Scourge of British fishermen to head food safety agency
Toby Helm, EU Correspondent in Brussels, reports on a
rising star
SHE may be the scourge of British fishermen but Emma Bonino, the chain-smoking Italian commissioner for consumer affairs, can do little wrong in Brussels.
In recognition of her fearlessness, hard work and talent for attracting publicity - and despite some recent blunders - Mrs Bonino has been hand-picked by Jacques Santer for one of the most daunting jobs imaginable.
In the next few weeks the president of the European Commission will confirm Mrs Bonino's appointment as the first head of a powerful new food safety agency within the commission.
The post, which will greatly expand the controversial Mrs Bonino's role at a time of growing public concern over food issues, is being created as part of a shake-up of the commission in the aftermath of the beef crisis.
"Basically it will be her job to check that EU rules on food safety are being obeyed and to help prevent another crisis like beef," said one commission official.
The post will put the 48 year-old Mrs Bonino - better known for fronting up ,angry fishermen over quota cuts and for landing by helicopter on their trawlers - in charge of an expanded team of European officials who check that food safety legislation and veterinary con,trols are being implementedthroughout the community. As well as fulfilling her new role, Mrs Bonino will continue to serve as the commissioner in charge of consumer affairs, fisheries and humanitarian aid.
The new job is bound to pit her against national governments which are still primarily responsible for food safety - a balance Mrs Bonino may seek to redress in the next few years.
The appointment is proof of how the Bonino star has risen in a commission short of colourful characters.
Unlike many of her colleagues, she relishes the challenge of selling often unpopular messages to the public, particularly in front of the television cameras.
Nikolaus van der Pas, Mr Santer's spokesman, said yesterday: "I think she is a real asset for the commission because she has a personality and a face that people can identify with.
"In these days. when the whole project of European Integration is under criticism, that is very important indeed for us. "
She also has an ability to bounce back quickly from set. backs. Her reputation among fellow commissioners was temporarily dented last year when she broke ranks to call for the legalisation of soft drugs throughout the EU - to the fury of some colleagues.
The agency she will head is being set up in response to criticism - some of which has been accepted by Mr Santer -that the commissionwas more concerned to prevent the bottom falling out of the beef market than to protect the consumer during the early days of BSE.
As a result, it has been decided that officials responsible for the two areas - agriculture and consumer protection - be separated, with those responsible for the latter being put under Mrs Bonino's control.
"The most important issue is the separation of responsibilities," Mrs Bonino said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Above all, she said, consumers needed to be better informed. "I hate the phrase consumer protection. Consumers should be informed and then decide for themselves, although this is easier said than done."
Those envious of Mrs Bonino's success insist that her appointment was inevitable given that her portfolio was consumer protection.
The exact role of the new agency will be defined before next month's fall session of the European Parliament. It is hoped that it will help to mend the commission's reputation on food safety matters. It came under recent attack over its handling of the BSE crisis in a draft report by the parliament.
