ROME (AFP) - Incoming EU chief Jose Manuel Barroso indicated he would bow to pressure to reshuffle his team as Italy's support for a conservative with outspoken views on gays and women as the EU's top justice official looked increasingly untenable.
Barroso said he would make "appropriate changes" to the make-up of his proposed 25-member executive before offering it for approval to the European Parliament next month.
In what appeared to be the death knell for Rocco Buttiglione's political future in Brussels, Barroso told France's Europe 1 radio that he could not accept a commissioner who would have "problems" with the parliament.
"There will not be an extensive reshuffle. It will be very limited, in less than a month, I hope. There will be appropriate changes," Barroso said before heading to Rome for talks late Thursday with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.
Balkenende holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
The reshuffle was to be the subject of intensive discussions as EU leaders converged on Rome late Thursday to usher in the 25-member bloc's first constitution in Friday's long-planned ceremony that has been overshadowed by events in Brussels.
Barroso arrived in Rome shortly after 5:00 pm and was to begin an informal round of talks with EU leaders late Thursday.
In what is effectively Buttiglione's political backyard, Barroso will turn to Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for indications of who is likely to replace the outspoken Catholic conservative.
Berlusconi, determined to maintain an influential role for Italy, hinted Thursday that Buttiglione would not be sacrificed lightly.
"I have difficulty swallowing the idea that Italy must change its candidate, I don't accept put-downs. That being said, no-one can predict how this will end," the Corriere della Sera quoted Berlusconi as telling aides.
Officially, the Italian government is standing by its choice of Buttiglione to represent it on the EU commission, but press reports said Thursday that it is prepared to negotiate on his position.
Press reports said Berlusconi would be likely to concur only if Buttiglione was not singled out. "If ours is included in a package of withdrawals that would not pose a problem," the Rome daily Il Messaggero quoted him as telling one of his ministers on Wednesday.
The European Parliament has also cast doubt on the suitability of Dutch businesswoman Neelie Kroes for the competition portfolio, former Hungarian foreign minister Laszlo Kovacs in energy, and Latvia's Ingrida Udre as tax commissioner.
In a move greeted by Europe's leading newspapers as a victory for democracy, Barroso on Wednesday backed down from presenting his team of 25 to the parliament for a vote to avoid a humiliating defeat.
Pressed on the extent of changes he would likely make, the former Portuguese prime minister would only say: "A lot fewer than eight or 10 but I can't give you the number, I will do what is necessary and sufficient for Europe, i will not make any changes which are not necessary."
"I came out of parliament with the confidence of different political groups on the centre, the left and the right to form a new commission. It's a question of presenting a team that would have more support," he said on the French radio station.
But he added: "I cannot accept a commissioner who would have problems with parliament. I will consult with the governments concerned."
French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin made it clear on Thursday that neither could he.
"I don't accept homophobia, I don't accept insults, I don't accept arrogance," Raffarin said in Paris. "Politicians (should) lead by example and neither insult nor abuse."
Apart from heads of state and government from the 25 EU states, the leaders of candidate countries Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey have also been invited to Rome to observe the ceremony.
Meanwhile, Pope John Paul II said he hoped the EU leaders gathering in Rome for Friday's ceremony "can find a solution in a spirit of harmony and mutual respect between all parties concerned."
The pope was speaking during an audience for Romano Prodi, who as outgoing EU commission president has been given the task of steering the negotiations through the next few weeks.
10/28/2004 - 17:39 GMT - AFP