Neelie Kroes draagt vijf zaken over, waaronder een besluit over een nieuwe terminal voor de Rotterdamse haven (en)

After only three days in office, Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has decided to stand aside from five significant cases due to the conflict of interest caused by her previous business links.

The President of the Commission, José Manuel Durao Barroso, must now decide whether he will work himself on these cases or whether he will allocate the job to another of his commissioners.

Mr Barroso is at the moment awaiting formal notification of the cases involved, reports the Independent.

According to the newspaper, Ms Kroes's spokesman said the number of cases was "a drop in the ocean".

"Neelie Kroes is determined to demonstrate that she will avoid all potential conflicts of interest in her job as Competition Commissioner", the spokesman added.

The most urgent of the five cases is the inquiry into plans for a new terminal at Rotterdam port.

The case involves a company on whose supervisory board the commissioner sat.