Nederland wil economische post in nieuwe Commissie (en)

The Netherlands is keeping its candidate for the new European Commission secret until the last moment - in order to secure a heavy economic portfolio in the new EU executive.

According to NRC Handelsblad on Wednesday (28 July), the Netherlands is eyeing one of the four most influential economic posts in the Commission - internal market, competition, trade or monetary affairs.

Sources close to the Dutch cabinet said that by not publicly committing themselves to one particular candidate, the Dutch think they have a better chance with the incoming Commission president José Manuel Durao Barroso to secure one of the posts.

The Netherlands and Denmark are the only states which have not yet put forward the name of their candidate for the Barroso Commission.

The Dutch currently hold the internal market portfolio, occupied by commissioner Frits Bolkestein.

However, The Hague faces heavy opposition from five big EU states - Germany, France, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom - as well as from Ireland, which have all signalled they want one of the four influential economic posts.

It was assumed until recently that the Dutch were interested in the agriculture or transport and energy directorates.

These portfolios would correspond to the backgrounds of the candidates most frequently mentioned - the agriculture minister Cees Veerman or former transport minister Neelie Kroes.

But NRC Handelsblad reports that Prime Minister Balkenende told Mr Barroso earlier this week during a phone call that The Hague prefers an economic post "as a first priority".

Possible candidates with an economic CV would be the former finance minister Onno Ruding - also a former president of the Brussels think-tank Centre for European Policy Studies - or Laurens-Jan Brinkhorst, the current economic minister.

But Mr Barroso has made it clear that he would welcome applications from women in particular - and Ms Neelie Kroes has so far been the only female candidate circulating on Dutch lists.