Monti krijgt geen nieuw mandaat als eurocommissaris (en)

Italy's Premier Silvio Berlusconi has nominated the centrist European Affairs Minister Rocco Buttiglione for the next European Commission instead of current Commissioner Mario Monti.

The next European Commission President, José Manuel Durao Barroso, is said to have given his approval to the nomination.

However, Mr Berlusconi's choice is being seen by the opposition as an attempt by the Prime Minister to hold together his fractured coalition, after recent clashes with the centrist Union of the Christian Democrats UDC.

The UDC has been pushing for more influence in the coalition after doing well in the recent European elections, and has been objecting to a bill supported by the right-wing Lega Nord that gives more self-rule to the country's prosperous northern regions.

"[This] gesture has important political significance and it's a gesture of great generosity on the part of the prime minister, one that warrants attention", Rocco Buttiglione told reporters in Rome.

Current Italian Commissioner Mario Monti, who is well respected in Brussels, had turned down a recent offer to become Italy's finance minister to remain in Brussels.

"When I met with Prime Minister Berlusconi on July 4, I confirmed to him that, should the Italian Government and the President of the European Commission ask me to serve again, I would have been prepared to do so", he said.

"The Italian Government has decided differently".

The Financial Times said Mr Barroso would have given Mr Monti a high-profile portfolio but it seen as unlikely that Mr Buttiglione will get such a brief.