly half of all respondents considered Barroso II to be “worse”. Intriguingly, respondentsfrom the “consultant” category were slightly more polite and heavily ranked this Commission as being the “same”as its predecessors.
Not surprisingly after a horrendous first year Vice President Ashton came lowest overall and in terms of living up to hercommitments. But this needs to be measured against the unique challenges of her post-Lisbon role and the (diverging)expectations that there are for it. No other European politician will ever face the same mixture of organizational, diplomaticand policy challenges as those facing the first incumbent of this position. Indeed, some guarded optimism might be in order forthe future: national officials in particular were slightly more positive about her performance.
Overall, there is not much good news for the Barroso II Commission coming out of this survey. Barroso II is now at the end ofits first full year – but it can hardly be judged to have hit the ground running. It is far too early to reach a definitive judgementbut according to the results of this survey some considerable additional effort is required.
v
CC CC.............. ..............
Cecilia Malmström
CC CC.............. ..............
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
overall commitments
For the detailed results andmethodology, please go to:
www.bmbrussels.eu
A Excellent B Good C Average D Below average E Disappointing
++ ++ ++
-- ++ ++
++-- --
--
++
--
--
-- ++
-- ++
cDacian Ciolos
Overall Assessment:must do better
Barroso_report_06 02_v3 7/2/11 00:50 Page 5
THE 2010-2014EUROPEAN COMMISSION 1 YEAR ON...
Barroso II - Looking ahead in 2011
OVERALL
INDIVIDUAL
05
Andris Piebalgs
Olli Rehn Karel De Gucht
Maros Sefcovicv vvv Androulla Vassiliou
v
Janez Potocnikv Algirdas Semeta
Antonio Tajani
Neelie Kroes
Michel Barnier
Viviane Reding
Joaquín Almunia
Siim Kallas
Catherine Ashton
José Manuel Barroso
Climate change
Future financing of the EU
Banking crisis
Relations with third countries(such as China, India, USA)
Demography(ageing population, immigration)
Creating growth and jobs
Other
77,,11%%
2266,,77%%
2200,,22%%
55,,00%%
22,,88%%
2299,,55%%
88,,77%%
............................................
............................................
............................................
............................................
Total Responses
332222 .................
What do you consider to bethe Barroso II Commission’smost important overall policychallenge in its second yearin office?
IInnnnoovvaattiioonn UUnniioonn
((3366,,11%%))
CCoommmmoonn TTrraannssppaarreennccyy
RReeggiisstteerr ((2299,,55%%))
RReessoouurrccee EEffffiicciieennccyy
((5533,,88%%))
DDiiggiittaall SSiinnggllee MMaarrkkeett
aanndd ee--ccoommmmeerrccee
((3333%%))
EExxtteerrnnaall AAccttiioonn SSeerrvviiccee
((5588,,11%%))
SSiinnggllee JJuussttiiccee AArreeaa
((4400,,22%%))
SSttaattee AAiidd MMooddeerrnniissaattiioonn
((2222..88%%)) aanndd FFiinnaanncciinngg
SSeerrvviicceess ooff GGeenneerraall
EEccoonnoommiicc IInntteerreesstt ((2222..88%%))
TTrraannssppoorrtt
IInnffrraassttrruuccttuurree
((4444,,66%%))
VViissiioonn aanndd LLeeaaddeerrsshhiipp
((4422,,55%%))
SSiinnggllee MMaarrkkeett AAcctt
((4477,,77%%))
MMaarrkkeett nneeeeddss ffoorr
EEdduuccaattiioonn aanndd TTrraaiinniinngg
((3300,,44%%))
TTaaxxiinngg FFiinnaanncciiaall SSeeccttoorr
((3300,,88%%))
TTrraaddee nneeggoottiiaattiioonnss
((4411,,11%%))
VVaalluuee ffoorr mmoonneeyy iinn EEUU
DDeevveellooppmmeenntt AAccttiioonn
((2255%%))
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AA ssttaabbllee EEuurroo ((6688,,55%%))
Barroso_report_06 02_v3 7/2/11 00:50 Page 6
06
Günther OettingerJohn Dalli
Kristalina Georgieva László Andor
Janusz Lewandowski Connie Hedegaard
Maria Damanaki Stefan Füle
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn Johannes Hahn
v
Cecilia Malmström
MMaaxxiimmiissiinngg nnaattiioonnaall
rreesseeaarrcchh eeffffoorrttss
((2299..66%%)) aanndd EERRAA
((2299..66%%))
MMuullttiiaannnnuuaall FFiinnaanncciiaall
FFrraammeewwoorrkk ((5544,,55%%))
RReeiinnffoorrccee DDiissaasstteerr
RReessppoonnssee ccaappaacciittyy
((2266,,88%%))
GGMMOOss,, NNaannootteecchhnnoollooggyy
aanndd CClloonneedd ffoooodd ((2299,,22%%))
CCoonnnneecctt RReeggiioonnss ttoo
22002200 SSttrraatteeggyy
((3355,,88%%))
LLooww--ccaarrbboonn EEccoonnoommyy
RRooaaddmmaapp ((2255%%))
CCrrooaattiiaann aacccceessssiioonn
((3399,,77%%))
AAggeeiinngg wwoorrkkffoorrccee
((3388,,88%%))
EEnneerrggyy EEffffiicciieennccyy
((2288..22%%)) aanndd LLooww--ccaarrbboonn
EEnneerrggyy VViissiioonn ((2288..22%%))
CCAAPP RReeffoorrmm ((7777,,55%%))
GGlloobbaall AApppprrooaacchh ttoo
MMiiggrraattiioonn ((4455%%))
One challenge stands out for President Barroso as he enters the second year of his second term of office: theneed to demonstrate vision and leadership. Overwhelmingly, respondents to this survey focused on the vacuumof leadership which they consider that this Commission contains. Key words which appear again and again inrespondents’comments are the need for “courage”, “leadership”, “better communication”, “more ambition” and“explanation”. Similarly, the need to challenge national governments (even occasionally) rings out loud and clearin the comments submitted by respondents.
There is a clear winner for the most important policy challenge facing the Commission, namely, creating growthand jobs, with both future financing of the EU and addressing the banking crisis coming close as the second andthird “most important” policy challenges.
There is little surprising about perceptions of the main policy challenges for some Commissioners but thestrength of feeling among respondents for some of these priorities is impressive: the need for Olli Rehn to focuson a stable Euro, Maria Damanaki on preventing over-fishing and ecosystem degradation, and Dacian Ciolos on CAPreform all score very highly. For other Commissioners the importance of different priorities was more balanced andvaried greatly depending on respondents’ profession, age and even gender. Though achieving lower scores, respondentsclearly endorsed, nevertheless, the need for John Dalli to prioritise GMOs, nanotech and cloned food, Algirdas Semeta toexamine the taxation of the financial sector, and Janez Potocnik to address resource efficiency.
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For the detailed results andmethodology, please go to:
www.bmbrussels.eu
cc
Dacian Ciolos
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PPrreevveenntt oovveerrffiisshhiinngg
aanndd LLoossss ooff eeccoossyysstteemmss
((6677,,88%%))
v
v
Barroso_report_06 02_v3 7/2/11 00:50 Page 7
37 Square de Meeûs1000 Brussels - BelgiumTel. +32 2 7436611Fax. +32 2 7336611
www.bmbrussels.eu#ECSurvey
Follow the launch of the survey on 9 Feb. 2011 on
Barroso_report_06 02_v3 7/2/11 00:50 Page 8
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