Barroso II 'in search of lost time'
"We have now had the longest interregnum in the Union's history," Sir Julian Priestley, a veteran EU insider, told this website. Indeed, after an EU institutional reform process that began at the 2001 Laeken summit and ended with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty last December, as well as a European Commission that experienced several months of uncertainty in a caretaker capacity, a backlog of duties awaits the Barroso II team. A daunting agenda awaits the incoming Barroso II team ahead of its confirmation vote in the European Parliament tomorrow (9 February), as valuable time has been lost in ratifying the Lisbon Treaty, choosing new leaders and putting in place the new EU executive.
